Resuming discussions and returning to Madagascar (page 2 of 2)

I don’t have tons of photos, and on top of that, I’m not a great photographer.

But here are a few shots of the Haute Ville (Tanana Ambony beyond the cathedral and past the little market that leads to the stairs and the old town).

I’ve got a thing for rooftops and their little tiles that remind me of the lauze roofs in the Massif Central, but also all the little details in the woodwork of varangues or roof decorations. The intertwining of streets, the different levels of houses where a ground floor sometimes meets a varangue due to the slope, the views, and the many historic buildings make the upper town of Fianar a surprising, peaceful, and charming neighborhood.

The intricate layouts are a great opportunity to capture little or big slices of life—à la Bruegel, you can spend hours jumping from a household chore to a child’s game, from a lively discussion to kids coming home from school, from a noisy flock of ducks to a makeshift kite...

But a few more photos and I’ll stop, otherwise this might turn into a slideshow evening...

The architecture of the highlands still has some beautiful remnants—Tana, Ambalavao, so many villages. Let’s hope they’re preserved, along with all those fascinating roof details. For flat tiles, I’d lean more toward Burgundy or the Périgord. In Auvergne, the *lauze* or slate is black due to its volcanic origin, and the tiles are hollow, Roman-style. (I’m from Auvergne!)

Ambalavao is clearly stunning too.

Bourgogne makes way more sense as a comparison. As for the *lauzes*, since I’m not from the area, I might’ve gotten carried away based on old memories that turned out to be "falsified."

Hello, after 45 days on these tracks—because we can’t really call them roads—major works are underway between AMBANJA and Diego. COLAS is working flat out. If things continue like this, it’ll be tip-top, provided no cyclone hits too soon. As for the broken bridges, the temporary ones in place are doing the job. Traffic is manageable as long as there isn’t too much water.

45 grueling but incredibly beautiful days. The Tana/Diego route is extraordinary in terms of landscapes and the people, who were surprised to see a group of *vazahas* preferring the road over flying and local *hotelys* at noon instead of fancier restaurants. Just to note: 45 days with a group of 11, and not a single person got sick (except for 2 short-lived medication intolerances). Accommodations varied from bivouacs and very rustic places without water or electricity to simple but comfortable small hotels. Everywhere we ate really well, and we always had access to bottled water and cold THB. At no point did we feel unsafe. Our guide Tina, the same one since 2003, delivered once again.

Can’t wait for our next project—this time, Fort Dauphin!

Dare to explore Madagascar, step out of your comfort zone for a moment, and live in the present in a country where time doesn’t matter. We’ve just returned and are ready to share some objective info

Thanks for this enthusiasm and invitation to travel!

Why not start a discussion and create a travel journal covering the highlights (or not) of your stay, along with any tips you’d like to share? Or simply share your emotions—it sounds like joy and satisfaction are in the air!

The forum is still a bit empty and not very active, so a new discussion wouldn’t hurt.

😉

Thanks for these photos—honestly, it doesn’t feel like one of those slide-show evenings where compliments are mandatory. Why not start a separate thread dedicated to Fianar? Apparently, this city is underrated (starting with me).

Hi there, thanks for the update! Why not start a new thread to expand on this a bit? I don’t know this region at all, and I’m sure other members would be interested too. Edit: Just read Rotsaka’s message... 😉

I might (re)do it. Since it’s kind of like home, I don’t really think of it as traveling. 😉