A crowned lemur, one of the 75 species of this primate endemic to the island
They were looking for a place of legend and found Madagascar. At the end of the 17th century, when buccaneers and corsairs sailed the seas of half the world, a provencal pirate highlighted as different. Instructed in logic and mathematics, French Misson commanded a warship with a crew of 200 men and sailed the African coast under a white flag and the motto God and Freedom.
Misson was a pirate against the current: banned alcohol and profanity on board and, when they captured other ships, they freed the slaves and did not mistreat the vanquished nor did they plunder the ship completely.
By folding the Cape of Good Hope and advancing through the waters of the Indian Ocean, they came across in the north of Madagascar a bay of white sand and overflowing nature, full of fresh water springs and fertile land. The beauty of the place impressed the pirate Misson so much that he established an impossible colony there. He divided the loot equally among the crew, without differences of race, established a common language, a mixture of French, English, Portuguese, Dutch and Malagasy, and baptized the colony as Libertalia.
Baobabs in Amber Mountain National Park
Utopia did not last long : After a few years, the natives came down from the mountains, attacked them and the pirate republic was destroyed.
The myth of Libertalia has withstood the passage of time under a halo of unreality . There are those who blindly believe in its existence and others who attribute it to the fantasy of a teenager Daniel Defoe who later wrote _ Robinson Crusoe ._
There is only one thing that is indisputable: since time immemorial, Madagascar has always been an island linked to legend. Nothing is common on the African island. A place of mixture and fusion, its coasts have been influenced for centuries by Arab, French, Portuguese, Indonesian, Chinese and African sailors in a collision of cultures that make it even today a tower of Babel spilled and washed by the sea.
If a seasoned traveler unexpectedly fell from the sky into the Malagasy country , his confusion would be maximum. Is this Indonesian? Maybe Mozambican? Oman? France or Peru? Viet Nam? In Madagascar, nothing escapes fusion. The mixture of cultures, religions, traditions, cultivation techniques and even physical features, with people with slanted eyes and Asian clothing along with black skin types and African air, are the hallmark of a crossroads made into an island.
a peasant girl from the Central Highlands
its capital, Antananarivo , is a summary of this miscellaneous. Walking through the colorful markets or the steep streets of the city, in the shadow of buildings with a French colonial aroma, tin huts and hyperbolic traffic jams, the visitor tastes a thousand different cities: street stalls that offer noodles with hard-boiled eggs, oil fritters or rice cakes, fight for urban space with grills of chicken skewers or boulangeries of freshly baked French bread.
all in tana , as the locals call the city, it's a messy mess . Its characteristic taxis, Citröen two horse models either Renault 'four cans' vanilla , meander through the capital among Asian-style t_uk-tuks or herds of goats and zebus, and have just given the final touch to an overwhelming cultural cocktail.
The Malagasy capital even has, saving the distances, his own captain misson , visionary and idealist of the 21st century. Arrived from Argentina to the island almost 50 years ago, the Father Peter Opeka , half Catholic priest, half revolutionary, founded three decades ago the miracle city of akamaso a, built on a landfill on the outskirts of the capital.
Colorful street of Antananarivo, capital of the country
The septuagenarian priest himself, Nobel Peace Prize candidate , explains it this way: “I saw some children who were looking for food digging through the garbage together with rats and other vermin and I decided to act . The secret was to believe in collective work and education”.
Thanks to donations and especially the hard work of your neighbors, today Akamasoa is a set of neighborhoods with cobblestone streets , a surprising cleanliness and a self management example : It welcomes thousands of people, with decent and well-painted houses, it has its own sewage and security system, a hospital and provides schooling for more than 14,000 children. visitors are welcome : the father himself or one of his assistants gladly offer to show the neighborhoods to tourists and explain the history of a city that has defeated utopia.
But beyond the cultural diversity and miscegenation in its streets, in the natural terrain the main particularity of the fourth largest island in the world is total originality . There is no nature like Madagascar. Literal.
The island has been isolated from the rest of the world for so long – it first separated from Africa 165 million years ago and from the Indian peninsula 88 million years ago – that its ecosystem has evolved in a unique way. About 90 percent of its flora and fauna are endemic ; and walking through its natural parks, bays or islands is a spectacle of nature without equal.
Portrait of a young Malagasy man
ancient baobabs that house spirits within them, chameleons the size of a matchstick, lemurs spectral, desert islands surrounded by coral, impenetrable jungles or forests of sharp stones are the gateway to an unusual and exceptional Malagasy universe. also in danger : Erosion and indiscriminate logging threaten this jewel of the biosphere.
northern city of Antsiranana or Diego Suarez –the poor condition of the roads due to the usual cyclones makes it advisable to use internal flights for long distances– it is a good base to discover some of the main natural treasures of the island. the town itself, with the second largest bay in the world after Rio de Janeiro, nearby beaches with turquoise waters like Ramena or Sakalava, a remarkable nightlife and avenues of colonial buildings aged by the sea breeze, deserves a thorough visit.
From Diego Suárez, who owes his name to the explorers Diego Diaz and Fernan Soares , we can take a car to get closer to the Amber Mountain Park , about 40 km away, which hosts a biodiversity feast : tropical jungle, infinite waterfalls, lost lakes, tiny chameleons –if you sharpen your eyes, here it is possible to see the smallest species in the world, barely three centimeters long–, and the island's animal par excellence, the lemur
On our visit to the park, on the way to mahasarika lake, We were visited by a family of crowned lemurs thanks to the expertise of our guide, who attracted them by imitating the characteristic howl of these endemic primates of Madagascar.
The relationship of the Malagasy with their national emblem is respectful or complex depending on the case. Its name comes from the Latin term lemurs , What does it mean 'ghosts' , and that in ancient times was used to refer to to the lost souls of criminals, thieves and pirates who wandered at night. For some peoples of Madagascar, certain lemurs – there are species that weigh 30 grams and others nine kilos – they are a symbol of bad omen and for others they are sacred.
Aerial view of a small Malagasy village on the east coast of Madagascar
In reality, the relationship with the sacred, the beyond, spirits and death is a constant in Malagasy culture , which is governed by innumerable fady or taboos . These are warnings and modes of conduct of the ancestors, who remain on earth as intermediaries from the afterlife, and govern the lives of the living. Sometimes down to the last detail. Thus, there are towns in Madagascar for whom it's fady to wear red , pass an egg from one hand to the other, point a finger at a grave, touch a chameleon or bathe in a sacred river.
The complex and deep connection with nature, the world of the dead and spirits It is a constant in Malagasy culture, which strictly respects the wishes of the ancestors so as not to arouse their anger.
And when visiting the tsingy it is not difficult to imagine why. The tsingys they are a kind of stone Forests, made up of thousands of limestone or sand rock pinnacles , which carve sculptures and natural fireplaces. The magical view in the evening light of the ever-changing landscape of the Tsingy Reds of Irodo, formed in reddish sandstone, or those of the Ankarana National Park , on limestone rock, gives an idea of the deep connection Malagasy people have with nature.
The Tsingy Rojos of Irodo, in the north of the country
If the interior nature is a gift for the senses, the coast deserves a separate chapter. No one should leave Madagascar without take a good dip n. In addition to countless beaches and islands where you can do water sports or observe whales, dolphins or sea turtles , in recent months, restoration and conservation projects have been added to the hotel offer on the island, announcing a revolution in the African luxury tourism.
For those who can, and want, scratch their pockets, the setting is incomparable: the largest of the islands of the archipelago of Nosy Ankao , a paradise of turquoise waters 45 minutes by helicopter from Diego Suárez, has been home since April 2017 to the Time + Tide Miavana , a hotel made up of 14 private beachfront villas.
Built on a practically uninhabited island and hardly visited seasonally by a community of nomadic fishermen , the Miavana seeks to open a path towards the world's maximum luxury tourism. And it's not a saying: the price of the villas, with private pool, kitchen and personal service, costs between $2,600 and $15,000 per night.
In return, he does not leave a single detail loose. Beyond the remarkable offer of activities such as diving, water skiing, wakeboarding, visits to its private museum, walks on foot around the island to discover the local fauna – they just reintroduced a family of lemurs into the forest – or whale and dolphin watching outings, the magic is in the surroundings: there are few situations more impressive than watching the sunset on a paddle surf board, surrounded by manta rays, while a few meters away the neck of a curious sea turtle.
Nosy Ankao, the island of Miavana, can be reached by boat or helicopter
According to the Zimbabwean Dave Wilson , the company's chief operating officer, the fact that Time + Tide, founded by conservationist Norman Carr , has over 65 years of safari experience in Zambia, reinforces your commitment to the continent. “ In our projects, delay is important l. We look for remote places and work so that clients enjoy the extraordinary beauty of the place, but also for the development of local communities and the environmental conversation ”.
In addition to employing 250 local workers, the Miavana invests a percentage of its profits in the development of community projects and in the defense of endangered species.
And it is necessary. During a visit to a spectacular desert island nearby – probably as close to Robinson Crusoe's island as it gets – poachers had ravaged the sea turtles that lay their eggs on the beach. The subsistence of various species and the conservation of this earthly paradise depend largely on a patient work of environmental awareness and economic alternatives.
The best thing about the largest African island is that, whether traveling through it or sipping a mojito on a desert island at sunset, if you close your eyes you end up always having the same existential doubt: Does Madagascar really exist or is it a legend?
View of the island of Nosy Ankao
HOW TO GET
Turkish Airlines _(from €807) _
You have to prepare for a long trip, but approaching Madagascar is easier (and cheaper) since Turkish Airlines bet heavily on this destination with five weekly flights . In addition to Barcelona and Madrid, they offer connections from Valencia, Malaga and Bilbao.
The visa you can get it at the airport for about €30. The passport must be valid for at least six months. The poor infrastructure makes logistics on the ground difficult, so for long distances it is advisable to use internal flights and rely on a specialized agency such as Distant Lands / Lands Llunyanes , which offers routes of 15 and 24 days for small groups.
WHEN TO GO
The rainy season is from December to February and in the Malagasy winter (June to August) it can be cool in the highlands or at night. Spring and fall , when temperatures drop and the weather is drier, they are an excellent option. It is advisable to bring prophylaxis against malaria and a repellent.
Waterfall in Ankarana National Park
WHERE TO SLEEP
Miavana _(from €2,300) _
The opening a year and a half ago exclusive resort with an eco-friendly spirit put Madagascar on the map for travelers who have seen it all. It is located in a private island surrounded by protected waters and coral reefs Accessed by helicopter, it features 14 villas built from recycled material and local stone and an impressive menu of activities and sea safaris.
There are other accommodation possibilities, some for all budgets, so a good option is to let yourself be advised by experience: the agency ** Indigo Be ** offers a network of its own hotels and associated hotels throughout the island.
_*This report was published in **number 121 of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (September)**. Subscribe to the printed edition (11 printed issues and a digital version for €24.75, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website). The September issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available in its digital version to enjoy on your preferred device. _
Miavana hotel architecture detail