Vacation - from an outsider's perspective

Ok, so for an entry on the vacation, I decided to turn it over to Matt and have him talk about it, so you can get the perspective of a visitor to Madagascar. It was interesting to see how I've changed the past few months through having him here and seeing how he responded to things that don't even faze me anymore; things that i dont even think about anymore because they are so routine, like latrines, bad roads, spending hours driving distances that would take a fraction of the time in the U.S., rice for breakfast, bucket baths, raw, uncovered meat on display at the market... I have changed and it was absolutely wonderful to share part of this experience that will affect the rest of my life with him. So, more from me another time. Here's what he had to say:


I would like to start with a bit of an introduction; my name is Matt Klinkner and I hail from Kalamazoo, Michigan. I’m extremely fortunate to be Karista’s boyfriend, and it has been quite an adventure so far.
This trip was one of many firsts for me. For starters the only time I have ever flown was in a small two-passenger airplane over corn fields in the Upper Peninsula. Going 10,000 plus miles half way around the world? Why not. Go big or stay home I guess. That being said I have never been out of the country either; I’ve been to Canada a couple times, but in my book that doesn’t count as it’s practically the 51st state. Then there were things such as bucket baths and chamber pots, but I’ll touch on those later.
Chicago->London->Johannesburg->Antananarivo->Morondava
I had visions of all sorts of things that could (and probably would) go wrong, but the trips there and back were remarkably painless. When my plane touched down in Morondava, my heart was pounding with excitement when I saw Karista waiting for me when I got off the plane. It had been quite some time since I had seen her and it was wonderful to see her looking healthy and happy.
From there it was off to Chez Maggie, which is run by an American named Gary, and if you are ever in Morondava, I recommend a stay there. The food is exceptional, the sunsets are breathtaking, and the people friendly. After another day here, we boarded a taxi brousse, or bush taxi, bound for Karista’s site. Ok, this whole brousse ride is something that will not be forgotten. Close to forty people (I’m not even exaggerating) in a rickety van over one of the most derelict roads I had ever seen(up to that point)
We arrive in Mahabo, where Karista shows me off to some of her friends and some of her favorite spots. While there, I experienced many new things that would soon become routine: 1) Bucket baths – not too bad once you figure it out. 2) Chamber pots – if it were up to me I would have just gone on a bush. 3) This is one of my faves – somewhere along the way Karista learned how to cook! This enchanting young woman who would routinely burn water (love you sweetie!) was now making awesome pasta, savory lentil ragout, kick-ass veggie burritos, and one of my new faves, a fried banana donut type thing called mofo kida. 4) She has a thing for scolding small children that point and shout “Vazaha!” at us, which means foreigner or white person.
We were picked up by our guide Philemon to head to Miandrivazo. The road there was exceptional. The town was quite city like, and we went for a ride on a posy-posy (tee-hee) which is a rickshaw. We had lots more really good food at our hotel. Then off to start our trip down the Tsiribihina River. We saw lots of birds, a large chameleon, baby crocs, and some brown lemurs. We camped on a sandbar under what seemed like a billion stars, and also saw a few shooting stars. It was sooo wonderful and romantic to be there with Karista. I felt a million miles away from everything else, but so very close to her.☺ More beautiful scenery the following day through the Tsiribihina Gorge and a breathtaking waterfall along with a group of sifaka lemurs. The next day we saw a crazy big swarm of grasshoppers, along with some bats. Upon the finish of our canoe trip, we boarded a Zebu cart for a ride to the 4x4 that would take us to Belo-sur-Tsiribihina. For those of you who don’t know, a Zebu is an extremely delicious beast of burden very much like cattle found anywhere else. We spent the night in Belo-sur-Tsiribihina, then a bone jarring 4 ½ hour ride that made the brousse to Mahabo seem like a kiddie ride. We arrived at Tsingy-Bemaraha National Park, for what would be one of my favorite parts of the trip.
We spent the next three days exploring the peaks and caves of the Tsingy. The sights were amazing, and getting to experience them with Karista made it that much better. Philemon was still with us, and that guy is something else. He had facts and information about nearly everything we saw. In between trips to the Tsingy, we dined at several of the local hotels, and took advantage of the pool at one of them.
From the Tsingy we went on to Kirindy forest. There we went on a night hike and saw a couple varieties of nocturnal lemurs. The next day we were able to see some brown lemurs very close as they drank from a pond, as well as some sifakas. Back at camp, we saw a Fosa, which looks like a giant house cat and is the largest predator on the island. From there we went on to the Avenue de Baobabs and the Baobabs in Love – two intertwined baobabs that looked like they were embracing, and another spectacular sunset down the way. We went back to Chez Maggie for the evening, to rest up for our trip to Belo sur Mer the following day.
The adventure to Belo sur Mer started with a very wet ride down the coast under sunny skies. The town itself was nice, right on the water, with several small hotels here and there. Large boats in various stages of construction lined the shore, as well as the sea-going canoes seen up and down the coast. Our bungalow was right on the water, with the breeze blowing in and magnificent views of the sunsets. The food, much like everywhere else we had been, was excellent. We swam in the ocean and collected shells. One day we took a 2 ½ hour approx. 20k sailing canoe ride out to a small island dotted with fisherman. Blue water, bluer skies, sandy beaches, snorkeling, and the company of the most beautiful girl. Amazing. On the way back we saw several whales as they surfaced to breathe.
On the way back, we knew what to expect and did not get quite as soaked. It was low tide when we returned, and we had to slog knee deep through some of the thickest, nastiest mud I’ve ever encountered. That was quickly forgotten after showers and more excellent food back at Chez Maggie. The following day was my last full one, with lots of shopping for gifts for people back home. And another signature sunset.
Morondava->Antananarivo->Johannesburg->Frankfurt->Chicago->K-Zoo
This had been one of the most wonderful and memorable experiences of my life. I credit much of that to who I spent all my time with ☺ I cannot wait to hopefully go back around the same time next year, and would recommend the trip to anyone looking for something a bit out of the ordinary.