Trip To Morondava

The famous Baobab Amour, or lover's Baobab. Truly a unique phenomenon in the plant world.

This is the mode of transportation of choice in the Madagascar outback.

The way the women carry their various loads.

Bridge hazard on the National highway East of Morondava.

Sarety Garages

One of the primary modes of transportation out in the country villages is the "Sarety" or "Zebu Cart". It is used to haul everything from the family to manure and everything in between. They prize them and protect them as we do our automobiles. This is one of the more substantial garages.

A detached Sarety Port.

An attached Sarety Port.

New Chapel Open House

This is the new Ampifiloha Chapel which was recently completed. It has been under construction since before we arrived here. It was dedicated by Elder Dale Renlund, a new Seventy and Councilor to the Area President, on the 6th of Dec. We participated in the open house on the 12th and 19th, in which we set up a Humanitarian Services display in one of the rooms. We had many curious visitors come to see what was inside the beautiful new building. We think it looks like it could become a temple one day.

This cute little guy came in off the street to the open house and he was so dirty and smelly. He had a tremendous personality and we immediately fell in love with him. He was very fond of the slide show we had on our lap top and he kept coming back to our room every few minutes to see more. We affectionately named him "Little Kingfish".

Andranomiely Water Project

The specks across the valley at the base of the mountain are the houses of Manazary, the village that will be receiving a clean water system sponsored by Humanitarian Services. This is part of our first water project of 2009. In the valley below is the barren rice fields that will be a brilliant green in another three months.

This is life in the country commune of Andranomiely.The man is busy sifting sand. The sand is then sold for use in plaster and cement. The fruit stand in the background is a common sight and is a prime source of income for the poorer people. The dogs sleep all day and roam and bark all night.

The official agreement documents covering the local Commune, the Contractors and LDS Humanitarian Services are formally signed in the lush community center at Andranomiely and is witnessed by many of the local townsfolk. The Commune Mayor is in the center with the two contractors are on each end

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Vatomandry Area Scenery

Gaby, Elder and Sister Bird and Elder Secrist on the beach at Vatomandry. This is on the East-central coast of Madagascar, very near where the animals in the movie "Madagascar" landed.

Sister Bird could not resist the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.

Sunrise on the East coast is almost as spectacular as the sunsets on the West coast.

Early morning departure of the native fishermen. Sleeping rock is in the background.

Antanambao - Manampotsy Scenery

A small stream passes through Antanambao - Manampotsy. Banana trees are a part of the landscape everywhere you look.

The children are always the best part of the beautiful scenery we see everywhere we go in the country. You can see both the African and Asian look in this brother and sister.

The Manampotsy River is undoubtedly the most beautiful river we have yet seen in Madagascar. Roger Heywood, eat your heart out!

This is a typical subdivision of the Eastern coastal area. The tribe known as the Betsimis Araka tribe inhabits this area of Madagascar.

Antanambao - Manampotsy

The fabulous Hotel S.D.L. in Antanambao - Manampotsy is where we lodged for the National Dental Week celebration and ceremony. There was no rating on the hotel sign, but we assigned it a minus 2 star rating based on the available amenities. It was not the nicest place we have ever stayed in, but it was definitely Madagascar and by far the best place in town.

Gaby, Elder Fitts, Elder Secrist and Sister Bird in the banquet room of the fabulous Hotel S.D.L.

They were not allowing pictures of the hotel kitchen (one wonders why), but we snuck this one anyway.

We pause for pictures in front of the hotel prior to the beginning of the Dental Week festivities. Note the Malagasy Flag.

Rain Forest Fungus

What looks like frost is really white moss.
























This tree is home to a strange looking mustroom.























Beautiful white flower like mushrooms grow amidst the green moss.

Unspoiled Beach

This was the view from our hotel window, looking out over the Indian Ocean. This is the kind of beach you only dream about. Beautiful white sand, virtually unspoiled by commercialism and tourism. We only saw natives here.

A Malagasy speedboat in the background and a Malagasy yacht in the foreground.

Gaby, Sister Bird and the hotel guard dog enjoy the warm water at the beach.

This fisherman and his wife had just came in from a day out at sea fishing. He was very proud of his day's catch, as you can see. He also made an unexpected income by allowing us to have our pictures taken in his boat. He went his way rejoicing and so did we.

Spactacular Sunsets

This is the sunset we was treated to as we ate dinner and looked out over the Mozambique Channel of the Indian Ocean.

Avenue Of The Baobabs

This is probably the most famous attraction in all of Madagascar. The extremely rare Grandidier's Baobab tree. It is sometimes called the upside down tree, because the limbs almost look like roots with leaves. There is nine different species of Baobab in the world. One in Africa, one in Australia and seven in Madagascar.

This is what we called the Siamese Baobab. It is sixteen feet across at the base.

The world famous Avenue of the Baobabs is the largest single concentration of this magnificent tree in Madagascar. It is a large tourist attraction.

The Avenue is lined with beautiful lavender flowers.

Beautiful Madagascar

This is the beautiful Holy River just below the tourist town of Andramasina. This is a scenic drive of about 45 minutes outside of Antananarivo.

This beautiful formation was found on a long dirt road to the village of Sabotsy. It is reminiscent of the formations and colors of Bryce Canyon and is framed by the green rice fields in the foreground and the blue, white and gray sky in the background. We call it Mini-Bryce.