Madagascar Part 4 — Curtis & Verle

There are many unique memories but I will briefly describe some of them.

First and foremost are the lemurs which are indigenous only to Madagascar. We saw them in the wild in the ecological area and also in captivity.

A visit to a very large palm plantation included a walking tour of the palm oil production from the forest to the production line and finally to the many products derived from the palm nuts. A very large number of these nuts grow in clusters on the palm trees. The plantation also included many other plants grown without pesticides etc.

The evening of Valentine’s Day we enjoyed a dinner with family and friends at Ocean 501. This is an open air restaurant on the shore of the Indian Ocean. The light from the ice moon that evening shimmered on the waves of the ocean. A breathtaking sight.

One weekend was spent at Foule Point, a resort located behind a large coral reef two kilometers out in the ocean. On the coast the only place reasonably safe to swim is behind a reef. Otherwise the undertow takes over and your next stop is a long way across the ocean to India, that is if the sharks do not get you first. Even behind the reef there was a significant pull. We only stayed in the water to say we had been there.

We spent the weekend at our beach house and on the beach enjoying the many vendors and the company of our group. Everything from live turtles to massages were available from the vendors. Curtis and I had a massage and another had her hair French-braided. A delicious lobster lunch which consisted of one large lobster per person plus shrimp and potatoes was served on the beach.

On the final weekend we enjoyed a boat tour on the canal. The boat was powered but we had to pay first so the operator could go to buy fuel. We witnessed rocks being pulverized by hand for road construction, diving for sand to make cement, perogues which are the boats the Malagasy makes by hollowing out logs, loads of charcoal being transported to the city and many locales bathing and swimming in the canal. The charcoal is produced in the rural areas and is the main cooking fuel for their small hibachi-like stoves.

On our flight home we were able to see the lava flow of Mt. Etna on the island of Sicily from about 7 miles up. The picture is not good so not included but the sight was awesome.

Our holiday ended in London where we spent for two days. We stayed at the Rose Park Hotel near Paddington Station. The express train to Heathrow stops at this station.

While in London we toured a very small portion of the Albert and Victoria Museum. The building is large and six stories so it would take a week to see it all.

This is the last written information. The final post will be a colorful, pictorial finale.

Curtis and I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into our amazing travel experience.

See also Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Madagascar Part 1 — Curtis & Verle

January 26 to February 21 Curtis and I experienced a trip of a lifetime to visit our son, Clinton, and his wife, Joan, in Madagascar. They have lived there for four years as Clinton is one of the managers at the nickel refinery that was under construction and is now producing nickel.

The posts that will appear over a period of time will give readers a glimpse of our experiences. However, no words can fully explain what we learned from and feel about this opportunity.

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These pictures span 24 hours flight time, airport lounges, security checks, high-speed trains, Chunnel Eurostar, and numerous underground rides. The Eurostar was a two-hour journey but only 20 minutes under the English Channel.

We left Edmonton on Sunday and arrived at Tamatave on Friday. Two days were spent recuperating on Reunion Island. Eventually we arrived at the Tamatave airport in Madagascar.

It is like no airport we have ever experienced. Tamatave is a city of about 3 million on the eastern shore of Madagascar. Clinton and Joan reside at Ambatovy, the nickel refinery site about 10 miles from the city. Tamatave is also a large port city.

A mix up of arrival times found us waiting in the outdoor lounge of the airport in 37C heat for 3 hours. Picture this. We did not know the local prefix for the phone number and only had enough ariary currency for two bottles of water. Numerous native taxi drivers were hovering for a fare. Finally a native who spoke a few words of English was able to provide the proper prefix.

Our son’s red face and endless ribbing of his co-workers for leaving his parents stranded at the airport at the mercy of Malagasy culture will linger for awhile.

The problem was that Clinton has always arrived on the Tuesday plane which does arrive at 12:30. We were on the Friday one that arrives at 9:30. Assumptions triumphed over the printed itinerary.

To be continued …

Click any photo to see a slide show.