Madagascar

Now, first, I want to be clear that I’m talking about the actual island of Madagascar, not the cartoon movie version with the talking animals. This is the Madagascar I am talking about.

Why do I want to go there? Let me count the ways (taken from Getaway Magazine):

Meet a fossa and a giant jumping rat. Fossas are large carnivores that only live on the island, and the giant jumping rats are the size of rabbits! Yikes!
Fossa.
Explore a pirate graveyard. Apparently, it’s the only one in the world!
Ile Sainte Marie
Learn about fady. It’s the unwritten law of the island among the locals, and it sounds completely fascinating.
Swim with turtles. Because who wouldn’t want to do that?!
Walk in a rain forest. There is a large protected rainforest on the island. This wasn’t on my bucket list before, but it is now!
Travel on Viko Viko. It is a train that dates back to the 1930’s that drives on rubber tires.
Viko Viko
Visit a mermaid. Okay, this one isn’t real, but the locals will all swear they’ve seen one.
Hear the song of the indri and see the wink of the aye aye. An indri is the largest living lemur and an aye aye is another species of lemur, both only found in Madagascar.
Indri

aye aye
Frog’s legs and other culinary delights. Many of the foods served by chefs in Madagascar were left behind by French colonists.
Make a difference. Madagascar is being run by an inexperienced government, and the income brought in by tourism really makes a difference in keeping their island the unique land that it currently is. Make a difference by visiting Madagascar!