193 / 193 UN countries!!!
woohoo!!!
finally made it…
i’ve managed to visit every country in the world… what an epic journey…
and somehow i’ve managed to save the best for last.
madagascar has been an incredibly amazing and welcoming country.
such a perfect way to end this part of the journey.
in many ways it’s an odd travel goal because you can never really visit “all” of a country… but for me, the most rewarding thing was discovering so many countries i knew very little about. i would always enjoy buying my lonely planet, reading about the history and marking up the book with what i wanted to see. travel was less structured then and there was a real sense of freedom about it.
i often get asked of what made me want to visit every country. it was never an official goal, but the closer i got the more it made me want to complete it… i think it all started in malawi when i realized just how much a small country like that could offer a traveller. i stayed longer than planned, got my advanced scuba license, met some amazing people, chilled on the beach, and even got bilharzia… it literally checked all of the travel boxes…
that experience made me realise that each country has a unique cultural and historic aura that you can only become a part of once you travel there. i can honestly say there isn’t a single country i’ve been to which didn’t have something unique to offer.
tsiribihina river life
madagascar was no different to this of course.
the best part was spending a few days drifting along the tsiribihina river. it’s right up there with one of my favourite travel experiences anywhere… something i could go back to again and again.
river life has always fascinated me… so much so that at one point i even lived on a boat on the thames…
and along the tsiribihina, there was never a dull moment.
we frequently stopped at villages and sandbars… and from out of nowhere random people (mostly kids) would just show up… making for some hilarious times…
like this river crossing…
or this gang…
we camped along the river for a few days… and while there are no specific “highlight” sights to visit, it really didn’t matter at all. for me madagascar encompassed everything i previously mentioned about my love for travel, which is why it made for a perfect ending.
it was moments like this guy… he cracks me up so much every time i see this photo lol…
avenue of the baobabs
no madagascar trip is complete with a visit to the avenue of the baobabs.
there is not a lot i can write about it that hasn’t already been written, but it is one destination that really lives up to the hype. i’ve tried really hard to include only 3 out of the 1000 baobab pics i have…
we even managed to get stuck in the mud in dry season… it’s odd how some of the best memories are of times when things go (slightly) wrong…
and of course lemurs…
and just like baobabs… here are some obligatory madagascar lemur pics… they liked to move it move it, but unfortunately did not sing for me. we sadly found no dancing lions or penguins either.
like i always say about penguins and giraffes…
you can never have enough pics of lemurs…
one more just in case… look at this little guy…
and here are some other great creatures….
now what?
the first question i get asked is “has anything changed?”… the one surprising thing i’ve noticed is that there is a drastic reduction in fomo. which is more of a relief than i expected. i feel less focused on seeing every possible thing and instead i feel that i am happier just randomly wandering around…
the next question i get asked is “now what?”… i guess i’m looking forward to rediscovering my favs (germany, SE asia, japan, ethiopia, malawi, pakistan, italy, iraq), visiting the places I’ve missed (pitcairn, isle of skye, el dia de muerte, lalibela/timkat, legoland denmark and so much more…) and most importantly running into as many old travel friends as possible.
so with that, i’ll leave you with my final obligatory “watching madagascar in madagascar” pic…
big hugs to all the amazing people i’ve met on my travels.
hope our paths cross again sometime…