Madagascar: The Pirate Republic

On a red-hued September morning in 1695 "Long Ben" Avery-the captain of a forbidding forty-six gun pirate ship known as The Fancy spotted a great and obviously heavily laden merchant vessel in the new light. It was a Moorish galley, and one that was that obviously a part of some larger convoy and so, while Fancy's consorts fell like wolves upon that first ship, the Fateh Mohammed, Avery and his band of bloodthirsty cutthroats sailed off after the promise of an even richer prize.

It didn't take them long to find it, while their comrades were busily looting the Fateh Mohammed's holds for near 50,000 pounds worth of gold, silver and lord only knows what else - The Fancy's crew sighted the even more impressive. The great ship tried hard to escape! But, long before morning began to fade, Avery's buccaneers caught up with her. There followed a fierce battle, and a mountain of cannonballs now lays at the bottom of the ocean beneath where those fine ships fought. Finally, the pirate's crew managed to grapple onto much its larger adversary - and with their cutlasses and pistols flashing and blazing they hurled themselves against the brave Muslim soldiers guarding their prey! When the battle was finally over, the afternoon sun beat harshly down on the dead and the dying. An eerie silence descended over the moor=s decks as those sea dogs began to realize that this great ship they had captured was none other than the Ganj-i-Sawai. It was personal treasure ship of the grandest richest monarch in the known world - the Great Mogul of India, Aurangzeb. And within her holds were treasures such as no buccaneer had ever dared to dream. The East India Company estimated their plunder at 325,000 pounds; making it the greatest single robbery in human history. And according to legend, Captain Avery's share of that "swag" included the Great Mogul=s youngest daughter-Zaida; a maiden of such refined beauty that it would be inappropriate for me to go on describing her.

Those corsairs had sailed out of a port they called Libertalia but that we call by another name: Madagascar.

Located in the Indian Ocean and separated from the African mainland by the 248-mile wide Mozambique Channel, The Republic of Madagascar sits on the world's fourth largest island. It is truly a continent in miniature, offering up wildly varying habitats and plethora of unique species of both flora and fauna - including half the world's chameleons, 90% of the known species of lemurs, one-quarter of Africa's flowering plants and perhaps even a previously thought to be extinct species of pigmy rhinoceros. In short, there is much to see.

Unless you have a ship of your own, you'll be flying there on Inter Air, Air Madagascar or Air France from Paris, Nairobi or Johannesburg and arriving in its bustling capital city of Antananarivo. If you've visited Africa before, neither its looks nor ways will come as a complete surprise. You'll be hard pressed to spend too much while traveling around; not only is tipping generally "discouraged" but bargaining (or haggling as the boys from Monty Python would say) is literally a way of life and the concept of fixed pricing is for the most part unknown. Which is not only a fun custom to indulge in but necessary one, as visitors who fail to play along with it will quickly find themselves being treated like morons.

Believe me.

Before heading off to explore the countryside, you'll want to take a slow walk through the Colonial Era throw-back known as Haute-Ville. Where you'll find the Palace de l'Indépendance, (the Kianja ny Fahaleovantena) several spectacular churches and a number of buildings dating to the islands monarchal period-including the ruins of the Rova (the Queen's palace). If you've a mind to check out the fauna in safer than wilderness surroundings, you might also want to visit the Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazza's fascinating cultural and naturalist exhibits.

Once you make it out of the cities you'll definitely want to trek through the Tsingy de Bemaraha, a 375,440-acre natural reserve a little over 372-miles west of Antananarivo. The area, that's actually two parks joined by the hip, harbors among other things a stunning "forest" of slowly eroding limestone summits and a breathtaking variety of chameleons, lemurs, periwinkles and aloes, geckoes, sifakas, octopus and baobab trees.

The opportunity to sight-see Tsingy via canoe, from its majestic Manambolo River is not only available but highly recommended . . . and the waterfalls of and pristine forest's of Petit Tsingy's Manambolo Gorge are simply not to be missed.

At about 201,404-acres, the Parc National de Isalo isn't quite as impressive as the Tsingy, but it offers an interesting mixture of charms all its own. Established in 1962, the Parc is a peculiar sandstone massif that time's eroding down into vividness. Isalo's isolated crags hide a large number of ancient Sakalava Tombs protected by an equally large number of local taboos's known a fady.

In the Parc's north you'll find the Grotte des Portugais, and the cave along with its natural springs and the For�t de Sahanafa that surrounds it is well worth seeing. For an interesting day out, check out The Canyon of Monkeys (the Canyon des Singes) for your best chance to catch sight of scores of common lemurs making their ways through the trees. Nearby, in the Canyon des Rats you'll not only find the splendid Bara Zafimagnely Tombs but you'll able take a walk down that canyon into the Piscine Naturelle; enjoying the fabulous landscapes along your way.

If you tire of the constant wilderness, you just might want to check out the tourist-friendly resort island of Nosy Be or for my tastes the sweat and dust-ridden port town of Mahajanga. Situated on Madagascar's north-west coast at the mouth of Betsiboka River; Mahajanga is one of those crumbling "East Indian" frontier towns replete with shaded arcades, wide open promenades, jangled colonial and pre-colonial architecture and climbing/flowering bougainvillea shrubs. There are twenty or more fine mosques and numerous churches, and the town plays home to a large Comoran Muslim community. Despite the occasional appearance of one of the world's most dangerous marine predators (the ferocious Zambezi River shark) the beaches around Mahajanga are reasonably safe, if splendidly stained to a blood-red by highland topsoil washed dawn to sea. In case you were wondering, the town's name comes from a Swahili phrase 'Town of Flowers'.

Despite growing environmental pressures on its many reefs Madagascar still offers a number of outstanding snorkeling and diving locales. Of course, you'll find that its best spots surrounding the isles and islets around that dedicated resort I mentioned - Nosy Be. If you're a fan of whale-watching, there a couple of excellent spots to indulge; namely the west of �le Sainte Marie-off Madagascar's east coast and Taolognar in the south. The opportunities for amateur photographers are virtually limitless.
Head out during the Southern Winter. (it runs from the April to October by the way) Avoid a stiflingly hot hurricane season that stretches from November to March. Be sure to Enjoy.