Mozambique Strait
The East coast is quite different from West. It is humid and even cold here. I slept under a thick blanket. Before that on the West coast, a thin sheet was enough and I kept the windows open through the night. It is a lot greener here and the population is not as poor as in the arid western areas.
Even the ethnic groups look differently although all of them are descendants of Indonesians who sailed across the Indian Ocean to the island about 1500 years ago. Despite Madagascar’s proximity to the African continent, the Malagasy people are not Africans. They have pleasant regular facial features and a slim build.
The almost total absence of elderly people is striking as well as the number of small children. Statistical data show that about 60% of the population is younger than 20 and the average Malagasy woman gives birth 5 times in her lifetime. The local women wear traditional skirts that are a piece of colorful fabric tied around the waistline. This is very practical when the waistline frequently changes. I bought a traditional skirt at a market as a souvenir. The woman who was selling the skirts deftly put it on me and tied the ends to show how to wear my skirt.
Only 20% of the population in Madagascar lives in the urban environment and a city here is any settlement with 3000 or more residents. This means that the majority lives in rural areas spread over a large territory far from schools, shops, and healthcare facilities. Going to the nearest market, say, to sell a pig requires walking barefoot several kilometers. We often drove pass such groups of people walking along the dusty road. A pig trotted in front of the group followed by its owners or they were going back to the village carrying baskets with purchases on their heads. The sun sat long time ago but everyone walked unhurriedly. They would not get lost in the pitch darkness and would not be late.
Despite such seemingly deplorable condition, the Malagasy do not starve. The live off the land as many generations before them. They fish and hunt, keep poultry, gather edible plants and fruit. The kids look plump and happy. The locals smile a lot. They gladly accept presents and rarely beg although any item here is valuable. If an empty water bottle is trash in other countries, in Madagascar it is a useful object, they are sold and bought at the market.
Anyway, we got to the East coast almost a day later than planned. The Indian Ocean was stormy, we could not go for a swim. So, we enjoyed a couple of hours on the beach and moved on.
