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We continued exploring the countryside of Madagascar as we drove from Tana to Andasibe, in the central eastern part of the island.  An approximately three-hour scenic drive on a surprisingly good road was not too bad for the 159 km distance.

The name of this hotel itself – French for seahorse – felt quite exotic.  Located close to the town of Maroantsetra in the extreme northeast of Madagascar, on the shores of the Indian Ocean, it was our gateway to Nosy Mangabe.  We stayed here for two nights.

Tropical paradise on an uninhabited small island.  Dense rainforest, majestic trees, many unusual plants.  Once home to pirates, today home to the strangest creature on earth: the aye-aye.  This is Nosy Mangabe in the northeast corner of Madagascar.

Days 6, 7, and 8 on Madagascar allowed us to get a glimpse of the north-east corner of the country with its rainforest, unique wildlife and plants, river and ocean scenery, local markets, food, vanilla, and more.

When visiting a new place, especially in a foreign country, it’s good to visit the local market to get a taste of the culture.  That’s exactly what we did in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar.  Visiting the huge and busy Analakely market was an extraordinary experience.

Picture yourself on a white-sand beach in an exotic place on a sunny afternoon.  One such place is in southeast Madagascar, on a nice peninsula in the Indian Ocean.  I would go back there at any time!

How would you feel finding yourself at the end of the world?  Fort Dauphin, the first French settlement on Madagascar, qualifies for such a place.  Let me give you a little taste of it.

After exploring the Berenty Reserve on the southernmost tip of the island, we were on the road again.  It was the fourth day of our stay on Madagascar, and we were driving back to Fort Dauphin.  We began to notice more and more people walking on the road.

Did you know where the most famous television programs and documentaries about lemurs were filmed?  We learned the answer after we got to that very place.  It’s the Berenty Reserve in southernmost Madagascar.

A fascinating countryside.  This is the short and enthusiastic description of what we saw for more than six hours in southern Madagascar as we were transported to and from Berenty Reserve, a place of famous lemurs.

There is chaos, there are merchants everywhere.  The streets are open-air markets, offering anything from clothes, shoes, hats and bags, furniture, fruits, vegetables, and meat, sacks of grains and sacks of charcoal for cooking.  Who is buying all this stuff?  Everyone is selling something.