We have now been home for a few days from a trip to Madagascar organized by you, which eventually turned out to be a dream trip! We actually have no words for how special and impressive our trip was. What an incredibly nice island to travel on, the people are so honest, sweet and helpful and the breathtaking landscapes and nature, which seemed to change after every bend in the road. Madagascar really is a complete picture for us, WOW!!
From start to finish, everything was arranged down to the last detail, which is quite something as a perfectionist when I say that. What an experience!! Our driver was top notch; he was able to arrange the best guides for us and that is why we spotted a lot of special animals and visited idyllic places. He brought us to the nicest and tasty places to eat (between the classrooms) (the driver even knew that I mainly only eat fish) and in consultation with us he made our wishes come true. He even arranged that I could visit the hospital in Antisirabe and that I could meet the X-ray specialist there. Because I work in NL myself, this was very special for me. I was received so warmly and I was even allowed to help with it. When I tell those stories to my colleagues here, they think it's really hilarious!
Very nice to visit villages (on the advice of our driver) and to see the local very creative people performing their crafts there. In Ifaty we stayed in the trendy Princesse du Lagon, which was absolutely great. Delicious meals and live performances from the Malagassy 'band'!
There we spotted the whales, how cool was that! With a local fisherman, in the early morning, out with his homemade sailboat and see how he catches the fish, so wonderful to see how the people live. And we went with the waiter of Princesse du Lagon to the local 'disco' to swing there until the small hours with the other villagers, what a conviviality and cheerfulness. The following days we were recognized by many on the beach of Ifaty. This was also a place to completely relax and enjoy the beautiful sunsets!
All the accommodations we visited met our expectations: clean, comfortable and quiet, with the highlights being Andasibe Forest Lodge, Coloeur Café with fireplace in the room, Satrana Lodge (where everything was right) and Princesse du Lagon.
Our wish is to definitely go back and then discover the beauty of the west and north of Madagascar. Hopefully that will come true for us again!
Thanks again for everything!
Greetings from Mathijs Oomen & Ingrid from Sweden