Isalo National Park

 We left Ifaty early yesterday and had a very long day in the van.  9 hours I think.  First we stopped at a grocery store so we could buy water and snacks for a picnic lunch at a gas station. That was the only stop we had to look forward to.   I'm sure I took some pictures on the road.  Lemme check. 

Traffic Jam

Traffic Jam

We stopped at this giant Boabab tree

Where I saw this Madagascar Bee-eater

We finally arrived at the gas station.  Which was closed.  But the reason Coco wanted to come to this station was because there is shade to have our picnic lunch.  Shade turned out to be a crumbling gazebo with no seats.  So, we all stood around eating whatever we bought.  Mostly cheese and bread (melted cheese and hard bread)

'Fortunately' the 'bathroom' was open.  It was vile but Coco said it is that or 'bushy bushy'.  While peeing outside seemed preferable to this awful toilet, the prospect of peeing on the side of a barren highway with constant traffic seemed less desirable.  So, we all held our noses (literally and figuratively) and used the available facilities.  

Our shady gazebo

Then, we drove 5 minutes down the road and Coco asked if anyone wants a cold drink because there is another gas station. Yes, please.  

This gas station also had a bathroom, actually multiple bathrooms.  Which had doors, and worked and had been cleaned in the last 24 hours!  Coco says, oh ya, this place has better toilets.  Coco is dead now.  Not really but Coco has a way that we are all trying to figure out.  Wayne (UK) said 'classic Coco' like an 80's sitcom catch phrase and it is going to stick because everything is classic Coco.  He is vague with information, sometimes contradictory, explanations are not in any sort of linear timeline.  We all keep asking each other if we know where we are going next.  No is generally the answer.  But, you know...  classic Coco.

Ok back to the road.  

This used to be all forested.  

We passed through the sapphire mining area.  I watched a show on this and the miners are literally digging tunnels that are held open with twigs.  If the tunnel collapses, they will likely die.  They take all of the risks and get pennies for any gems they find.  

They lug huge bags of rocks from the mines to the river to wash
them to see if there are any sapphires. 

The miners live in mud huts and the gem buyers live in 
houses like these.  The buyers are all foreign.

There are these huge tombs all along the highway. 
They don't exhumate in this area once a body is in the tomb
This is one person.  It is probably 30x30 feet, maybe more

The van was hot, hot, hot.  We eventually made it to the hotel.  But just to drop off three people who weren't up for the next short event.  It involved a hill.

G Adventures has at least one G for Good activity on each tour.  Our G for Good was to so some tree planting.  G has hooked up with an organization that is trying to save/recover some local forests.  They have bought some land and are planting indigenous trees.  They also plant eucalyptus trees for the local communities so they cut those for firewood instead of the trees in the park.  

We got to plant a small tract of trees.  Followed by some snacks on the BBQ

Back to the hotel.  Finally out of the van!  

Owned by the people who do the tree planting.

We arrived in the dark again so I have to check if I took a picture of my room.

I guess the answer is yes

Coco showing us what we have in store
for the morning.  A hike in Isalo National 
Park.  In pure classic Coco fashion, with a
hand drawn map on a scratchy white board

Then dinner at the hotel restaurant.  There was a band and dancers

I had pumpkin soup.

OK.  That was the drive and getting here.  Next is Isalo National Park.  I'm not sure which is going to die first, my computer battery or my battery but I'll get started. It was a big day! 

Coco had given us multiple options for hikes.  The three people not up for the big hike were leaving the hotel at 10 am and they could walk @ 1 km to the picnic area where lemurs often hang around.  

The rest of us would meet at 7:30 am.  Our hike was in stages with multiple jump out points.  First, a 3km hike up to the lookout with a beautiful view.  Next, 4 km more to get to a natural pool and then onto the picnic area. This, we were told would be not too hard but the last km was challenging with lots of stairs, first up then down.   We would meet the three for lunch and then we could exit or carry onto the next set of pools.  

I decided to go for the lookout and then decide.  Our guide was very good and he never rushed anyone.  I mostly kept up.  It was a young fit crowd.  I was at the back but not embarrassingly so.  

(computer is about to die and my lovely tour mate, Chris, just arrived and we are sharing a beer.  So you all are going to have to wait)

Next morning with very little juice in my computer.  It isn't charging well. 

pictures from the hike to the lookout

The map at the trailhead.  Maybe Coco's
map wasn't so bad, after all.

baby 'elephant foot' tree, in bloom

Roland, soon to be my savior

Summit!

At that point, I felt like Roland was keeping a decent, slow pace, so I decided to carry onto the pool and picnic area (4 km).  Coco had said the last km was hard, lots of stairs, up and down.  But I wanted to get to the pool.  

Roland gave us lots of information about the funeral practices of the cultural group that lives in this area.  This group don't exhume their ancestors from tombs.  They leave the body in a coffin (very elaborately decorated with lots of symbolism). Then when it is just bones, they inter it high up on a cliff with rocks to protect it.  And there it stays.  The second internment is a big celebration with lots of rum.  Which Roland explained can be tricky with the rock climbing and all.

a coffin (empty)

on the top is a white zebu on the left (birth)
a house in the middle (life) and a black zebu 
on the right (death).  It is covered with mirrors
and coins (flower side out for a woman, zebu side 
out for a man). 

This was very high up, a final resting place

The walk wasn't too bad.  All good.  We got to the pool!  I was so glad I made the trek

From above.  There were people there when we arrived
but they left and we had to place to ourselves

That's it for now.  My battery didn't run out but the clock did.  More later.  

Still next day but nighttime now. 

Back to the Madagascar version of the Andean Death March (hi val)

We left the pool.  The next 2 km were over an open plain. It was after 11 am by this point and it was getting HOT.  Fortunately, there was a bit of a breeze but not enough to not make it so HOT.  Val will not be surprised to hear that I did not bring enough water.  In my defense, I had planned to head back after the lookout but it all seemed so not hard.  

We were all pretty slow over the open plain.  I was trailing but I would catch up when the group would stop and huddle under any shade they happened upon. It was slightly uphill but not too bad. But it was so hot.  

We finally got off the open plain and into a very tiny bit of tree cover.  Then the stairs!  THE STAIRS!  Uneven, random, stone steps down for a kilometre.  My bad knee didn't quite give out, but it definitely considered it and let me know in no uncertain terms that it was still on the table.  So, I went slow.  So slow.  they say Mora Mora - slowly, slowly - here.  I think I took Mora Mora to a whole new level. 

Roland stayed with me the whole time, often going backwards so he could hold my hand down the big steps.  I'm not sure if I have any pictures to convey the steepness or the steps but I'll check.  

This is really the only one.  I was too busy trying not to fall. 
See that railing. Roland called it decorative only.  it was made
of broken, splintery bamboo, only loosely attached to wobbly
railing with protruding nails. So, not a good source of support.

This is a trail marker claiming it was only 250 meters 
to the picnic area.  It doesn't mention it is straight down!

But then!  Then we arrived at the picnic area where the group was sitting at a table with a brown lemur just hanging out, hoping for some food.  

I didn't get a great shot of this guy

As we were eating, some ring tailed lemurs showed up, and two of them had teeny-tiny babies hanging on to them!  I have more pictures of ring tails from the next day so I won't overdo them here.

COME ON!!!!

AND THEN!  The Sifkas arrived.  With another baby!  These ones were up in the trees, jumping from branch to branch but I think I got a shot of the baby.  

It's a bad picture but I think it is the only one of the baby

The baby is in there, I can see his tail. 
Someone with a better computer screen will
have to tell me if that is his little face

And then they left.  We had seen all three diurnal species of lemurs in Isalo in one place.  It was amazing an made me forget how tired I was.  

The bulk of the group headed up to the next set of pools and some of us took the short path (1 km) back to the parking lot.  We did see some stuff on that last bit but after the lemurs... I can't remember.  To the photos

oh ya, a chameleon.

And that was Isalo National Park. It almost killed me but it was worth it.  

I woke up the next day to this guy waiting outside my bungalow.  He had a message for Robynne. 

Hang in there, you're doing great! But remember, he goes on to say, 
Acct 210 is now a co-req with ACCT 211.

On those wise dog's words (which he mostly conveyed with his eyes), I shall bid you good night.  Yet another early morning tomorrow.