Today we set out to visit Morondava on the west coast of Madagascar. People had cautioned me against going here, saying it was dirty, to be very careful of what and where you eat, and that it wouldn’t be much fun. However, I really wanted to see the baobab trees, and this was the place to do it. There are 7 types of baobab trees in Madagascar, and the Morondava area has 3 of them, and quite a number of them. I am extremely glad I went. I ended up taking 375 photos during the 1 day we spent here, burning through 2 camera batteries (good thing I brought my charger). The town was dirty, but the food was fine at the hotel, and the rooms were clean and the air conditioning worked well in the room.
Getting to Morondava
We caught a mid-day flight to Morondava, which is about 1 hour flying time on a very nice 72 seat propeller plane. Fairly new and with leather seats. They even served lunch, which I didn’t expect since the flight was only 1 hour.
As we flew from Antananarivo to Morondava, the landscaped changed dramatically. The capital city of Tana is set in the mountains in the interior of the country, filled with hills, valleys and winding rivers. Morondava is a coastal city that is flat and with very different vegetation, including the baobab trees that we flew here to see.
Shown here is a river in the mountains taken from the plane. Notice the red colour of the water.
Here is the landscape as seen from the plane, just outside of Morondava.
When we landed in Morondava, it was 35ºC before counting the high humidity, and the sun was very strong. I’m just not used to this kind of heat, and nothing here is air conditioned, except for our hotel room. I put on a hat and lots of sunscreen when we got to the hotel.
Below are some photos taken at the airport in Morondava. This is a very small airport. Once they loaded the baggage on the single conveyor belt next to the tarmac, the plane very quickly taxied out to the runway and left. I think they only have the one flight in and out of here per day.
Here is a view of our plane taken frm the baggage claim area in the Morondava airport.
Here is the baggage claim area. Just a simple conveyer belt from the outside into the terminal.
We were met by our prearraged transfer to the hotel. The guy from the hotel who met us at the airport, was also our guide who would take us out to see the baobab trees later that afternoon and evening. Here are a few photos on route to our hotel.
Our guide and his 4WD truck…
Off the main street of Morondava…
View of the ocean (actually the Mozambique Channel; the Indian Ocean is the other side of Madagascar)…
Entrance to our hotel, the Baobab Café…
Below are some photos of the hotel. Nice place in the middle of a very poor and dirty town. Shown here is the main entrance to the hotel.
View of the pool from our room balcony… I hope the coconuts don’t fall in the pool.
Another view from our balcony. The hotel backs on to the river. The ocean is across the street.
Having a drink in the dining area…
Watching a local fisherman paddle by the resort on the river…
Visiting the Baobab Trees
Our guide then drove us out to visit the baobab trees. Below are some scenes of the town while driving out to the country. The famous Alée des Baobabs is about 15 km northwest of Morondava.
Here is a typical street in the town of Morondava…
Buying a bottle water at a local store…
Carrying a really big fish through the town…
A main street in Morondava. I think the only one that’s paved, though not in good shape…
Continuing out of town. Note the poor pavement that is typical, where pavement exists.
A small bridge outside of town…
Typical road outside of town. Notice the red colour of the sand that you see everywhere.
The local villagers who live out by the baobab trees are very friendly. Although these people have nothing and live in dirty huts made of sticks, they seem very happy with their lives. The children frequently ask to have their photo taken. Nadine can communicate with these villagers as the dialect of Malagasy that she speaks is close enough to what these people speak. Here is Nadine with some village children.
Some village children posing for a photo…
Here are some photos of the baobab trees. Note to dad… I think you would have loved this portion of the trip. You probably would have complained about the heat, but otherwise I think you’d like it.
This is me standing next to the Baobab Twins…
Eating the fruit of the Baobab tree… It’s very sour!
Continuing up the road…
Tombs next to the Baobabs…
Baobab Lovers…
Road to the Baobab Lovers…
Getting close to sunset, the red becomes more vibrant.
Alée des Baobabs…
Zebu moving through a neighbouring field…
More Alée des Baobabs…
Village hut along the Alée des Baobabs…
Dave and Nadine in the Alée des Baobabs…
Alée des Baobabs at sunset…
Baobabs after sunset…
We then returned to our hotel after sunset. I’m glad I wasn’t driving, as dodging all of those potholes, people and zebu carts under cover of darkness looked like a challenge. Anyway, we made it back to the hotel and enjoyed a nice dinner on the patio. Even at night, this place is very hot and humid. What I can’t understand is that at the table next to us were two Japanese girls, wearing long pants, long sleeves and a heavy scarf–all ready for a cold winter night! I didn’t get a picture as we left the camera back in the room on the battery charger during dinner. The temperature even at night was about 32, felt like 45 with the humidity, and there was absolutely no breeze. We then returned to the comfort of our air conditioned room for the evening.