Lemurs and Baobabs

Flight to Morondava

I had trouble getting to sleep last night and was still awake at 2am. John sleeps and wakes up feeling fine but I’m exhausted, actually to the point of feeling dizzy.

The buffet breakfast at the hotel is delicious. Mr Hary picks us up at 9:00am and takes us to the airport where we catch our one hour, domestic flight to Morondava. With Tana being at a higher elevation, the temperature is quite comfortable.

Our flight is on a small puddle hopper. Seats are tight so it is a good thing that it is a short trip. Mostly tourists garbed in outdoor safari gear are on the  flight. I sleep.

Arrival in Morondava 

The heat hits us as soon as we exit the plane. Our guide, Tony and driver, Louve meet us as we exit the small airport. I get a phone call from Emirates letting us know that they found John’s e-reader.

We drive through town passing lots of stands selling produce, clothing and all manner of products. Everything I see is locally owned.

Our hotel in Morondava is on a beautiful white sand beach. After checking in, our guide takes us to a seafood restaurant on the beach for lunch (I have very large shrimps in tasty ginger and fresh vegetables and John has a beef/lentil with rice dish) before heading out to explore. The breeze from the water gives relief from the heat. 

Morondava is on the western shores of Madagascar along the Mozambique Channel. It is known as the gateway to Madagascar’s natural wonders.

Lemurs, Lemurs, Lemurs

Our first stop is to a small reserve where we are greeted  by three types of lemurs (brown, crown and ring tailed). We are warned in advance not to scream when they jump on you… and boy do they like jumping on you. They have very soft fur feet. They smell like a fusion of musky animal and banana (which they love to eat). It is breeding season and many of the mamas that jump on us have babies in their arms. Click here for a short lemur video.

We next head to the tortoise pen where we learn about the star tortoise.

Alley of the Baobabs

Continuing on, we head to one of Madagascar’s most iconic sights – the Avenue of the Baobabs. These trees have seen centuries. The ancient alleyway consists of over 20 endangered Grandidier’s Baobabs amongst other types of baobabs. These trees can reach 30 metres (98 feet) and are between 800 and 1000 years old. They appear to be upside down and each tree seems to have its own personality. 

Mrs and Mr Baobab are pointed out to us. They each appear to have wooden humanlike reproduction shaped organs.

These trees did not always stand alone, once they were part of a dense tropical forest which has become a victim of deforestation for agriculture and charcoal production. These baobabs were intentionally spared by local communities. The trees are now protected and they are working on conserving and reforesting the area.

Some baobabs have double trunks and we see a romantic one where the trunks wrap around each other in an embrace.

Many locals  travel on carts drawn by zebu (a horned ox-like animal). Women gracefully carry things on their heads, their posture is picture perfect.

We stop at the main alleyway, looking at baobabs at different ages. Hard to believe they are starting a journey of a thousand years.

We try baobab juice and baobab ice cream at tables overlooking the avenue. It tastes a bit like peaches.

The sun begins to set, silhouetting the ancient trees in golden light. A lone egret rousts at the top of a tree. It is all so beautiful.

Evening in Morondava

Despite the unpaved roads, I fall asleep on the way back to the hotel. 

It is hot in our room and we can’t get the air-conditioning to work. The manager informs us that there is no electricity between  6-8pm so they run the generator for most things but air conditioners take too much power.

We head to supper at the  hotel’s outdoor restaurant for a very tasty shrimp salad.

The air conditioning is working when we head back to the room. I discover a beautiful blue and green gecko on our wall. He hides himself behind the mirror.

We go to bed early because we are leaving at 5:30am. I finally sleep well.