Eco-lodge Antsanitia Resort in Madagascar: charming hotel and solidarity project

From our villa of the eco-lodge Antsanitia in Madagascar , we have a view of a long golden sand beach, at the mouth of the Morira river: an iridescent turquoise sea. This eco-lodge seems to rise from the Madagascan forest, nestled in a lush park of bougainvillea, orchids, flamboyant. Its bungalows with pointed roofs in palm leaves, as the huts of the country are furnished with furniture in rosewood from local crafts.

Here we taste the "mora mora" (meaning "softly"), the motto of popular wisdom. But Antsanitia Resort is much more than a refined and warm hotel, it is also a project of solidarity with the local population, that of 3 villages huddled around the Resort, in the shade of the mango trees.

Eric Gâteau, the director and head of the project, is supported by the Amada International Solidarity Association , which helps to finance on-site actions. Its goal is to fight against the fatality of poverty (Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world) by involving the population. For the past five years, Antsanitia Resort has been recruiting and training its employees among the fishing families of the Salakava ethnic group. The hotel has also created a school, a clinic, a tree nursery for the villagers to resist the temptation of deforestation. In fact, a utopia now become reality, with respect for the environment, inhabitants and traditions.

By spending holidays in this idyllic setting we help the country to live and melt into the local daily life in interaction with the inhabitants.

Madagascar: nature in the heart of this large tropical garden

While walking along the paths of Madagascar with our village guide, Frédéric, we discover the kindness and hospitality of the inhabitants, and how this model of development works. He shows us the endemic trees and plants that make up the island's wealth: the tree of the traveler, whose branches contain a supply of drinking water, the rafia tree which gives the fiber from which the colored baskets are made.

Thanks to the actions of the eco-lodge Antsanitia in Madagascar , the inhabitants realized that their forest is a blessing and must be kept. This is the reforestation nursery. Frédéric, who is in charge, proudly names the cashew nut trees, cashew trees, eucalyptus babies, timid kapokiers ... 150,000 trees already replanted this year by the hotel!

These fishermen are now starting to cultivate the land. One way to take better care by producing fish and plants without having to buy. We contemplate their vegetable gardens where the hotel buys the vegetables and fruits that are served to us: tomatoes, pineapples, papayas, fruits of the passion ... A tiny lemur up there in a tree and a chameleon. Two zebus pull a cart. If we went back in a zebu cart?

Madagascar: fishing, cradle of life of the Salakavas

The Salakavas are above all fishermen. We return in time to attend their return fishing, on the beach, near Antsanitia: in the canoes, shrimp, prawns, grouper, bars they sell at the hotel. But they are struggling to fill their nets because the seabed is increasingly scraped by foreign trawlers-factories. Hence the idea proposed by the eco-lodge Antsanitia Resort of Madagascar to its customers to preserve the maritime domain: fishing no kill .

We embark offshore for a game of sport fishing but without taking the work or the fish of the fishermen. It will be thrown back into the sea. The ocean moves just enough to make one feel full of adventure. Dolphins follow the boat. From August to the end of October, whales take refuge here in calm waters in order to give birth.

We equip ourselves with a fishing rod with reel and we catch the blow of hand: to mouline then to pull. It's gone for big game fishing. It bites. We shoot a shark about twenty kilos and 1m20 that we bring back to the edge of the boat on the surface of the sea.

The sailor removes the hook without hurting him and lets him slip. Same goes for a bonito and a barracuda. It did not take away our pleasure. The morning ends with a tasty picnic on the beach organized by the team of the hotel, in the shade of awnings. Red mullets grilled on a brazier.

Madagascar: meeting people

The next day, it is on a dhow (traditional sailing boat) that one embarks for a walk on the river Morira . Herons and egrets fly over us. We go along the mangroves. Small fiddling crabs scurry over the sandy edge. The protection of the mangroves (shellfish and small fish) is part of the villagers' project.

We landed in a hamlet. The Malagasy, even poor, have a smile and joy in their hearts. Women in the face covered with a white ointment "beautiful skin" sift the rice harvested in the nearby rice fields to remove the straw. The work ended, they sat in a circle on the floor and began to sing and play percussions on makeshift tam-tams (plastic jerrican, saucepan ...) and a young man pulls pretty sounds from his guitar made House.

Eco-lodge Antsanitia Resort in Madagascar: luxury, relaxation and pleasure

In the evening, return to the eco-lodge Antsanitia of Madagascar for a relaxing break at the Spa. In cabins with ocean views, nothing better than to indulge in a massage with essential oil of mandravasarotra, a plant that treats about thirty diseases and distilled at the hotel.

At the table, we taste the creative and refined dishes of the spices and coconuts of the Malagasy chef Franklin, combinations of exotic flavors based on all kinds of vegetables and crustaceans caught in the morning: huge prawns, squid, grilled tuna. But also zebu kebabs with cassava croquettes. There is the breath of the trade winds. A little later, under the mosquito net, we let ourselves be rocked by the sound of the surf, with just the little cries of the lemurs who pierce the silence.

The next day, precisely, expedition to the forest of the lemurs, to Lake Sacré , to 30 minutes of track jolting red laterite. It is the domain of the kings of Madagascar (28 different species including the microcebus, the smallest primate in the world). This adorable bouncy plush comes from the monkey, the panda and the squirrel: globular eyes, bushy coat, long white tail or fluted black. They are coming down from the tree, holding out our arms, watching us, catching our crusts of bread, very cuddly.

Shopping in Madagascar: direction Mahajanga

It remains to be seen Mahajanga , the city of the region, an hour away from the hotel. This old colonial city with a faded beauty (the country's independence dates from 1960) is a rickshaw ride. Various markets, fagots of vanilla pods incredibly fleshy and fragrant, heady essence of ylang ylang, famous tablecloths embroidered with village scenes ...

Finally, stop at "La Soucoupe", a formidable cooperative of high-end art crafts. The creations make Malagasy women work by paying them justly, showcasing their talents and the beauty of the raw materials. Before our eyes, the craftsmen weave the raffia strands to the weaving loom or hand-brew the indigo plant that macerates in the vats and gives this beautiful blue. We crack for a basket in sisal, a hat in rafia green water and a scarf in wild silk dyed by hand to the indigo.

Practical information :
- Eco-lodge Antsanitia Resort (Green Globe label) near Mahajanga: from 243 € per week (7 nights) per person, half board, bungalow 2 persons sea view. .
- AIR AUSTRAL: 3 weekly flights to Mahajanga via Reunion Island and Mayotte (2 stopovers). Starting from 1043 € A / R.
- It is good all year round (but avoid the rainy season from November to mid April).
- www.antsanitia.com / [email protected]