ANTANANARIVO, MADAGASCAR

 

A TRIP BACK IN TIME INTO THE MEXICO OF MY CHILDHOOD OR BETTER SAID, TANA IN MADAGASCAR

 

Antananarivo or Tana for the family, is the capital of Madagascar, a great island in all senses, by its size and its unique features, in its fauna and flora which are unique, since for the last 165 million years, give or take a couple of them,

Sculpture – Tin transport, Tana

it has been separated from Terra Firma, from Africa from which it got separated, and so animals and plants have had time to evolve and adapt to their environment without “contamination”. It is also known as the Red Island, since most of the soil is red, most surely due to its mineral content. It also has many points of interest, mostly in the nature of things, such as the Tsingy, some kind of stone forest, also beautiful beaches and of course the lemurs of many colours, sizes and styles. All these made of Mada a paradise on earth but where the apples are expensive, the clothing for Adams and Eves is also expensive and even the food can be pricy. It is or was when I visited one of the poorest counties on the planet, but the people are surely even now some of the kindest of the planet.

I travelled to Mada in a group, as on my own it was impossible, among other things and not the least was the cost. In a group it was not cheap but alone, having to hire a car, driver-guide, paying for both of us on my own, would have been too much. However, before touring Mada I had three days in Tana on my own, in order to discover the capital. Upon arrival, the first thing is you are warned is to be very careful, do not trust even your shadow, do not speak with strangers, do not go out at night and even during daytime only to heavily populated areas, if you have a camera, of course, hide it, which in itself is not very practical if you want to take photos, and in short you are told Tana is a paradise for thieves and swindlers, but since this is not the only city in the world with these problems, and since I know at least one or two like that, I was less frightened and as soon as possible got a map of Tana, found my reference points and started walking. My hotel, that looked like an old residence in the middle class area of Mexico City, early XX century, with little twisted corridors, nicely decorated rooms, old or antique furniture, was also located in an area that could have been middle class of Mexico, such as the Colonia Roma, for those of you that know the city. Narrow curbsides, narrow streets and since Tana is in hilly area, you go up and down constantly. Walking almost without a specific aim, the almost being the key word, I arrived to one of the main squares of the city, noisy and full of people, a greatly animated place since it was market day.

 

 

So walking along those little twisted streets in the market area I could see again what I had known in my childhood and youth…. Somewhat long time ago, when I used to go with my father to the old centre of Mexico City to know what had been the colonial era buildings, an area that had become rather derelict and poor and that my father had known during his childhood and youth. He wanted to share it with me, I believe in part so that I realize that not all is fine and dandy in life and that there are many people in the world that lived in poverty or less well off that we did. He taught me that whenever I complained of something really bad, in my opinion, I only had to look downwards to realize that what I consider really bad and unbearable was not so, others, many others were in far worse situation and that I should complain really when the situation was very difficult or insurmountable. Here I could add something I learnt as being Confucius saying in the sense that if you have a problem, do not complain, work to solve it. If your problem can be solved, it is no longer a problem, and if it cannot be solved, it is no longer a problem either, it is a situation, learn to live with it! That is enough or relatively cheap philosophy and back to Tana.

 

 

Tana as I said, reminded me of the old neighbourhoods of Mexico City, old big houses more or less unkept, smells not always roses and lavender, the colours of the clothes and of many wares in the market, vibrant and shinny, but also gray and faded because they had been washed many times or not washed at all, whichever. The stalls of fruits and vegetables, like in most countries where open air markets exists, a symphony of colour that salesmen know how to show to attract customers, shinny metal ware or earthenware just waiting for the cooks that know how to make them yield that great flavour or that give water a unique taste of freshness.

 

I have been an avid stamp collector for many years, mainly from those countries I have visited, as it is a way to keep memories of my visits, and Mada was not to be an exception, so I located the central Post office in my map and there I go. Not easy to find but finally I made I t to the window that sold stamps and asked them to show me those available in order to choose some. There were not many one of them was very pretty but they only had photocopies and not the real printed stamp. However they assured me that if I bought it and used it for a postcard or letter, it would be sent without problem. So I did and the postcard did arrive, rather slow as if it had swam all the way to Europe, but finally made it.

Continuing with my discovery of Tana, map in hand I walked to the top of the hill overlooking the city, where the old imperial palace or Rova is located. When I visited it was falling apart but it certainly must have been magnificent and with great panoramic views. Upon arrival of course the palace was closed, but also of course, there were some kids that for a small fee could get you into the palace and even guide you and explain its history. I paid my small fee and once inside realized it must have been the regular system, as the place was full of tourists, all of them with their young guides and happy for that. I was shown the main rooms, the kitchens, service areas and also the rooms that had been reserved for the king and his immediate family. Once we finished the visit of the Rova, downhill we found the Cathedral, rather new building but also closed, it was near noon, lunchtime.

 

One of the things that had made me visit Mada was its lemurs, so just in case I would not be able to see them in their natural habitat during my travels in Mada, I asked my guides if there was a zoo in Tana and if it had lemurs. The answer was yes to both questions and so we took a taxi, as it was not very close by. Once at the zoo, I realized it was more than that, it was an ethnological and botanical garden also. The first thing I saw were the different styles of housing in the island, depending on the location, altitude and the like, and also the many different types of palm trees in Mada, all kinds big, small, dwarf, full of leaves or sparse, etc. In the lake there were many aquatic plants and basically since the plants and animals of Mada have not been “contaminated” from the outside world, they tend to be unique. By the lake there was a little stall with food, so I invited my guides for lunch, and we had lots of fun. They chose some local and great looking food but me, typical chicken tourist, decided to go on the safe side and chose two small bags of peanuts and a universal soda drink, as the last thing I wanted was to catch a “tourista” two days before starting my trip around Mada. The lunch was great as they told me a lot about their interesting short lives, the school, family etc. Finally we made it to the animals enclosures where you could find from goats to camels, but what I was looking for were the lemurs, and there they were, some 10 different types with ringed tales, or plain ones, long ears or short, with “glasses” or plain faces etc. and if you want to see all the possibilities, the best is to search an encyclopaedia – on line or printed. For me it was great, I had seen them and if later on I saw them in their natural habitat, it would be an advantage. All visitors, locals or foreigners alike were fascinated with the lemurs and later on I learned that the cruises that touch Tana take the tourists to the zoo, as they do not have the time to make them visit the natural habitat, somehow remote.

 

After the zoo I parted company of my guides and the following day joined the group to travel through the Red Island, which was fascinating, incredible landscapes, fauna and flora unique in many instances, poor countryside but extraordinarily kind and friendly people, always willing to help and smiling all the time. The trip was done in 4×4 cars that although practical, were not the best for comfort, they were loaded to the tilt, as we had to take everything with us, from spare tires, tents, kitchen utensils, food and tourists with their suitcases and the like. We visited towns big and small, the Tsiguys which deserve a story on their own, canoe trips, crossing of rivers in skiffs, etc. etc. so when we returned to Tana, we only made it to the airport and that was it for Tana and for Mada, but not for the interest in this country that lacks many material things, but has a great richness in its people.