Maeva* is an intern at ADES and is currently writing her Master's thesis in Madagascar. She gives us an insight into her experiences.

After our unfortunately only few days in Fianarantsoa, and after we have packed everything up again to continue our journey, I'm really just looking forward to it, because we have another wonderful route ahead of us. Luc and I are now accompanied by Sendra (DirEx reforestation and Ecoles programmes) to Morondava and the long car journeys that follow are great fun. With short breaks in between, during which Sendra buys a Malagasy cervelat and tiny salty fish as a snack (at 8 o'clock in the morning!), Luc and I take a selfie with Sendra sleeping in the background and we bob back and forth together in coordination to the radio I have turned up, the journey is very relaxed. We arrive late in the afternoon at a slightly outlying hotel in Antsirabe, where we don't move much. We have dinner together, find and read a Malagasy comic and then all go to sleep before we set off again the next day for Morondava. This interlinked journey is already taking a long time, and I'm starting to realise it now, but I still really enjoy watching the landscape go by. The last stage is a long, straight road on which more and more things happen. You get the impression that you are about to enter the city, but the road stretches for a surprisingly long time in between - with lots of people travelling on foot, pousse-pousse, stalls, carts pulled by Zébus, and several huts and houses between large rice fields surrounded by banana trees. But far ahead on the horizon, the first baobab rises, ever larger, big and mighty, like a lighthouse or guardian in front of Morondava. When we finally arrive, we stop by the sea to watch the sunset before making it to the hotel at dusk. There is a pool here, and after a quick change of rooms, we all jump into the refreshing and cool water!

I really like what little I get to know of Morondava over the next few days. The town gives me a similar feeling to Toliara, only smaller and a little clearer. The beach is also easily accessible and invites you to have a drink in one of the many bars in the evening. Unlike Toliara, there is a long beach promenade here where you can watch people sitting, chatting, hugging or walking. When we arrive at the ADES centre in Morondava, we are not only given a great tour by Ella, but also prepared and very informative presentations about the latest activities of her team as well as a huge feast! There are large quantities of rice, carrot and cucumber salad, chicken and fish cooked in the solar oven! It's a huge, sumptuously laid table and it's lovely to be able to sit at the table with everyone. This is not only my first visit to Morondava; Sendra and Luc are also both here for the first time. After the meal, we visit two school projects where schoolchildren are planting gardens - and then a family that has bought the solar cooker. However, it still looks brand new and unused and has been stored in the house, so I hope it will be used in other ways. Either way, there was a lot of excitement when ADES came to visit accompanied by two Vazahs (editor's note: Vazaha; Malagasy for European), and there was probably a whole school class and about half the neighbourhood suddenly standing around us. In addition to the visit to the ADES centre, the next day we also go to Zazamalala Park: a partner of ours who has reforested and protected a relatively large area. It is a beautiful park that is also home to land and water turtles, crocodiles, a mosquito hotel (why?!) and lemurs. We were immensely lucky, because although the water creatures were quite funny in their ponds and our guide presented them quite proudly and excitedly pointed to the few animals that were briefly visible on the dark surface of the water, lemurs are of much greater interest to me. And just as we set off again, four sifaka lemurs sit above us in the trees.

And our luck continues. We set off again later in the afternoon, make a stopover to buy an aperitif and then drive to Baobab Avenue. It is incredibly impressive. You can see the majestic trees towering into the sky from afar, and suddenly there really is a long avenue, protected and guarded by the Malagasy giants. Baobabs are also known as the roots of the sky: It is said here that when the gods saw the majestic and sublime baobabs on earth, they became envious and angry! So they grabbed the trees and stuck them upside down with their crowns in the ground and their roots in the air to mock them. Well, that probably didn't work, because the roots of the sky remain incredibly impressive to this day and have lost none of their awe-inspiring form. The baobabs are also known as the kings of the forest and the tree is sacred because she is the creator of all life - Zanahary. So we walk along the avenue, together with many other tourists, imitating the shapes of the branches, taking some incredibly successful photos around the up to seven metre thick tree trunk and enjoying the sunset between the royal trees. We only leave when it is really dark. And just as we are standing between the baobabs and slowly making our way back to our driver, lightning flashes across the sky. It is a breathtaking spectacle and we stay a little longer, watching the clouds light up for seconds in the distant sky between the baobabs, until we finally make it back to the car. In Maroantsetra, we say goodbye to our driver Vona and my beloved car journeys. While Sendra takes the driver back to Antsirabe and then to Fianarantsoa, Luc and I fly back to Tana. Almost three weeks have already passed, an incredible amount has happened and yet the time has flown by. These are now Luc's last two days in Tana, and we fill them with a day at the office, a visit to the market, discovering some great new dishes on the menu at our hotel and stuffing 50 ADES T-shirts into our small hand luggage case! When Luc waves to me for the last time before his car turns the corner towards the airport, it's a strange feeling at first, because now I'm on my own. At the same time, I'm extremely glad that I'm not yet in the car for my return journey and that my adventure is still continuing. I'm still a long way from wanting to leave again, and in two days' time I'll be travelling again!

* Name changed