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| Official Abbreviation MG |
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| Madagascar is the fourth-largest island in the world. Cast adrift in the Indian Ocean by plate tectonics many eons ago, it’s slightly larger than the state of California and possibly the world’s most bizarre experiment in evolution. Many, if not most, of the over 200,000 plant and animal species on the island (and more species continue to be discovered every year) are endemic to Madagascar. Formerly under French colonial rule, both the people of Madagascar and their native language are called Malagasy (pronounced “ma-la-gosh”) and the Malagasy have a saying, Mora-Mora, which means, slowly, slowly. “Slowly, slowly” sums up both the general attitude of the Malagasy and the mind-set that you had better adopt if you plan to come here. Madagascar is not the African tourist-center counterpart of Thailand. You won't find fancy resorts on every beach, Full Moon parties, or buses filled with Japanese tourists. You will, however, find lemurs, chameleons, rainforests, deserts, mountains, beaches, a lively and thoughtful society and culture, and maybe even yourself. From commanding baobab trees and stunning shorelines to the shrill call of a lemur in the wild, Madagascar will captivate you.
True to its reputation, Madagascar is about as far away from everything as you can get. So if you do come here, find a stretch of sandy beach, a pristine waterfall, or just a quiet cafe-patisserie, and sit down. Take a load off and look around you. There's a lot to see here, a lot to do, and plenty to eat... and no rush. Madagascar is like a vacation on holiday.
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 |  Map and Photos for Madagascar |  |
| | Tip: Use arrow keys to flip through the slideshow. |
| jetset submitted a review on 2006-04-07 01:03... AWESOME travel guide! You've made me just really, really, really want to go to Madagascar now.
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| andrewprice03 submitted a review on 2006-04-13 13:58... Ditto. Really like the writing and the photos. New Zealand?....Madagascar?....can't decide.
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