Madagascar: the baobab trees

The baobabs of Madagascar West coast

After visiting Morondava, the next stop was the Avenue of the Baobabs, or the free translation Baobab Alley. It's a car ride away from the town, a turn North on the way to the airport. The name used on maps is the French Allée des Baobabs. But the local name for a baobab is renala or reniala, which comes from Malagasy words Reny Ala which means The Mother of Forest. it's the most visited place in this area, and that's for a reason - I'll show you the photos, but you'll just have to come there yourself to experience the magic!

It's recommended to come there during sunrise or sunset, and I chose the latter. The colors are brighter, the shadows deeper. Problem is, everyone goes there then. Sunrise may mean less tourists, but you never know. It's always best to go there a while before to explore the surroundings and wait for the golden hour to really experience the change.

It was raining as I started my baobab chase. Is it worth to go during rain season, with rain scheduled for the whole afternoon? Definitely so. It will change, the weather often does that - and clouds with rainshowers come and leave. Also, rain may mean less people, and this definitely was the case for me this time.

The dramatic skies add to the vibe, and the rain is good for the crops. In some places baobabs are used to store water for the whole tribe to drink during dry season. In this area, some of baobabs represent the ancestors and sacrifices to them are not unusual.

Once you get there, you realise: Those Trees Are Huge! Some of them are over 30 meters in height. There are different varieties but generally they will live for many hundreds of years. Some of the varieties can be seen in other countries, but Madagascar has most.

Taking photos under the trees, with or without the arms around it, is a tourist favourite - nobody can of course reach around the Baobab tree with their arms. That would take a bunch of people. And I don't know about climbing them... How do the locals get the baobab fruits? Well... they let them fall down. Or they craft wooden pegs that they hammer into the trunk and then climb the tree like a ladder. By the way, have you seen a baobab fruit?

It literally looks like a coconut and a kiwi had a love affair and produced a child. However, it does not have as much weight as a coconut, despite having a hard shell. It's because the fruits dry on the branches. When you get them from the local stalls, they are either intact and dry, or you can get the dried fruit pulp in bits, or you can get the powder. Apart from that, baobab honey is sold by the locals.

A local lady selling baobab fruit, fruit pieces and fruit powder. She was OK with the photo taken.

It's a part of the local culture, and is considered to be a superfood in many countries including Europe where it can be bought in nature pharmacies. The taste is quite pleasant - I would compare it to freeze-dried mango pannacotta. But do not eat the seeds, or pits! Inside every bit of dried fruit flesh there is a hazelnut-sized hard fruit stone, just spit it out, donät chew on it.

Not only tourists around here! The locals also are plentiful all around. Some are carrying crops to plant, some are doing their washing, people are doing their usual chores, kids are playing or hanging out. It's great to see this is not just a tourist site, rather a living and breathing space.

The trees on most photos here are the Adansonia grandidieri, the Grandidier baobabs. They are endemic to Madagascar. What I did not include was the "Baobabs in Love", or Baobab Amoureux - two Adansonia za trees that have been growing alongside each other, twisting in an embrace that has been ongoing for centuries. That's a magical sight which you may want to experience yourself, not on photos.

 

Here, a lot of cars with tourists would normally gather. But this time, few people were here at all, probably because of earlier rain. Here, a cart drawn by Zebu passes by instead. These animals are used throughout the country, just like they would use oxen in other parts of the world. Apparently, the meat is popular with tourists and a lot of restaurants would offer steaks or other dishes made from Zebu meat.

The light kept changing and suddenly the Golden Hour was there. These huge trees are many hundreds years old, and they will outlive everyone alive today. It's such a humbling experience to stand below these giants.

Could not get enough of the dramatic skies, the golden sunset and how the light brought out warm notes on the baobab trunks. The rainclouds really added to the experience.

As the baobab trees get a golden glow, it becomes hard to put the camera down. You don't want to leave, each minute it becomes more and more intense.

Just as I thought it could not get more dramatic or beautiful... it certainly did. The low sun produced the horisontal beams, shining through the faraway rainclouds and creating an absolutely stunning rainbow. It continued over the full sky at some point, but more faintly, and then concentrated on highlighting some of the baobabs further away.

These photots are unfiltered, taken with my mobile phone. You can just imagine the treasure hunt for the photos you could have with a professional camera... However, I do not travel with a large camera, for the sake of convenience and agility. Also, I do not have time to edit the photos afterwards. Heck, I don't often have the time to even publish them! Or write the blog posts. This one comes up over a month after I've been there - and there are several more that need to be published. Not even talking about the past years, and the circumnavigation by sail - there are still so many more stories to be written. But what I enjoy most is actually not writing, but just being there. Which I suggest everyone does once in a while. This is just an inspiration, to get out there - to Madagascar, or to your own backyard - and start doing things and living life. 

 

When I thought that now nothing could become more beautiful - the rainbow doubled and went gold and pink from the sunset-colored sunlight. Amazing.

The sun is almost down. The ancient Baobab trees, mothers of the forest, are now silhouettes against the ever-changing but ever-present skies. This is, this was, this will be.

The reserve is not only protecting the trees. They also have a tree nursery, to make sure the sight can be enjoyed for generations to come. Many years ago, these trees were a part of a dense forest. We hunans were the reason for that forest to disappear, and we need to be the reason for it come back.

The sunset gives its last good-bye kisses. This magical place will plunge into darkness, with all the night's sounds, smells and flutters. There may be a couple of eyes reflecting in the bush, a nocturnal animal looking at you.

Cikadas are singing their vibrating hymn to the gold and blue twilight, the cooler air streaming off the grass fields, and a beautiful warm darkness rising to cover everything around.