POD POWER

MADAGASCAR'S CALLING CARD TO THE WORLD MAY BE VANILLA, BUT TAOLAGNARO, ON ITS SOUTHEASTERN TIP, DRAWS IN VISITORS WITH ITS UNASSUMING CHARM AND STARTLINGLY BEAUTIFUL SEA.

- Paula Slier

The first time I arrived in Taolagnaro, it was quiet. My mother and I slipped into town early, before the day had properly announced itself. The sea was already awake. Waves crashed rhythmically against the shore, loud enough to drown out thought, steady enough to feel reassuring. We wandered briefly, disappeared into a bathroom stop, re-emerged, and left again. Some places don’t demand much ceremony when you meet them for the first time.

The second arrival could not have been more different.

By midday, Taolagnaro was hosting a spectacle. Our ship released its passengers into a neat, improbable queue of tuk-tuks, 20 or more, lined up nose to tail. The convoy crawled over the sandy streets, tourists from all over the world compressed into small three-wheeled vehicles, while locals lined the pavements waving, laughing, pointing. Children ran alongside us. For once, the tourists weren't sightseeing-we were the attraction.