Madagascar: 3 Months of travel on the red island – Claire and Reno Marca

2006 for three months in Madagascar. Always guided by their passions, information gathered along the way, and weather conditions, they ventured far beyond the famous RN7 and the equally splendid island of Nosy Be to discover isolated zones from which they brought back a collection of unique and rare stories. Like the tale of a five-day journey aboard a Vézo fisherman's outrigger canoe to reach the isolated shark fishing villages and Belo sur Mer. Or the grueling and magnificent crossing of over 1,000 km across southern Madagascar, from Tuléar to Fort Dauphin. The encounter with Pierrot Men, recognized as Madagascar's greatest contemporary photographer, featured in a dedicated chapter exploring his work. The passion of Malagasy people for cockfighting. The culture of the Zafimariny, an ethnic group working with wood and suffering from deforestation. The forest legends still passed down around the Andringitra National Park, rich with endemic fauna and flora unique to the world (cacti, radiated tortoises, pachypodium, katrafay...). Through the account of these encounters and wanderings, Reno and Claire illuminate all aspects of Malagasy society—its wealth and diversity, its rituals and beliefs, its daily challenges and distinctive character, all of which make it such a singular country, at the crossroads of Africa and Asia.