Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
There are people I will never forget: the lone surgeon who got up in the middle of
the night to deliver a dying baby (having first driven around the town to collect the
theatre staff); the man who, blind for several years, left the hospital in joy without
having to hold onto anyone's arm (he'd had a simple cataract removed); and the five-
year-oldwhohadalargeheadwoundstitchedupafterbeinghitbyoneoftheonlycars
in the entire region. Such courage both from staff (doing stitches with fishing line)
and from patients (recovering from an operation with paracetamol). So many lessons
learnt that will no doubt serve me well in the years to come... I hope to come back
soon.
It's possible to visit the
Tsaratanana Massif
from here. Lefalle is an experienced guide
who can organise porters. One of the great excursions in the area is to climb the highest
mountain in Madagascar,
Maromokotro
(2,876m), but it takes at least a week to reach the
peak (see box on
Click Here
)
.
MAINTIRANO
The small western port of
Maintirano
is attractive for people who want to get well off the
beaten track. In former days its laid-back, friendly attitude to visitors was largely a conse-
quence of its isolation. The road from Tana is partly improved now, yet a
taxi-brousse
is
still likely to take at least 24 hours to travel the 630km. Air Mad operates various Twin Ot-
ter routes via Maintirano, so there are flights most days. Boats leave for Mahajanga every
new and full moon.
A reader points out that although it appears to be a seaside town on the map, 'it's as
though the town has turned its back on the sea: virtually nothing overlooks the ocean'. On
the edge of town opposite the shrimp factory is
Chalet du Rose
(
65 022 52
) which has
mid-rangesuitesandbungalowswithairconditioning.
Voanio
isagoodbudgetalternative.
A reasonable road runs from Maintirano to
Antsalova,
119km away. This town, served
by Air Mad's Twin Otter, is the northern entry point for the Tsingy de Bemaraha National
Park. In theory there's a route through the park to Bekopaka.
TORTUES ILES BARREN
(
m
032 04 587 67;
www.tortuesilesbarren.org
) This conser-
vation initiative was launched in 2006 and is based on the Barren Islands some 50km from
Maintirano. It is a WWF/Swiss-run project to study turtles and their exploitation. Contact
them first if you're thinking of visiting.
