#1
Posted: 6/10/05 at 7:24pm
Madagascar, the world's fourth-largest island, is full of oddities and rarities. If you're partial to lizards, for example, you're in luck: You'll find more than half the world's varieties of chameleons there. You'll also find more than 250 kinds of frogs and some 40 species of lemurs (the wide-eyed, long-tailed relatives of monkeys) that are exclusive to the island. Every year scientists discover new species of plants and animals in its deserts and forests.
But if Madagascar is a nature lover's dream, it can also be a traveler's nightmare. It's one of the poorest countries in the world, and a disputed election held in late 2001 threw the country into chaos -- although the situation has calmed, the country remains somewhat unstable, and it's infrastructure hasn't recovered. We recommend giving Madagascar a pass for now. It is unfortunate, but political instability is limiting the chance to see the extraordinary slice of nature that the country offers.
But if Madagascar is a nature lover's dream, it can also be a traveler's nightmare. It's one of the poorest countries in the world, and a disputed election held in late 2001 threw the country into chaos -- although the situation has calmed, the country remains somewhat unstable, and it's infrastructure hasn't recovered. We recommend giving Madagascar a pass for now. It is unfortunate, but political instability is limiting the chance to see the extraordinary slice of nature that the country offers.
