The Big Red Island

Is there a place in the world with harder names to say and spell than Madagascar? As far as I know, it takes this accolade for Sub-Saharan Africa. It can also lay regional claim to the most unique mix of cultures and settings that I’ve ever seen. With its stunning rock formations, prolific rice paddies, and quaint cottage-style houses, it evokes South Africa, Asia, and 1800s English countryside all at once. And that’s just at a superficial level- the language, the food, the incredible rarity of everything in the environment truly make Madagascar the most unique place I’ve ever visited.

A number of factors made this was a challenging trip to plan, as Emily can attest, so hopefully this itinerary and suggestions will help others more easily get to know the ‘big red island’ as well.

Car rental: Madarental

One of these challenging things to figure out was how to get around. First, we had to accept that almost all car rental places there require you have a driver. We had originally wanted to drive ourselves, but in the end we were really glad we were forced to- it was definitely a good thing. We ended up going with Madarental (madarental@yahoo.com), even though there were some mixed reviews online, because they seemed to have nice 4x4s at an affordable rate (about $60 per day). The driver is as important a consideration as the car, though. Our driver Rija truly made our trip- if you book with Madarental, definitely request him. Another thing worth noting: they didn’t have a bank account at the time, so double check beforehand if they’re expecting payment in cash (and which currency). Overall we were very happy with our experience.

Day 1: Antananarivo to Antsirabe

Stayed at: Le Trianon

We landed in Antananarivo (Tana) in the early evening. We were an hour late but the arrival process was quick- we easily got cash from the ATMs, picked up a sim card with data from Orange, and met Patrick and Rija from Madarental out front. We efficiently signed the contracts and paid half the cost upfront in dollar, giving us time to leave for Antsirabe straight away. Generally, drivers don’t work after 7pm, and it’s good to minimize time spent driving in the dark (which in October begins around 6pm).

We skirted Tana proper and, despite some evening traffic leaving the city, arrived at Le Trianon in Antsirabe in time for a late dinner. Le Trianon was a nice little spot with a decent restaurant and clean rooms. Not sure if people stick around Antsirabe for long, but this is a great hotel if you’re passing through.

Day 2: Antsirabe to Ranomafana

Stayed at: Chez Gaspard

We left fairly early in the morning, pre-8am, so we could cover the 5-hour drive in time to take an afternoon hike in Ranomafana National Park where it’s common to see lemurs. This ultimately proved to be unnecessary for a couple reasons: the park closed earlier than we thought (we arrived around 2pm after stopping for lunch, and were told it would close at 4) and the park fee (per walk) is substantial, around $45 per person including guide fees.

We decided to go on just one walk, early the next morning when we were told the lemurs were more active. It does seem fairly common to be able to see lemurs, in part probably because the guides all radio each other and the groups inevitably converge on any lemur sighting. However, if you’ve got the 5 hours to spare I’d recommend taking the longer route to improve your chances.

The lodging options for Ranomafana seemed pretty slim online, but I recommend Chez Gaspard- it was a lot nicer than we expected.

Day 3: Ranomafana to Massif de l’Andringitra

Stayed at: Tranogasy

We saw our lemurs on the walk this morning- some were relaxing, other launching themselves through the trees at an impressive pace. They’re pretty amazing, and especially cool because they are totally unique to Madagascar. 90% of Madagascar’s wildlife is found nowhere else in the world thanks to splitting from the continent 88 million years ago. Tangent: in addition to the 100+ species of lemurs that currently live on the island, there used to be giant lemurs, now extinct, that weighed over 300 pounds. That’s a big lemur.

(Lemur spotting) 

This day was a little tight. In order to get to Tranogasy by the evening, we had to start our lemur walk right when the park opened and keep it to less than 5 hours. Tranogasy is the setting-off point to hike Pic Boby, and the last leg of getting there is 2 hours of rough roads with little wooden bridges that you’d want to avoid driving in the dark if possible.

It took us about 3 hours to get to Fianarantsoa where we had lunch and grocery shopped for the hike. Ambalavao is the last town before the Andringitra park, but Fianarantsoa is the last big town (including ATMs), so recommend doing everything here. Good to know: everything closes in Madagascar on Sundays including the grocery stores. We had to plan our camping meals around canned foods from little shops and gas stations, and veggies from the market. It turned out to great, but we had to scramble to scrape it together.

Leaving Fianarantsoa around 3, we were still in the dark for about half of the bad road. A number of people told us this section would take 4-5 hours, but in a good 4x4 driving normally it only took us 2.

Tranogasy was a little difficult to find, a process further complicated by a sudden rainstorm. Turns out, it’s literally adjacent to the park office, which you can see just to the left when you reach the sign for the park entrance. It’s bare bones, just a staging place for a night to hike the Massif, but they’ve got a restaurant and will cook you a good hot meal and help you get organized for your hike.

Day 4: Tranogasy to Pic Boby base camp

Stayed at: camped in the park

Pic Boby is the highest accessible peak in Madagascar. Its strange name came out of a particularly dumb story about a European explorer losing his dog Boby while hiking. I think we can all agree that the Malagasy name Imarivolanitra, “close to the sky”, is a much more fitting. A few things about hiking Pic Boby / Imarivolanitra that are useful to know:

You can let the park service know you’re coming by emailing them at ecoshopmnp@gmail.com, but you don’t need to make a reservation. You can easily buy your tickets and pay other fees the morning of at the park office, though you should budget 45min for all this.

Tranogasy can arrange the guide and porters for you once you’re there. They offer an expensive package including food that we opted not to get- it was very easy to just arrange informally once you’re there. You can pay the porters to cook your meals if you’d like. If you do this, they’ll also sort out making the cooking fire.

If you do it the informal way, you need to bring your own food and cooking gear, as well as camping gear. We were caught out on cooking gear due to some misinformation, but it turned out to be easy to just rent essential cooking gear (pot, pan, spoon) from Tranogasy for a couple dollars. They were fine with it, and the porters returned it for us afterwards.

If you stay at Tsara Camp or in the Tsaranoro Valley after the hike as we did, we learned it’s easier to just hike directly there across the Massif rather than returning to Tranogasy and driving as we’d originally planned. This method adds an extra camping night, or turns 1 day into a long but not terrible hike (which was the option we chose), but I’d highly recommend it. It was incredibly beautiful to hike the entire way, especially descending into the valley at the end.

The hike from Tranogasy to basecamp is pretty short, maybe just 4 hours. However, because we didn’t leave until around 9am, we opted to stay at basecamp in the afternoon rather than trying to rush to summit Pic Boby before dark (particularly because the evenings seemed to get consistently cloudy and rainy).

(On the way to base camp)

Day 5: Summiting Pic Boby to Tsaranoro Valley

Stayed at: Tsara Camp

Waiting until day 2 to summit meant we had to leave at 4am and hike for a few hours in the dark. It’s quite steep, but only about 3 hours up. It was misty and cloudy going up, but this created very cool effects when the clouds started to break near the top. The weather then became beautiful and warm on the way down.

(Chilly summit break)

We got back to base camp around 9, broke down our tents and packed, and started off again by 10. The next 8 hours of hiking were almost entirely flat or descending ground, so not very difficult. We entered the valley as the sun was setting, which was stunning, and reached the park office where Rija was waiting with the car just before sunset. Tsara Camp was only about a 20 min drive away. We really enjoyed it; without being particularly fancy it was one of the nicest places we stayed. The food and wine, the bed and outdoor shower, and the views in the morning were all fantastic.

(Hiking into the Tsaranoro Valley)

(Backdrop to Tsara Camp)

Day 6: Tsaranoro Valley to Isalo

Stayed at: Satrana Lodge

After a solid night’s sleep at Tsara Camp we set off for Isalo first thing in the morning in order to get a full day there. Isalo is another park with its own style of impressive and beautiful rock formations and different species of lemurs. It offers lots of hiking options which can easily be arranged through your lodge, none of which we took advantage of. Post Pic Boby we were just looking to relax. We had a nice lunch in Ihosy on the way; another demonstration of the amazing variety of dishes available even at little roadside restaurants (at this place alone we had turkey, eel, fish, prawns, and steak). Also a good time to mention that homemade yoghurt was being sold everywhere we went and it was delicious!

Satrana Lodge was our ‘splurge’ hotel, even though it was still reasonably priced. It’s situated in a picturesque spot, at the foot of a rocky hill with a beautiful view into the park. It’s a short drive into the open access area of the park, where you can watch sunset at La Fenêtre de l'Isalo. The safari ‘tents’ are spacious, comfortable, and boast cozy patios and excellent outdoor showers. We debated between staying here, Le Relais de la Reine, and Isalo Rock Lodge, which all got good reviews. We actually stopped by these other places and were pleased to find that Satrana is the nicest in person.

(Satrana Lodge)

Day 7: Isalo

Stayed at: Satrana Lodge

We spent the entire day at Satrana, reading, relaxing and briefly enjoying the pool (it was a little chilly with the wind). Satrana’s dinners were good; though everyone’s favorite menu item was the croque madame we had for lunch (then special ordered for breakfast the next day).

We brought a bottle of wine to the top of the adjacent hill for sunset this evening, a relatively easy hike that actually yielded a nicer view than La Fenêtre. We all really appreciated the relaxation time, but it’s probably worth budgeting another day here to give you time to explore the park.

(Sunset from Satrana) 

Day 8: Isalo to Tana via Toliara

Stayed at: Hotel Sakamanga

While we heard mixed reviews of the reliability of domestic flights, particularly Air Madagascar, we decided it was a worthwhile risk to take to signficantly cut down on driving time. So, rather than driving all the way back to Tana, we drove the few hours to Toliara, flew from there, and paid for an extra 1 day of car rental and 2 tanks of gas for Rija to take the vehicle back. We didn’t have any issues or delays, but probably worth building in a buffer before an international flight. Later on, Emily and her sister used Madagasikara Airways, a new private airline, for a domestic flight, which seemed to get better reliability marks.

We only had time for a brief seafood lunch in Toliara before rushing off to the airport. We were back in Tana and checked into our hotel by the early evening. After some persistence, we were able to secure a table at La Varangue, a restaurant multiple people recommended to us. The food and décor were great, but my favorite part might’ve been the flavored rhum arrangé, a local specialty.

Day 9: Tana

Stayed at: Hotel Sakamanga

Antananarivo is a city on a hill, with a quaint old town perched on top with nicer restaurants, old buildings and a few tourist sights. I honestly wasn’t expecting much, there isn’t a city center with big buildings and it has a small-town feel. However, I think we were all pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed our time there.

Sakamanga is a great place to stay. The places has lots of character and offers nice rooms and food options. The cheapest rooms are very affordable and still very nice. Everything was walkable from Sakamanga, and it seemed fine in the daytime despite many Trip Advisors stories of pickpocketing. We had breakfast at a nice pastry shop at Hotel Colbert, then walked down through the main market to L’Avenue d’Inedpendance where we stopped off at the old restored train station and visited a photography exhibition in the French Center. We had an excellent lunch at Duo, right on the avenue. So good, in fact, that Emily and her sister when back another 2 times on their own. There was a great mix of Malagasy and French dishes, all very reasonably priced. The highlight is the foie gras though, a must-get!

That evening, we ventured out to the industrial area for a cheap and delicious seafood platter at La Maree. We were instructed to go to the smaller of two La Maree that are across the street from one another. We never determined exactly why, but the small one was good!

We were lucky to catch the 'Madajazzcar' festival that week, so after dinner we went to the restaurant at the train station, Cafe de la Gare, for drinks (more rhum arrangé) and to watch a great jazz quartet perform.

That’s about where I leave the trip- I had to head back to Kenya that Sunday evening. Emily and her sister stuck around another 5 days and headed out west, so I’ll base the rest on her experience

(Route map - part 1)

Update from Emily on Tsingy and Ave. of Baobabs:

- To get to Tsingy, you can either fly or drive from Tana to Morondova. Driving is cheaper but I think it takes a full day to get there. Then you have another full day of driving from Morondova to Tsingy Park

- In Morondova, we stayed at Chez Maggie. It was fine, we didn't spend much time there

- We went really cheap and really luxurious in our 2 nights at Tsingy- Tanakoay (hostel environment) and Le Soleil de Tsingy (really nice pool area). I thought the splurge was worth it, esp because we didn't go back to the park the next day so spent the whole day enjoying the hotel too. However, I also thought that our other hotel splurge in Isalo Park (Satrana Lodge) was nicer

- We used a car booking from Chez Maggie, though I didn't love our driver. I'd recommend the Mada Car rental mentioned earlier in the itinerary. Even though they have to charge you for driving to/from Tana, regardless if you fly, I think the price ends up being about the same

- You can probably see Tsingy in 1 day, but may want to consider 2 days to make the 2 full days of driving there/back worth it. I think a guide automatically comes when you buy a ticket but I can't remember

- Definitely stop at Mad Zebu on your way to/from Tsingy from lunch. Really really good and cheap food

- It's worth it to see avenue of the baobabs at sunset, even though there will probably be a lot of tourists around. You should be able to time it for the end of your drive back from Tsingy to Morondova

Overall Tsingy is the highlight for a lot of people (all the guides we had said that was their favorite park) but I actually preferred our Pic Boby hike if you have limited time.

Andrew Bird: The New Saint Jude

Andrew Bird has such a range of raw talent, from songwriting to violin, it's not a surprise his newest album is another winner. This is my favorite track:

17 Years and Counting

I’m from a small town, and grew up in a bit of a bubble. Luckily, in that bubble with me was a tight circle of friends. Since the moment we left that town, these friends have spread around the country and world like dandelion seeds carried on an adventurous breeze. I’m grateful that, unlike dandelions, we regularly come back together again where we grew up, swapping plenty of stories and laughs.

I wouldn’t change these home reunions for anything, but recently those of us living far from home have also started venturing to see each other in our current habitats. Taking advantage of cheap tickets or timely work travel, we’ve been able to bridge chasms that have opened in the 11 years since we knew the daily details of each other’s lives. These have been opportunities to meet friends and girlfriends, see places only known from photos, and understand passions and daily life far better than stories can ever express.

In April, a series of work visits across India fell into place, and just in time- I managed to catch Derek on his last week in the country. He had been living in Delhi for years, teaching at a music school by day and jetting off every few months on musical outreach assignments from Sudan to Palestine to Turkmenistan.

He was a gracious host for someone wrapping up three years living somewhere. If he’d caught me at the same time in Zambia I would’ve likely been a harried wreck. I stayed in his rooftop bungalow overlooking the sprawling, smoggy mega city. In the short span of a weekend, I met his friends, listened to their music, saw his school, ate all the amazing food constantly within his reach, and visited many a ruin and rooftop.

(Rooftop sunset through the haze)

Right around that time I got a message from Thom, who’s been living in Austria, about bargain airline tickets he’d found to East Africa. Suddenly and unexpectedly, he and his girlfriend Chri had tickets into Uganda and out of Kenya, and plans to stay with us along the way. The first half of the year was very busy so their visit was quickly upon us, and by then our friend Andrew had procured himself a ticket too. Andrew lives out in California, but has close ties in the agricultural community all over East Africa after half a dozen visits to the region. This would be the third time we’d seen each other in Kenya over the past 5 years.

(Outside Nairobi, 4 years ago)

I picked the 3 of them up at the Uganda border, dusty, sweaty and bearing gifts of recycled plastic toys. Bringing them to our home was both surreal and natural. They fit right into our house, or as Andrew was camping, our lawn. With their combined travel expertise and Andrew’s impressive Swahili, they were out and about during the week exploring. Over a long weekend, all 5 of us road-tripped through the Rift Valley to see Lake Baringo in central Kenya. The lake is a paradise for bird watching, and our campsite was home to a number of friendly starlings and hornbills. A nighttime close encounter with foraging hippos also upped the excitement factor. It was too soon before they moved on from Bungoma to visit other parts of the country. They were awesome to have here even for a short time, bringing plenty of great food and good laughs with them. I look forward to many reciprocal visits in the near future!

(Overlooking Lake Baringo)

(Friendly hornbill, a little too friendly...)

(Out for a boat bird tour, malaria and giardia be damned!)

**100th blog post!**

Paul Simon: Late in the Evening

In anticipation of the impending arrival of Thom, Chri, and Andrew in Bungoma tomorrow, I'm listening to this classic and thinking about how much of life is just what you learned playing music with friends in high school.

The Adams Do East Africa

When my family visited me in Zambia over the 2012 holidays, it felt like a once in a lifetime experience. Seeing lions on Christmas Day? Spending New Years at Victoria Falls? It was such a unique and special trip for all of us. So I was pretty surprised and excited when, just a couple years later, it looked like they'd be able to come to Kenya too.

Having moved to a new region opened up the possibility of an entirely different kind of trip. Sure, Kenya is famous for its game parks and wildlife, but it also has the coast (!) and proximity to lots of other amazing places. We settled on a cross-country itinerary, that’d bring us to the beach, the rainforest, and into the maize fields of western Kenya.

Stop 1: Nairobi- no rest for the weary

When my family showed up in Nairobi, we immediately took them out on the town.  It was actually lucky they got delayed overnight in Doha, giving them at least a little time to rest. We started with the only repeat activity from Zambia: visiting an elephant orphanage. At the David Sheldrick orphanage you can get up close and personal with the elephants, and even pat them if you’re lucky. We then took animal intimacy to the next level at the Giraffe Center, where the giraffes will stick there heads inside a raised platform to collect treats (even right out of your mouth!).

Stop 2: Zanzibar- sun in the rainy season

Zanzibar, a classic East African destination, is one I’d never actually been to. My unfamiliarity showed itself from the start, with me unknowingly booking us a week there in the heart of the rainy season. No wonder all those hotels and restaurants were closed! Plans were locked in by the time I realized my error, so we went ahead, with the price discounts as a small silver lining.

In the end we got lucky and hit a stretch of beautiful weather just after they’d had a few weeks of heavy rain. Because it was the off-season we were some of the only tourists around. 

We spent our first two days on the island in Stone Town, the old section of the capital Zanzibar City. The age of this ancient city, inhabited for 500+ years, is reflected in its convoluted yet organic layout. Narrow streets, with turns every 100 feet, snake between tilting old buildings laden with shutters, porches and roof decks. Small shops and eateries spill out onto the roads, down which horse carts and scooters alternatively plod and zip. It’s a place full of history and great food, beautiful rooftop sunsets and the muezzin calls of many mosques. There’s an open-door neighborly culture, but also a hectic pace of life on the street. And it’s hot, really hot.

In addition to exploring the city, we also went for a ‘spice tour’, where we got to see how about a dozen different spices grow, including nutmeg, vanilla, cardamom and cloves. Spices used to be a major export for Zanzibar, but now a big money maker is setting up these small family owned farms growing a diverse array of spices to host tourists like us. And boy did we look like tourists by the time they were done with us!

From this clamoring seaside city we transitioned into the quieter interior and on to the eastern coast of the island. On the way, we stopped off in Jozani Forest and got up close to a family of red colubus monkeys. 

Hotel Matlai is on the southeast coast, near Pingwe, and it exceeded all our expectations. Walking in the house, we were overwhelmed with the view out the open side facing the ocean. A long pool (complete with floating pillows) stretched out from under the roof to the beach, and the low tide colors made it look like a painted scene. Because it was low season, we had the house to ourselves, and we made good use of all its lounging and reading spots. We were right on the beach, and when the tide was low we could walk far out, though the high tide hid the rocks and sea urchins and made swimming less appealing.

We went out for a few excursions on the water: once, to go snorkeling in the reef and admire the beds of giant, colorful starfish, and the next time with a fisherman to hunt octopi on the sandbar. The two we (he) caught were grilled up by the hotel for a delicious lunch. We ended our time in Zanzibar with a sail around Chwaka Bay on a traditional dhow.

(Photo cred: Sophie)

Stop 3: Kisumu- birthday city

Zanzibar and Bungoma are not close, so we decided to break up the journey with a few stops along the way. We spent our first night back in Kenya in Kisumu, where our nearest airport is located. I had a nice early birthday dinner by the lake with everyone on a beautiful evening.

Stop 4: Kakamega rainforest- featuring birds and fireside Uno games

The next day we parted ways with Emily, who returned to Bungoma ahead of us while we spent a couple nights in the rainforest at Rondo Retreat. My family enjoyed the homey feel of the place, made all the more cozy by intermittent chill and drizzle. We went for a few walks in the forest, on which we saw tons of birds and learned a thing or two about birdcalls from our expert guide. I also got to see my sister really doubt my judgment when we were surrounded by monkey calls in the pre-dawn forest darkness on our sunrise hike.

(Sunrise over the forest)

Stop 5: Bungoma- home base

The trip ended at our house in Bungoma, where we were lucky enough to be able to house everyone within our own compound. It was fun to have my family as neighbors for a couple days, and also to show them where we live and work (it’s not always easy to find the line!) Our awesome hosting staff took them on field visits to our warehouse and research center, and they had a fun Kenyan/Indian fusion dinner one night with Emily’s team. Like their visit to Zambia, it was great to be able to share many of the faces and places that make up daily life, to make everything that much more concrete and relatable.

(Squished in a tuk tuk)

In fact, the trip didn’t even end there. Although we said goodbye to Molly and my parents, Sophie stuck around Bungoma for another 2.5 weeks to do her end of high school internship. Emily linked her with a school where she occasionally helps out, and Sophie was able to set up a short term project. I was impressed with her vision to make it happen, as well as her ability to be on her own and carve out her role at the school. We also had some time to do fun things on the weekend like tubing on the Nile in Jinja, hiking in Bungoma, and exploring downtown Nairobi. Seems like she had a good time, and we really enjoyed having her (and the rest of them!) around.

(Excited about cool art projects!)

(Making friends with one of the kids living at the school)