Sunday October 16: West Ankarana NP
So it had been an uncomfortable night with our stomachs misbehaving. Not unexpected, considering all the different foods that we've been eating, and the different microbial flora that we've been exposed to. Still, it wasn't conducive to a good night's sleep and to make matters worse, we had planned an early hike this morning. We were supposed to leave at 7:00!
I somehow managed to drag myself out of bed for our early breakfast, but Chris still felt miserable and didn’t bother. I was only marginally better than she was, and I could only handle a little coffee and juice. Not really enough sustenance for a day of hiking but what can you do?
I went back to check in on her after breakfast, and she decided to stay in the room while I went hiking with one of the other couples in our group. The third couple decided to hike later, so they said that said that they'd check in with Chris to see if she felt well enough to come out with them later.
So it was just three of us this morning. It was a bit of a walk from the camp to the far edge of the cliff escarpment, then a climb up to the top.
It was already feeling warm despite the early hour. The bush camp looked tiny in the valley below us. The landscape seemingly went on forever!
The morning hike was tough and hot, through a large area of bare rock, even though it was still very early.
After the climb up the escarpment, we hiked carefully along the sharp rocks to a couple of lookout points.
So many cool rock formations to see here! The shapes were amazing.
But the edges were so sharp. You really need to watch your footing here.
You really do NOT want to fall on these rocks.
Then we descended between the tsingy to go on a journey through one of the many caves that lie under the rocks.
We spend a long time exploring, as there were great rock formations, and as a plus, it was much cooler in the cave! Very refreshing.
The roots of the trees had worked their way down into the cave below.
As we exited, we saw the other couple heading into the cave for their hike, but Chris wasn't with them. Guess she still wasn't feeling up to it.
The three of us headed back to the camp to get ready for lunch and I was relieved to find Chris, out and about. Well, actually she was hanging out in the lounge, using the (very slow) WiFi connection, so I knew that she was feeling a little better.
We ate a little more food for lunch, and then rested some more until it was time for our late afternoon hike.
We thought that we'd try the swimming pool, but that wasn't a very good idea as it turned out. It does look pretty...
But it's not chlorinated, and there were some interesting bugs there! One was about the size of my thumb, and swam very well, using two legs that stuck out the side of its body like oars on a rowboat!
Not the kind of place where you can relax in the water. We contented ourselves with sitting by the edge, enjoying the view.
In the late afternoon, we all gathered for a boat ride across the lake. We piled into dugout canoes and it was a leisurely paddle to the other side, where the steep cliffs stood before us.
The paddle took longer than expected, because a herd of zebu decided to cross a narrow part of the lake in front of us Since they are bigger, we had to wait.
They definitely move at their own speed, when they decide that they want to. If they want to stop for a nibble of grass, not much you can do about it but wait.
From this part of the cliffs, it was a shorter climb than this morning to reach a sunset Belvedere. Our guide put his shoes on and got ready to climb.
Not quite as far up as this morning, but no stroll in the park either!
The view was nice, but there were a few low clouds that masked the sunset somewhat. Eventually it poked out near the horizon.
Pretty colors, though, and a chance to play with the camera settings to try to capture that perfect sunset color. I always purposefully underexpose sunset pictures.
Our guides surprised us with some treats to enjoy the view with. They had lugged those bottles up to the top of the mountain for us!
The view the other way was pretty too, with rows of mountains stretching into the distance as far as you could see.
Once the show was over, we put on headlamps and hiked home in the dark.
For dinner tonight I think we were all pretty tired of zebu so we all had pizzas instead of the usual menu. They actually had a pretty decent number of choices and it tasted really good.
My appetite had returned fairly completely, and I was hungry from having missed a meal or two, so I was able to knock off my whole pizza.
Chris was still on the mend, so I needed to help her out a little. Early to bed, right after dinner tonight.
Tomorrow, another early day. We will drive to the local airstrip to catch a charter flight halfway down the island. We had to do this as a charter, as it would have been otherwise impossible to get to our next destination without a few extra days of traveling. That would have meant giving up something else.
So it had been an uncomfortable night with our stomachs misbehaving. Not unexpected, considering all the different foods that we've been eating, and the different microbial flora that we've been exposed to. Still, it wasn't conducive to a good night's sleep and to make matters worse, we had planned an early hike this morning. We were supposed to leave at 7:00!
I somehow managed to drag myself out of bed for our early breakfast, but Chris still felt miserable and didn’t bother. I was only marginally better than she was, and I could only handle a little coffee and juice. Not really enough sustenance for a day of hiking but what can you do?
I went back to check in on her after breakfast, and she decided to stay in the room while I went hiking with one of the other couples in our group. The third couple decided to hike later, so they said that said that they'd check in with Chris to see if she felt well enough to come out with them later.
 |
| Iharana Bush Camp, at the edge of the water. |
So it was just three of us this morning. It was a bit of a walk from the camp to the far edge of the cliff escarpment, then a climb up to the top.
It was already feeling warm despite the early hour. The bush camp looked tiny in the valley below us. The landscape seemingly went on forever!
The morning hike was tough and hot, through a large area of bare rock, even though it was still very early.
After the climb up the escarpment, we hiked carefully along the sharp rocks to a couple of lookout points.
So many cool rock formations to see here! The shapes were amazing.
But the edges were so sharp. You really need to watch your footing here.
You really do NOT want to fall on these rocks.
Then we descended between the tsingy to go on a journey through one of the many caves that lie under the rocks.
We spend a long time exploring, as there were great rock formations, and as a plus, it was much cooler in the cave! Very refreshing.
The roots of the trees had worked their way down into the cave below.
As we exited, we saw the other couple heading into the cave for their hike, but Chris wasn't with them. Guess she still wasn't feeling up to it.
 |
| Our cabin at Iharana Bush Camp |
The three of us headed back to the camp to get ready for lunch and I was relieved to find Chris, out and about. Well, actually she was hanging out in the lounge, using the (very slow) WiFi connection, so I knew that she was feeling a little better.
 |
| Swimming Pool, Iharana Bush Camp |
We thought that we'd try the swimming pool, but that wasn't a very good idea as it turned out. It does look pretty...
But it's not chlorinated, and there were some interesting bugs there! One was about the size of my thumb, and swam very well, using two legs that stuck out the side of its body like oars on a rowboat!
Not the kind of place where you can relax in the water. We contented ourselves with sitting by the edge, enjoying the view.In the late afternoon, we all gathered for a boat ride across the lake. We piled into dugout canoes and it was a leisurely paddle to the other side, where the steep cliffs stood before us.
The paddle took longer than expected, because a herd of zebu decided to cross a narrow part of the lake in front of us Since they are bigger, we had to wait.
They definitely move at their own speed, when they decide that they want to. If they want to stop for a nibble of grass, not much you can do about it but wait.
From this part of the cliffs, it was a shorter climb than this morning to reach a sunset Belvedere. Our guide put his shoes on and got ready to climb.
Not quite as far up as this morning, but no stroll in the park either!
The view was nice, but there were a few low clouds that masked the sunset somewhat. Eventually it poked out near the horizon.
Pretty colors, though, and a chance to play with the camera settings to try to capture that perfect sunset color. I always purposefully underexpose sunset pictures.
Our guides surprised us with some treats to enjoy the view with. They had lugged those bottles up to the top of the mountain for us!
The view the other way was pretty too, with rows of mountains stretching into the distance as far as you could see.
Once the show was over, we put on headlamps and hiked home in the dark.
For dinner tonight I think we were all pretty tired of zebu so we all had pizzas instead of the usual menu. They actually had a pretty decent number of choices and it tasted really good.
My appetite had returned fairly completely, and I was hungry from having missed a meal or two, so I was able to knock off my whole pizza.
Chris was still on the mend, so I needed to help her out a little. Early to bed, right after dinner tonight.
Tomorrow, another early day. We will drive to the local airstrip to catch a charter flight halfway down the island. We had to do this as a charter, as it would have been otherwise impossible to get to our next destination without a few extra days of traveling. That would have meant giving up something else.
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