Vatomandry

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

Whereas Majunga and vicinity was mango-land, the area around Vatomandry (birthplace of former president Ratsiraka) is lychee-land.

Vatomandry
Vatomandry
You can grab them off the tree just like that. They're delicious! The whole area is not so tourist-explored yet because the road to Vatomandry is fairly new. People walk in the main street as if cars are unknown to them. It's the only town with bike rickshaws to my knowledge. In general, everyone seems to have bikes these days. Even in the most remote areas, bikes have become common in the last few years (apparently, they're manufactured by the Chinese). It's funny how the "moramora" principle applies here, too: At times, you can even pass a bike while walking. There is no rush.

The beach is nice and empty as usual. The currents are strong, though. The city is clean and the people are relaxed and genuinly nice. We had some great food at the bungalow hotel restaurant we were staying at. We left the next morning.

If you continue 80km to Mahanoro, there's more to see such as caves and waterfalls but we had appointments in the capital so we had to get back soon. Again, six hours through winding roads and rainforest hills and we're now back in Tana.

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