Antsirabe
In Antrsirabe, we switched from the bus to 4-wheel-drive cars, 3 people per car plus a local driver. There are 2 official languages in Madagascar: French and Malagasy. English is not widely-spoken. Only one person in our group spoke French. He helped to interpret. In our car, we did not have a common language to communicate with the driver. We used more gestures than words. However, there was no misunderstanding between us.
We were going to the Avenue of the Baobabs. When we got close, the scenery was so astounding that the driver seeing how impressed we were pulled over at the very first tree. We got out of the car and began taking photos. The group walked to the end of the Avenue stopping to take countless pictures. There are thousands of Baobabs in Madagascar but here they lined up along the road making a truly impressive sight.
The baobab can live up to 1000 years and longer. The tree is practically impossible to kill. You can cut large pieces of bark of it – the bark will grow back. It does not burn and can withstand wildfires. Even a fallen tree will grow new sprouts. The trunk is empty inside. During the wet season, the baobab tree absorbs and stores water in its trunk expanding it. In the dry season, the trunk shrinks.
The baobab is called ‘the tree that grows with the roots up’. There are many myths and stories that explain this name. In the nutshell, they all about the Creator getting tired of the baobab’s complains or arrogance. The Creator yanked the tree out the earth and replanted it upside down.
After the Avenue, we spent hours driving on a dusty road that was like a washboard. The car dove down and climbed up while driver swiveled it from side to side to avoid potholes. The drivers were true pros and none of them liked to be in the rear. They raced each other with such zest that they would make great competitors in the Paris-Dakar Rally. Our driver managed to get ahead of the pack and we were grateful for that – we could roll down the windows and did not have to breathe the dust from the other cars. The car had a/c and the driver turned it on when it became too unbearable but without dust, he preferred to drive without a/c. He cared a great deal about his car and wiped it clean at every stop.
We took the ferry to cross the river, had lunch on the other river bank and rode again.
It was late when we reached our destination. Now, our accommodation was simple bungalows. We would stay in them for the rest of our 2-week trip until we were back to Antananarivo. There is no electricity in this area. The power comes from a generator and we could only have 2 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening. Theoretically, WiFi was provided but the signal was only in the dining area, it was weak and kept going off.
