What is a place we should go that we might not think of, we asked a Scottish naturalist on a French Ship sailing off the coast of Antarctica? His answer, Madagascar. Why? It’s amazing biodiversity, endemic plant and animal species. More than 11,000 plant species, like baobab trees. 95% of its reptiles and 92% of its mammals exist nowhere else on earth. Things like lemurs.

It is beautiful, lush rainforests, waterfalls, lemurs in the tree canopy, chameleons or myriad sizes and colors, birds. But for all its natural beauty, it is an extraordinarily poor country. One of our travel companions who has been all over the world, was taken aback by the poverty. Despite its beauty and environmental riches, it is the sixth poorest country in the world as measured by GDP per capita.

 Educational moment (My academic background is economics and business so….) Madagascar’s poverty is largely due to a combination of factors including political instability, poor governance, and a lack of infrastructure. Since gaining independence in 1960, the country’s per capita income has declined by 45%, and the share of the population living below the national poverty line has increased from 72.5% in 2012 to 75.2% in 2022. The private sector in Madagascar is small and uncompetitive, with low levels of investment, which hampers job creation and economic growth Additionally, more than 90% of the working-age population is engaged in subsistence agriculture and informal services, leading to low productivity and high poverty rates in rural areas. There is hope for the future but breaking the cycle of corruption and poverty will not be easy.

Ok, back to our travels.

We stopped in Antisiranana, at the north end of the island and visited Montagne d’Ambre National Park. At an elevation of around 3,000 above sea level it is home to waterfalls, mongoose, a bunch of chameleons and lemurs.

Unfortunately, it ended up being our only stop in Madagascar. Our planned visit to Talagnaro coincided with the arrival of tropical storm Dikeledi. It won. We hang out on Reunion Island for an extra day to let it get out of the way and proceeded on toward South Africa. Our friends on a Ponant expedition have posted so many lemur photos we are quite jealous! We will just have to plan another visit.