Best vacation ever vacation. Shout out to the Sud-Esters that started that sentence structure here. Best _____ Ever ______. Your legacy lives on. And “Gossip Stage” (last stage that COS’d) or at least Gossip Stage Betsileo Region, yours does too….NAILED IT!

After MSC and before the upcoming supposed elections, some of my Stage and I decided to take a trip down the Tsiribihina River to the city of Morondava, home to the baobobs and Tsingy.

We spent 3 days in canoes, 6 days camping, and 8 days totally enjoying each other’s company (or getting on each others nerves, depending on which way you look at it). It was overall the best trip I have had in country and worth the no vacation days left.

We were split up in three canoes (3, 3, and 4) for the river part of our journey: Cute/Switzerland Canoe, Academic Canoe, and Battleship Canoe. Each earned their name.

Battleship Canoe – 2 slingshots, seemly never ending supply of chick peas as ammo, and binoculars.
Cute Canoe – music playing, reading Harry Potter out loud, sunbathing, and absolute refusal of drinking beer but instead wine and rum and coke. Only ones without a slingshot and always placed in the middle of the other two, when slingshot wars got outrageous.
Academic Canoe – brought along reading materials….academic journals. Whenever they were near another canoe, they were always discussing some article and sharing their opinions. They were very strategic about using their slingshot and limited ammo

It’s probably not too difficult to determine which canoe I was in….Cute Canoe. Fitting to my personality, right?

It sorta felt like something you would find at sleep away wilderness camp. Camping in tents along the river bed, hiking, eating by candlelight, exploring areas off the beaten path.

We saw little lemurs hopping around and saw/swam/walked though an amazing waterfall.

The Tsingy, which is by far one of the coolest things I have seen in country (Cirque Rouge in Mahajanga being the next), was something that was out of this world. How does this exist above ground?

And oh the lovely baobobs. It wouldn’t be a complete trip until you took some ridiculous photos. Like me ‘pushing’ a baobob while my friend ‘pushes’ the other way.

And at the Love Baobob, Cute Canoe showed our love for each other.

Best trip ever trip. And I may not have any more vacation days but it was worth the year I have left of service that I will be spending at site. NAILED IT!