Andapa

Andapa is the only of the four major towns in SAVA region to be situated away from the Indian ocean 100 km southwest of Sambava. It has around 30.000 inhabitants of whom 90% are farmers, mainly cultivating rice. The place is ideal for that because of its location at the eponymous basin to where all the rivers from Marojejy mountains flow. Andapa is a buzzling little town with market stalls along nearly all streets, and the “white hill” at its edge, from where you have great views over the whole basin. Following my own experience of staying in Andapa, it might be not advisable to be there on Saturday. It´s possible that the whole town will turn into the disco from hell literally all night long. Continue…

Tuk-Tuk stop

Near Sambava, Madagascar/Madagaskar

Muddy waters

Lower Zambezi, Zambia/Sambia

Marojejy

A good 60 km southwest of Sambava lies Marojejy National Park in the eponymous Massif de Marojejy, a mountain range with its highest point at 2.132 m altitude. Those mountains are covered by dense rainforest as well as montane rainforest and cloud forest on the higher levels, and the forest is one of the top hotspots of biodiversity left on our ravaged planet. The national park protects more than 55.000 ha of it and has been gazetted in 1998 after already being a protected area since 1952. In 2007, it has been declared world heritage site by UNESCO as a part of the Antsinanana rainforests. Continue…

Overlooking the chaos – Herr über das Chaos

Lake Nkuruba, Uganda

Contemplating – Sinnierend

North of Sambava, Madagascar/Madagaskar

Vola Maitso, Bemarivo river & Soavoanio Coconut plantation – Vola Maitso, der Bemarivo-Fluss und die Soavoanio Kokosnuss-Plantage

Vola Maitso is a cooperative of farmers growing and selling cocoa, vanilla, pepper, cloves, coconuts, and fruits in a picturesque landscape a few kilometres north of Sambava. They practice a sustainable form of agriculture, combining the cultivation of different plants in an ecological way – without chopping off trees till there is nothing left. Unfortunately, the SAVA region in Madagascar´s northeast is also a victim of global climate change. This year had too much rain and too few sunny days, so the cocoa beans had to dry mainly in interior storage rooms which made them brighter than normal. Continue…

Yellow house – Gelbes Haus

Antsirabe Nord, Madagascar/Madagaskar

Domaine d’Ambohimanitra

Domaine d’Ambohimanitra is a vanilla plantation 50 km south of Sambava, only a stone´s throw from the Indian ocean, and the name means “hill of perfume”. Not only do they produce vanilla for sale but also for educational as well as touristic purposes. They grow various types of vanilla, starting with Mexicaine, the original species from Latin America. Beyond vanilla, they also produce cloves, ravintsara, cinnamon and allspice. Continue…

Vitamins – Vitamine

Uganda