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Saturday to Monday: The Hardships of Flying
This was the day that we had been waiting for since we first started planning the trip last summer. We both were so excited to finally be heading to Africa. This was also one of the most stressful days of the trip because we had so many connecting flights and anything could go wrong.
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Tuesday
When visiting, we decided that we really just wanted to walk around the city, to get a good idea of everything around us. We ate breakfast at the hotel, and then walked around the city for awhile. While walking around, we decided to stop at Chez Mariette to get some good lunch. We continued walking and eventually stopped for dinner at Lalana Rainitovo. We then walked back to the hotel, getting back at around 8:00 PM. We went to bed as soon as possible because we knew it was going to be a long night.
O.R. Tambo Airport to Royal Hill (Wednesday)
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ThursdayWe woke up early again the next morning to catch out flight back to O.R. Tambo Airport. We then went from that airport to the Maroantsetra Airport. Our flight left at 7:00 AM and we arrived at the Maroantsetra Airport at 8:30 AM. We then drove to Masoloa National Park, which is a half an hour away from the airport. We stayed in the park for the majority of the day, but then drove back to the airport to catch our 5:00 PM flight to Arrachart Airport. The flight was about one and a half hours long. We arrived in the Arrachart Airport at around 6:45 PM, and checked into a hotel near the airport. We stayed at La Note Bleue Park Hotel, which is around five minutes away from the airport.
O.R. Tambo Airport to Maroantsetra Airport (Thursday)
O.R. Tambo Airport to White Pine Motel (Friday)
Saturday
We woke up at around 8:00 AM, and immediately headed over to the Stone forest for our long day of rock climbing. We eventually finished the climbing the rocks at 8:00 PM. It was a very long day of climbing. We had to go right one to our next destination, meaning that we left that night to drive all the way to the Avenue of Baobabs. We hired a driving service, and both slept on the way. We arrived at about 5:00 AM the next morning.
Stone Forest to Avenue of Baobabs (Saturday)
Going Home
The next morning we woke up at noon because we were just so exhausted from the entire trip! Our flight left at 3:00 PM, so we headed over to the airport. Our flights were pretty similar from when we came to Africa, except backward.
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Wednesday
We woke up really early on Wednesday, because we had a very busy day ahead of us. We ate breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and took a taxi an hour away from the hotel to the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga. After staying there for an hour, we took another taxi to the Airport, to get ready for our next flight. We left at 9:00 AM to get to the Ille Sainte-Marie Airport. We arrived in Ile Sainte-Marie at 10:05 AM. We went to the pirate graveyard, and stayed there for about and hour. The rest of the day we just toured the island. We stayed in a very nice hotel called the Soanambo Hotel.
O.R. Tambo Airport to Ile Sainte-Marie Airport (Wednesday)
Maroantsetra Airport to Arrachart Airport (Thursday)
Friday
The next morning, we went to Amber Mountain National Park for the entire day. The drive from the hotel to the park was almost an hour long. At around 4:00 PM, we left to go back to the airport for yet another flight. The plane left at 6:30 PM for our flight back to Tambo Airport. We got to the airport at around 8:00 PM, and took our transportation that we booked with our flight, to the Stone Forest. We arrived at the Stone Forest at about 11:30 PM. We checked into the White Pine Motel at 12:00 AM. We stayed there for the entire night.
Arrachart Airport to O.R. Tambo Airport (Friday)
SundayImmediately after arriving at the Avenue of Baobabs, we got to see the sunrise, and drive around with our tour guide. We spent most of the day there, and drove back to the O.R. Tambo Airport at around 3:00 PM. We went to the same hotel we stayed in when we first arrived in Madagascar. We got the the hotel at around 10:30 PM. We immediately checked in and went to sleep.
Avenue of Baobabs to Madagascar Carlton (Sunday)
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Costs
- Flying to and from Madagascar: $11,957.08
- Hotel in airport: $121
- Madagascar Carlton (for one night): $154
- Flight from O.R. Tambo Airport to Ile Sainte-Marie Airport: $519
- Hotel in Ile Sainte-Marie: $104
- Flight from O.R. Tambo Airport to Maroantsetra Airport: $623
- Flight from Maroantsetra Airport to Arrachart Airport: $517
- Hotel near Arrachart Airport: $242
- Flight from Arrachart Airport to O.R. Airport: $258
- White Pine Motel: $90
Reflections
Hailey
Madagascar was one of the places that I have always wanted to visit. On this trip I experienced everything I thought I would along with much,much more. My favorite day of the trip was the day we went to the Avenue of the boababs. I would absolutely recommend going to Madagascar to anyone. If I had to choose one thing to not do again, I wouldn't travel to the Poly-national monument. Although this monument was an amazing sight, it was a sight that I don't really feel the need to see again. Going to Madagascar really made me think about the environment and it's natural wonders. Everything is surrounded by nature, even the capital had trees everywhere. Being near all of the amazing landforms and trees really made me realize how amazing nature is!
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Claire
This trip was the best vacation I have ever been on. It was amazing to see the different cultures, and see how the native people of Madagascar work. All of the sights we got to see were absolutely breathtaking. There is no doubt in my mind that I would come here again! My favorite part was probably climbing the Tsingy de Bemaraha. It was amazing to see all the different species of animals, including all the lemurs we saw. There were so many lemurs!!!! As soon as I got home, I told all of my friends where and when they should go. It was really tiring and really expensive, but I wouldn't change a thing! This trip greatly effected how I look at the African culture. It is really important to them, and I got to learn some traditions and culture.
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Sources:
https://book.flysaa.com/plnext/flysaa/Fare.action;jsessionid=BLiffo_elyoWEIvpTuPppKNUtxj0VD_w5q4lHX4zzEndDx4I9wRl!-687666189!1344668129
http://www.expedia.com/Ile-Sainte-Marie-Hotels-Soanambo-Hotel.h4439428.Hotel-Information?chkin=11%2F12%2F2014&chkout=11%2F15%2F2014
http://www.expedia.com/Hotel-Search?undefined=undefined&lang=1033#destination=DIE&startDate=4%2F23%2F2015&endDate=4%2F24%2F2015&adults=2
http://www.priceline.com/airlines/fareResults.do?session_key=544A200A554A200A20141112141510500be0309406&plf=pcln&jarmkey=564A200A574A200AADKHHp4qlE6ng5np0PPugA4987&INIT_SESSION=true
http://www.expedia.com/Hotel-Search?#destination=Tsiroanomandidy,+Madagascar&startDate=08/31/2015&endDate=09/01/2015&adults=2®ionId=3832
http://www.kensingtontours.com/Travel/Tours/Madagascar?gclid=CjwKEAiAhIejBRCKm_fTxIWyyXcSJABXY0XYpocF178uXzA2hcezaP1chpu7nbL5m8IDJyrqf-1nIhoCta7w_wcB
PRAISE THE LORD FOR GOOGLE MAPS
https://book.flysaa.com/plnext/flysaa/Fare.action;jsessionid=BLiffo_elyoWEIvpTuPppKNUtxj0VD_w5q4lHX4zzEndDx4I9wRl!-687666189!1344668129
http://www.expedia.com/Ile-Sainte-Marie-Hotels-Soanambo-Hotel.h4439428.Hotel-Information?chkin=11%2F12%2F2014&chkout=11%2F15%2F2014
http://www.expedia.com/Hotel-Search?undefined=undefined&lang=1033#destination=DIE&startDate=4%2F23%2F2015&endDate=4%2F24%2F2015&adults=2
http://www.priceline.com/airlines/fareResults.do?session_key=544A200A554A200A20141112141510500be0309406&plf=pcln&jarmkey=564A200A574A200AADKHHp4qlE6ng5np0PPugA4987&INIT_SESSION=true
http://www.expedia.com/Hotel-Search?#destination=Tsiroanomandidy,+Madagascar&startDate=08/31/2015&endDate=09/01/2015&adults=2®ionId=3832
http://www.kensingtontours.com/Travel/Tours/Madagascar?gclid=CjwKEAiAhIejBRCKm_fTxIWyyXcSJABXY0XYpocF178uXzA2hcezaP1chpu7nbL5m8IDJyrqf-1nIhoCta7w_wcB
PRAISE THE LORD FOR GOOGLE MAPS