Morning on Avenue of the Baobabs near Morondava
Our seventh stop in Madagascar was out on the west coast, two nights in the little beach town of Morondava. There’s not a lot to say about the town; for us it was mostly just a way-station on the way to Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, one of those UNESCO-recognized sites we like. And then to make it more difficult to say much about Morondava, I managed to get nasty sick, something I ate or drank, the first night here. As a result our one full day here consisted of me lying in bed, miserable.
This isn’t the most flattering picture of Morondava ever, but it captures a piece of the town well. To be fair part of the town is ever-so-slightly touristy, reflecting a down-scale beach town, but there was more of this.
The one notable site here was maybe 30 minutes out of town as we headed north to the park. Avenue of the Baobabs is this iconic stretch of road (dirt road, as it would all be on the journey north) lined with baobab trees. Perhaps the most photographed place in all of Madagascar, Avenue of the Baobabs creates an almost magical image of these unusual, endemic trees that can be thousands of years old. To be honest it doesn’t take long to appreciate them; a 15-minute stop on the road is all you need. But definitely worth seeing.
Otherwise here’s a few pictures of the area. Teaser: there’ll be a lot more from Tsingy de Bemaraha when we get that posted!
Our home in Morondava at the Palissandre Côte Ouest. You walked right out onto the sand but I never actually made it to the beach. In part that was because I was sick, but even more it was because the beach itself – that is, the place where the water hits the sand – was probably a quarter mile away. Definitely the deepest beach we’ve ever seen.
Colorful fishing boats on the edge of town
This is the tourist stretch in Morondava, a little nicer than the rest of town
A view of the beach from near our room
Sunset across the beach
Baobabs out across the fields
One tall baobab
More baobabs