These last two day have been very hectic so I have struggled to find the time to put this blog together. Yesterday morning Portia, Steve and I went on a very vigorous trek into the Ranomafana National Park. We were in hunt of the golden brown bamboo lemur and the sporting lemur. Our park guide was Lory and he and his runner were excellent. In 1986 Lory was one of the guides that discovered the golden brown bamboo lemur as a new species of lemur.

The area of the park we were trekking in was along the gorge that the Namorona River had cut through the mountains. The sides of the gorge were very steep and we had to use the thick trunks of the bamboo and saplings to help pull ourselves up the slopes and to hold on to them to let ourselves down the slopes. It was very tough going at times. As I was puffing, trying to catch my breath, I realized how smart Mary Margaret was to sit this trek out. She had decided to stay at the lodge and make today a rest day. I was envious of her decision.

We were thankful that Lory employed a runner to go ahead and find where the lemurs were. They migrate a lot and unless you know where they have stopped to spend the night and then to eat in the morning, you would have to run all around this gorge trying to find them. The runner used his cell phone to call Lory and tell him where he had spotted a group of lemurs.


While we did see a number of lemurs and stopped to watch them socialize, eat and hop from tree to tree, they all stayed high in the canopy of the rain forest and you really needed special equipment to see them well. I had only brought my small camera with me on this trip and I should have brought our Nikon with the good, high powered zoom lens. The pictures I took cannot be blown up enough to really be what I would consider any good. I will post one or two so you can see what I mean.

When we returned to the lodge for lunch the four of us got together to strategize a bit. The lodge we were at was very poor and the food was just awful. The thought of spending another night here was just out of the question. Thus, we all decided to start our return trip to Tana a day early and leave right after lunch. Plus, we decided to have lunch at a different lodge, whose restaurant looked to be of better quality.

The lunch we did have was pretty good and soon we were packed back up in the van and heading back to the town of Ambositra. We had our tour guide, No No, make the arraignments for us so that we would stay here a day early and then spend two nights in Tana, instead of one. With much effort on his part, we got Kensington Tours to make the changes for us at no additional cost.

This morning, after another bad night of sleep, we left our hotel and stopped at a woodcutting workshop. Ambositra is the home of the Zafimaniry tribe, a subgroup of the Betsileo tribe, and are renowned for their wonderful wood cuttings. It was fascinating to see how they made the detailed inlaid wood carvings that end up looking like a painted scene. It is all done by hand or with using handmade, foot powered equipment.

We next drove 2 hours back to the town of Antsirabe, where we had lunch and explored the fair that was being held there. There were booths from each of the 22 districts that make up Madagascar with each district showcasing the unique crafts of their respective districts. We ended up buying a few things that we liked.

After lunch we started our serious drive back to the capital city of Tana. It was a 4.5 hour drive. While we were coming from the west and the airport is to the NW of the city, we had to drive into the center of the city to get our connecting road that took us to our hotel which in out toward the airport. The drive through the city was difficult as it was Saturday and everyone was out enjoying the weekend and going to the various stalls that line all of the roads in the city. It was a zoo with narrow roads, people, zebu, ox carts, hand carts, buses and cars all vying for the rights of the road.

It was well past dusk by the time we got to our hotel and we were bushed, not only from the long day but from the accumulated travels, treks and sightseeing that we have been doing during this adventure.

Tomorrow will be our last day of touring before Portia and Steve fly off to explore Turkey for a month and we fly back to Nosy Be and good old Leu Cat. We miss Leu Cat terribly and are looking forward to some rest and relaxation once we get back. Tomorrow we will explore a few of the sights that Tana has to offer including the King’s Palace and the Museum, which is the former prime minister’s house.