28th post - Goodbye Madagascar

The last day in Mada has begun :(

We met with Michel again for breakfast and then discussed the past trip a little over dinner. At the same time we met our guide for today's old town tour of Antananarivo .

We went there straight after coffee and it was really very interesting. We were able to see the different architectural styles throughout the centuries, the Royal Palace and some other highlights. The old town is the richer part of Tana, and that was clear in my opinion.

We therefore took a detour to a somewhat poorer area so as not to take the wrong impression home with us. That was really very impressive again. After about 3 hours of guiding, we arrived back at the hotel slightly red.

There we finally packed up our things and went out for some ice cream - Nina had been craving it the whole trip. However, it's usually not that easy to get some here because the cooling would be far too expensive. The ice cream here was even better!

We then quickly went to a souvenir shop to get the last gifts for our loved ones. Then Michel suddenly disappeared there for some time and we didn't know where to go, but the secret was soon to be revealed...

We were really lucky on the way to the airport because there weren't nearly as many traffic jams as the day before. The big farewell to Michel was at the airport. But first he took a small brown box out of the car and handed it to me with a big grin. So I opened it and found: a tiny little turtle!! While we were in the gift shop, he drove to his house to pick up the little one. Of course he knows that I had developed a turtle fable and really wanted to show me this mini turtle species. Sooooo cute! Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take them with me :D

We then all hugged each other and went to check-in. Everything went smoothly there, so we bought something to eat and waited for the flight to take off. First I had to say goodbye to Edi because he was taking a flight to Mauritius. The three of us then waited for our plane, which was unfortunately delayed by an hour due to the weather.

Of course, at some point we also took off and were expected by Tobias at the airport after a 1.5 hour flight. He was so kind and picked us up because there are no buses at that hour.

I have to be honest, it's an incredibly strange feeling to come back from vacation and somehow still not be home...

Conclusion Madagascar

I enjoyed this trip incredibly much.

It started out exciting in itself, as I didn't know much about Madagascar before, nor did I know our guide, nor did I really know my fellow travelers. Many uncertain aspects that I simply got involved in - with success!

Madagascar is a diverse and fascinating country. As the second poorest country in the world, you see a lot of suffering and poverty, la misère . That was sometimes difficult for me to bear, but there's nothing you can do. Long-term help cannot be provided by one person. I kept telling myself that. I found it very interesting that the people here seem quite happy, they help each other and respect each other. They share what little they have. And they were very open-minded and friendly towards us tourists, which made me very happy. I didn't want to be perceived as a "rich white egotist."

Nevertheless, it was sometimes very clear that completely different cultures meet here. A man traveling with three women and none of them are his girlfriend? And everyone always sleeps in the same room, sometimes in the same bed? Absolutely unthinkable here. And we heard that often. However, I was very fascinated by the culture and language of Madagascar and I would like to continue exploring it.

The landscape was also breathtaking. It was a big contrast to La Réunion , just in size. It's been a long time since I've been able to look so far without seeing the sea. It was also very varied, it felt like you were in a completely different environment every 100km. Jungle, desert, stone, beach, ... Simply fantastic!

I definitely want to go there again (or several times...) because it has a magic all of its own. I'm also still missing the north and the east, and I'd like to see that. But only when I can say more than Mora Mora , Salama and Misaotra :D Then I would like to go on less of a luxury holiday and be more with the people there, because this distance between me and them often felt a little wrong to me.

It is a land of ambivalence, diversity, discovery and life - a second Ile Intense !