From Lemurs, Baobab trees, stunning national parks, and swimming with whale sharks. To crazy off-roading with bandits on the loose, and getting to know a beautiful culture, Madagascar was by far the most unexpected country we’ve been too. Growing up the only thing I’ve ever heard about Madagascar was of course the Disney movie. Although those stereotypes do exist, that only captures a fragment of this country. We spent 9 days driving from the East coast of Madagascar to the West, and the villages, the poverty, and the people we met and saw was mind blowing. I’ve never witnessed a level of poverty where children can’t afford clothes, hundreds of people are living in makeshift homes from natural materials, people turning almost savage for the chance to get a piece of candy or an empty bottle, and where most can’t even afford to send their children to school. However, I’ve also never witnessed a truer form of joy, especially as we made our way into deep poverty stricken villages. People of all ages eagerly waved as you passed through, children raced out to the cars to say hi, give you a high five, simply smile at you, or even teach you their local dances (the zebu stealer dance was my favorite). Everything about this country was unbelievable and I knew from the second we landed this was an area I wanted to explore.
