5 Beautiful Things about Madagascar

Madagascar surprised us because the country seemed to be a combination of Africa, France, and Asia. It was (and still is) unlike any place we’ve visited. Its beauty took our breath away several times.

5. Rice

As we left the airport on our way to the capital city called Antananarivo, we saw rows and rows of rice fields. This was the first time I have ever seen rice fields, but I didn’t expect to see them on the African continent! Rice is an important part of Madagascar; for a Malagasy, we learned that a day is incomplete without rice. Many of their general greetings and small talk refer to rice in one way or another. I loved to see the bright green color of the rice all over the city and countryside.

4. Delicious pastries & baguettes

We had the most delicious tarts, mille fieulles, and other pastries in Madagascar. None are pictured because they were too delicious to last long enough. The country was once a colony of France, and the French influence is evident in the pastries and baguettes, We also went to an amazing gelato shop; the most difficult task during our time in Madagascar was choosing an ice cream flavor! We hadn’t experienced such phenomenal treats until we arrived in Madagascar.

3. Lemurs & other diverse creatures

We took a bus to Andasibe-Mantadia National Park and settled into our room for the night. I woke up early the next morning to the strangest sound I’ve ever heard – I thought I was on a different planet! I found out later that it was the sound of the lemurs. It sounded like a horn, siren, hoot, and a cry combined with the sound of a humpback whale and elephant trumpet. It’s indescribable!

We met our tour guide Dominique at 6:30am, and we walked into the park. Dominique mimicked the noise of the lemurs, and we soon saw a group of brown dancing lemurs. Their feet and hands were like hooks; their toes seemed longer than their fingers, looping completely around trees. We saw them jump gracefully and quickly from tree to tree. We continued to hike and saw the indri indri lemurs, and we witnessed how loud their hoot/howl is first hand. We saw a mom and her baby, along with many others. We saw the smallest diurnal lemur called the bambo lemur – I couldn’t believe how high up the species can climb! I also was impressed with how quickly Dominique spotted them way up in the trees.

We also saw other unusual and beautiful plants and animals. That evening, Dominique took us on a night walk where we saw 3 more species of lemurs (mouse, eastern ooly, and dwarf), two types of chameleons, unique insects, and exotic plants. The next day, we took a long car ride to the far side of the park and saw two other species of lemurs: the brown lemur and the black and white lemur. We also saw a paradise flycatcher, a crab spider, orchids, parrots, and cuckoo birds. Besides the lemurs, my favorite was the a giraffe beetle, which has a red body, long neck & head (pictured below). It was the strangest and coolest insect I’ve ever seen! Dominique spotted it under a leaf as we were riding in a car!

The diversity of the creatures in Madagascar astounded us; the country truly is a treasure.

2. Houses on hills

Our friend used a metaphor to describe the views of Antananarivo: windows of the city. There are lovely openings between buildings that reveal magical, romantic hillsides clustered with homes, churches, flowers, and trees. We saw much French influence in the architecture. As we walked around the city, we kept stopping to take photos of the “windows”, deciding that this was the most gorgeous view of the city. But at the next turn we decided the same thing…

1. The people

We had the privilege of staying with friends during part of our stay. They came and picked us up from the airport with a custom-made sign, had lively discussions as we ate home-cooked meals, and explored parts of Antananarivo with us! We had so many laughs and sweet times with them! They also helped translate from French and Malagasy to English. They also taught us the Malagasy word for thank you which phonetically is “missowcha”, and they also giggled along with us as we tried to speak very, very broken French. Their generosity blew us away.

When others ask what has been my favorite country so far, I say that each country has a unique, amazing moment that can’t be compared to any other country. However, I usually continue by saying that Madagascar has a special place in my heart, not only because of its fascinating fusion of French, Asian, and African cultures, but mainly because of the warmth and welcoming we experienced as our friends opened their homes and hearts.