29th - 30th - Return home

Last night when coming back to Tana our guide set up a pickup at 1100 at the hotel so I could get to the airport to be there in time. This meant that I would have plenty of time to relax and pack before departure. To be able to say goodbye to people I showed up like everyone else for breakfast at around 0800 after which some people said their goodbyes and some went on an all-day city tour.

We were 3 people who were going to the airport at 1100. Unfortunately, the planned pickup never arrived so we took a random taxi that happened to come by. Three average sized Westerners including luggage in their small cars was a challenge but we managed to squeeze in and get to the airport.

Check-in was problem free (if you ignore I ended up arriving almost an hour before check-in actually opened), but the security/immigration was… thorough. Immigration sees passport and boarding pass. On the other side of the booth you show your passport. 20 steps further in a direct line of sight you show passport and boarding pass at security. I had to remove all camera equipment from my bag when going through the scanner. Got fondled by security - borderline sexual harassment. Picking up everything, 5 steps later you show passport, AND 10 STEPS LATER STILL IN VIEW OF SECURITY show passport and boarding pass and get questioned what I have in my bag (but he just said ".... Nah" when I asked if he wanted to see). Well, at least they are making sure nothing illicit is getting through…

Flight to Nairobi went fine, layover in Nairobi was still as dull as it always has been, and flight to Amsterdam was also unremarkable. Had a bit of a layover in Amsterdam without any issues and I was soon on the way to Copenhagen. When getting out of the plane and turning on my phone I immediately receive a text and mail. Both are from KLM and both of them say that my luggage accidentally didn’t come with me on the flight. Annoying, but luckily it was on my way home and not going somewhere (and one might say that statistically with all the flights in recent years me losing my bag was something that was bound to happen sooner rather than later) and all I needed to do was to go to the luggage service and report it lost and they would take care of things.

I received a call a couple of hours after coming home from them informing me that they had received my bag and the following evening somebody came by with it. In the end a bit inconvenient but they did everything in their power to make it easier for them. And they did.

So, all in all it was another great trip. Got to see a bunch of animals I haven’t seen before and of course meet a lot of nice people on my way. Big thanks to Bentine, Sara, Dave, Esben, Fran, Boris & Michael, Michael, Bob & Sue, Janine, Greg, Deb and Nataliya, and thanks to our guide Riana and the driver and assistant Mamy and Henri. You guys made the trip even better and more fun than it would otherwise have been. Thank you all and hope we’ll have a chance to meet again some time. 

28th - Return to Tana

We had a flight back to Tana at 1650 from Toliara airport which meant we left the resort around 1330. Before that we had had lunch but otherwise nothing was set, which meant that we had a couple of last hours to go for a swim and relax.

We were picked up by 4 4x4s (as the bus had left us at the resort and driven back to Tana, ready to pick us up at the airport upon return) which kept a slightly… more fresh speed than the bus was capable of. And they had A/C. Score! On the way to the airport we passed by a minibus that was completely stuffed full with people and they were even seated on the roof – surrounding a large crate. And a big cross erected in the front of the roof. We later confirmed that it was a burial procession and yes; the crate on the roof was actually the casket. Unfortunately, due to the speed of us passing by the vehicle, I didn’t get to get a photo of it. It was a fascinating sight, to be honest.

Air Madagascar is apparently notoriously unreliable, almost half of all departures are delayed and quite a few cancelled due to non-existing reasons. Luckily our flight was only app. ½ an hour late so everything was fine. The flight itself was unremarkable though I got to experience for the first time to be on a flight with free seating. It wasn’t even a small plane but a full 3+3.

Arriving in Tana we were picked up by the bus and went straight for the restaurant in walking distance from the hotel. Dinner was had and on completion we walked to the hotel where the guide and driver/assistant had checked us in while we had been ordering dinner. Afterwards 5 of us went out to have a few drinks. The last 3 of us returned to the hotel at around 0300, a bit later than I had expected but we had fun so who cares?

27th - Relaxation, part II

The part of the group who had stayed at the resort for dinner last night had been briefed by our guide during the meal about the plans for today. As I had shown interest in going snorkeling today a note was put on our door when returning last night from the restaurant informing of a departure time of 0830. It felt early with all the shenanigans going on so I hoped it wouldn’t be too hard to get up in time.

It turned out that it wasn’t.

I woke up at 0600 with a miserable headache and feeling sore all over, feeling every single drop of alcohol from last night. With a couple of painkillers, plenty of water and a small breakfast we were soon off and I found that the fresh air helped immensely. Half an hour in a pirogue (a narrow boat with an outrigger and a sail) brought us to the reef where we snorkeled for an hour or so. The reef has been worn down considerably by pollution (and also areas with bleaching) but there were still things to see. Towards the end the wind had picked up slightly resulting in bigger waves and making it almost chilly when sitting in the boat when coming back up.

Lunch was had not long after returning and the afternoon some went out on a dugout canoe ride while the rest of us were just hanging out and trying to do as little as possible in the sun. We were pretty successful at that.

For dinner we walked further down the beach than yesterday. We found a fancy restaurant with accordingly fancy prices. Service was slow and food was only OK, so we quickly retreated when we finished our meals. We returned to the resort around 2200 and as opposed to yesterday everyone pretty much went straight to bed.

26th - Relaxation, part I

As we were spending a couple of days at this resort where nothing is planned and we can – more or less – do whatever we want I decided to sleep in. Which was ruined by the fact that I woke up wide awake 0630.

I got up and out half an hour later, had breakfast and spent pre-lunch in the pool and at the beach. It was low tide and you could walk for quite a while and only have the water reach your thighs so it wasn’t as successful as I had hoped.

Lunch was had and at 1430 we took zebu carts (ox carts) to the nearby Spiny Forest Reserve where we were toured around to see various plants and all Madagascar’s 6 baobab trees.

Driving ox-carts to our destination was more fun than expected.

Leopard tortoises.

Three-eyed lizard.

Baobab tree.

Not a baobab tree, but a lizard sitting on a non-baobab tree.

Some of the trees were pretty big (group without the two Norwegians).

For dinner 6 of us left the resort and took a short walk down the beach where we located a restaurant with lobsters on the menu. After our order they removed it from the menu. 6 (large) servings of lobster + sides, 3 liters of white wine, water and 4 desserts ended up costing us the equivalent of app. 15USD per person. The price was, in other words, not bad.

We were a bit buzzed when coming back and it didn’t get better when we ended up in our bungalow with a sweet bottle of white wine and a bottle of rum. It turned into quite a late night.

25th - Last ride

Once again we were ready for the day’s schedule at 0730. After paying our bills we left our hotel and set on a 7-8 hours’ drive to our last step on our tour before returning to Tana.

The drive took us through some very poor areas of Madagascar; they seemed poorer (simpler?) than other areas I have seen – including mainland Africa – with houses seemingly only being built from some main branches and otherwise straw. It is hot and dry – and this is winter! The locals’ demeanor seems more aggressive (or maybe competitive?), too; at a short break to photograph baobab trees one of the elder mature grey pound women in the group wanted to give the kids some balloons. The moment she pulled her hand with the balloons out of her pocket they were torn out of her hand. She tried keeping the remaining out of reach she seemed to be close to be toppled over. She seemed genuinely frightened. One of the other local boys, I doubt more than 13-16 years, came running over and forcefully pushed and kicked the kids away giving her a chance to get safely back to the bus. It was a very different experience compared to previously where the kids received them with restraint and seemed genuinely happy and appreciated the gifts.

This was the kind of buildings the villages consisted of.

Reaching Toliara on the west coast we had lunch at an amazing Italian restaurant (apparently the only “good” restaurant for miles) before continuing to our resort 1 hour’s drive north in Ifaty. During the break we did some shopping as we won’t be able to buy snacks until we are back in Tana. Some of us might have bought a bit of local rum which made the last part of the drive even more fun. In Ifaty we will spend 3 nights having a free schedule doing what we want, relaxing and whatnot. Tomorrow most of us will go on a walk in the nearby Spiny Forest Reserve and the day after likely snorkeling at the reef. In between? Doing nothing, having a few drinks, spending time at the beach 50 meters away or at the pool. Very stressful!

After having taken out money to cover expenses for the rest of the trip.

You feel rich with 1,1mio ariary in your hand ignoring the horrible exchange rate. 

24th - Into the oven

With an early start at 0730 we stocked up on water and drove half an hour before we started the day’s walk.

With high temperatures and not a cloud we walked 4 hours where we got to see the area and rocky environment we were located in. I was surprised how few birds we saw, mainly just a few insects and chameleons.

Saw this wasp-like creature grab hold of a grasshopper and try and fly away with it.

Every time it passed by a leaf of grass the grasshopper grabbed on to it which resulted in a short struggle before the wasp could continue flying. In the end the wasp obviously won.

It is exactly what it looks like; the right tree has a branch circling around the left trunk.

The lack of wildlife changed when we finished lunch which we had after the first part of the tour. We had lunch at a campsite which have had groups of lemurs living from the trash and leftovers of the visitors which made them less scared of humans that usual – and these were wild animals, not like the ones found on Lemur Island. We were visited by a white lemur which they apparently only had one of left in the park. On top of that multiple striped tail lemurs appeared; being wild animals they kept their distance but being close to humans they were obviously not very shy.

White sifaka.

Ring-tailed lemurs.

Note the hand to the right - that was how not shy the animals were.

After this we started the second part of today’s plan; making our way to a natural pool where we would have the opportunity to swim. The way there was through a narrow gorge with equally narrow paths to be walked trying to keep our feet dry. Being there it was nice and serene and the water was great after getting used to it. Coming back to the bus (which was a 10 minutes’ walk after returning to the campsite) we returned to the hotel at 1630, effectively making it the shortest day yet.

Walking to the pool.

The pool

Tomorrow we are leaving at the same time as today but we can look forward to a 7-8 hours’ drive to the last hotel in Ifaty at the coast before returning to Tana after 3 nights.

23rd - Even more lemurs!

We had a late start at 0830 where we went to see a local paper factory. As it turned out to be owned and connected to the hotel we stayed at it required a mere 50m walk to get there. Exactly the same process as every other paper factory that relies on manual labor and not machines.

Half an hour later we drove a couple of minutes to see a silk factory. Again a place where they rely on manual labor as one would expect. It was quickly obvious that except for the starting process where they soak the silk the process is the exact same as if it had been wool.

After this we had half an hour drive to a private reserve where we got to see striped-tail lemurs. There is a high concentration of them in a relatively small area so sightings were practically guaranteed. After a short walk to a lookout point we returned to where we started the walk and had lunch. The lunch ended up lasting longer than expected as they had run out of bread so easy sandwiches were out of the question, but after this we left and drove 4-5 hours to arrive at Ranohira.

Striped-tailed lemur.

Dragonfly.

Every place we’ve been has had wifi (except at the homestay). A surprise, but a pleasant one. While it was turned on at 1900 and turned off at 2000 here it was still more than one should expect and we still managed to establish contact to the outside world in the that timeframe.

Tomorrow we will leave at 0730 for a short drive before doing a 10 km/8 hour walk. It’s hot, dry and in the open so there will be no risk of freezing on the way. Lunch will be handled by guides who will cook for us at the appropriate time. Luxury!

22nd - More lemurs

At 0730 we left the hotel to have a 4 hour walk in the national park. A 15 minutes’ drive later we got split into 3 groups with each our guide, with two spotters running around finding the animals and keeping the guides up to date.

It was a relatively easy walk with times of mud and slippery surfaces when we went off the beaten track to get closer to the animals, primarily lemurs. With most of them we got fairly close and it was made easy for us as they were mostly just sitting still. But if they started moving around they could be very fast. We managed to see the large bamboo lemur, a species they only have two of in the park (a father and daughter) and app. 80 in total in Madagascar. It had apparently been 5 months since our guide had seen one last time so it was just as fun for him as for us when we spotted it.

Stinkhorn mushroom.

A deal-leaf gecko of some sort.

Dragonfly.

Milne Edward's lemur.

Giraffe beetle. 

Afterwards we returned to the hotel for lunch before leaving at 1330 to the next destination, Ambalavao. We arrived at 1800 and got checked in and settled before dinner as usual. 

Tomorrow there will be a chance to see a paper factory followed by a silk ditto, a short drive will bring us to a private park giving us a chance to see ring-tailed lemurs and in the afternoon a 4-ish hour drive to our next stop, Ranohira. 

21st - On the road again

We got up and had breakfast as planned before leaving on schedule. We had a gentle walk of 4 km before getting picked up by the bus. On the way there we got to see several hot air balloons which apparently was a first in Madagascar.

Ahead of us was an 8-9 hours’ drive including breaks, only stopping for toilet breaks and lunch. Getting closer to the hotel we were given the offer of an evening walk around 1½ hours before arrival – nobody raised their hands. We were generally just looking forward to get to Ranomafana and showers.

Tomorrow we leave at 0730 for a morning drive, come back to the hotel for lunch before an afternoon 4 hours’ drive to the next location.

20th - Walking on sunshine

Today we were to spend the night at a homestay to which we walked to ourselves. This meant that everything we’d need for the day and night we’d have to pack into our daypacks with the rest left at the bus. I decided to leave my big lens behind as there would be no wildlife and I could use the space it took in the camera bag for a change of clothes and the like.

Breakfast seemed orderly until they tried serving our ordered menus and it was made clear they had no idea what they were doing. Jam and juice never arrived and it took several attempts for them to understand it was missing.

We left at 0845 and on the way to our drop-off we stopped by lake Andraikiba. When getting dropped off we did the 8 km walk at a gentle pace to the homestay and have lunch. The weather was clear and hot so luckily we avoided the rain.

Lake Andraikiba.

Starting the walk towards the homestay.

At 1400 we left and had a short 2-ish km walk to meet a shaman living in a local village who showed us various tools and medicinal herbs and plants. It was quite interesting and probably even more so if you believed in it (though I’ll admit that a lot of modern medicine is based on the healing abilities of certain substances found in said plants). During the start where he asked the gods & spirits for permission to start he managed to drink half a bottle (37cl bottle, though) of rum as part of the procedure. It was amazing to watch. He finished off with summoning a spirit into his assistant. That was…. theatrical. And apparently spirits are summoned by modern dance music played on an old mobile phone.

The shaman (with his assistant) describing the use of a duck's head.

By holding it's beak you can make people not talk, opening it it has the opposite result.

One of the many fruits and plants used for its healing abilities.

On the way back to the homestay we were crowded by local children; they love getting their photos taken without asking for anything in return – and some of them are surprisingly photogenic.

On return at the homestay we were treated with snacks and moonshine (which hasn’t been less than 60%, probably 70%). Then a fire was set up and a few locals came to play traditional songs with what seemed to be every child from the nearby villages who ran around dancing.

Afterwards we had dinner but not before our day’s guide sang and played us a few songs and one in the group couldn’t avoid us singing happy birthday for her on her 50^th birthday.

Tomorrow is an early departure; breakfast at 0630 and departure at 0715. We’ll walk a short 4 km walk back to the bus and then drive 8-9 hours to Ranomafana. We are all looking forward to that and showers – due to the dryness and dust here we have all acquired ourselves impressive dust tans. I feel sorry for the bed linen here.