Sunday, October 9, 2016: Antananarivo to Andasibe
We were up before 8AM, though we had slept reasonably well, and we felt OK despite less than 7 hours of sleep. Maybe it was the adrenaline, as we were pretty excited to get started! Or, the nice view from our hotel window.
We headed down for the breakfast buffet at the hotel, which was nice; bread, cheese, meats, jams, and a few hot items like bacon, rice, and banana fritters. It was accompanied by tasty strong coffee! The others were there and waiting for us, so we caught up and heard from our two companions who had arrived earlier than we had.
The good news was that they had made their connection in Johannesburg - they had been worried about the 1h50 connection time. Unfortunately, none of their luggage had made the connection! Apparently, a conveyor belt at the Joberg airport had broken, and all sorts of luggage had been lost yesterday.
So they had taken advantage of their afternoon arrival yesterday to buy some clothes at the local stores.
They had also exchanged money for all of us, so I was able to trade in $300 US for a huge wad of Malagasy Ariary. The largest Ariary note is 10.000, which comes out to just over $3 US. It is a huge stack of cash!
We finished breakfast, repacked and checked out by 9AM for our ride to Andasibe. Unfortunately, there was no time to use the nice swimming pool, and it really felt like a lightning-fast stay. We had two cars, so we split up - two couples in one and one in the other. Today, it was our turn to have a private car.
We drove through Antananarivo, along narrow streets lined with brightly colored houses. There were seemingly thousands of pedestrians crowding the streets, many dressed in fine Sunday clothes.
There were many markets along the streets, and lots of traffic, so the first part was very slow going.
We stopped off at a gas station for a comfort stop, and I bought a bottle of Malagasy wine for 16.000 Ariary – barely $5 US. We shall see how it tastes.
It took almost an hour to get out of the city, though we were rewarded with nice views of the city and the hills that it is built upon, once we reached the outskirts of town.
We passed through numerous small towns along the way to Andasibe. People were doing laundry in every river or stream.
The scenery was beautiful, though. This formation reminded me of Half Dome in Yosemite. The rice paddies were a little different, though!
Then the road climbed steeply, and twisted through a National Park. We stopped off at a scenic viewpoint for a few minutes, which was good because the twisty turns of the narrow mountain road were getting to us a little.
After getting some nice fresh air and enjoying the view, it was back in the van for the rest of the trip. But not before we saw a go-kart loaded with bananas flying down the highway! These crazy kids are on the same road that is used by big trucks use to transport supplies to and from the port!
We stopped off after 3 and 1/2 hours of driving for lunch at Marie Lodge, a hotel and restaurant at the junction of RN2 with the road to Vakona.
The six of us had lunch and drinks for under 80,000 Ariary, which is about $25 US. I had a traditional Malagasy dish of pork in shredded cassava leaves, and Chris had a chicken leg with tomato sauce. I had the first of many beers from Three Horses brewery - the beer was about as cheap as water, and only slightly heavier. The food was quite tasty!
We headed north from lunch, and stopped off at Perinet for our first hike, in the Analamazoatra Reserve.
Our guide set a pretty quick pace, which was no problem for us, but some of the group fell behind and he wasn't very observant and often didn't wait.
At one point I had to leave Chris with the guide watching lemurs, and go back for the others who had fallen behind. Since we'd left the marked trail, there would have been no way for them to find us.
It was a decent tromp through the rain forest, with frequent excursions off the trail for better lemur sightings. We saw Indri. These guys look like arboreal panda bears.
Eastern (grey) bamboo lemurs, and common brown lemurs abounded. This mother leaped from tree to tree while carrying her baby on her back! I needed good timing for that shot.
We also saw a Parson’s chameleon up close.
And nice scenery along the trail.
After a good bunch of wildlife sightings, we piled back into the Jeeps for one last bumpy ride to the hotel, where we checked in and pre-ordered dinner. This became a common occurrence - since the lodges are small and supplies are presumably limited, it helps if they know what you'd like to eat several hours in advance. Not usually an issue, but a bit of a difference from other places we've traveled.
We were shown to our bungalow which was rustic, but certainly nice enough. There was running water, a flush toilet, mosquito netting, and electricity, so it was hard to ask for much more that that out here in the wilds.
After we changed for dinner, we brought our gas station bottle of wine down to the dining room, and sat out on the deck with our group for pre-dinner drinks. The Malagasy wine was borderline drinkable, but we managed to finish it before dinner. It was better if you washed it down with some THB.
Dinner was a 3-course menu with a few choices. I had salade Nicoise to start, a traditional Malagasy main course called Romazava for a main (zebu meat, cooked in a broth with vegetables, and served with rice and tomato salsa), and a pineapple cupcake for dessert.
Chris had tomato-mozzarella salad to start, zebu medallions served with a creamy pepper sauce for her main, and a crepe filled with ice cream for dessert.
Zebu is a dish we'd become very familiar with over the next two weeks. It's a type of cattle, so think of tough beef that's overcooked and you get the idea. With sauce, it's not too bad.
We ordered some more Malagasy wine from the bar list, which was only a little better than my gas station find. I think that we will explore the South African part of the wine list tomorrow!
So far the food has been pretty good. To tell the truth, I was hoping it would be mediocre and that I wouldn't be tempted to overeat. No chance so far!
After a long first day on the ground, we made it to bed before 10 PM. Hoping for a decent night’s sleep, as there is much more hiking, and hopefully more wildlife, on the agenda for tomorrow!
 |
| Tana Waterfront. View from Hotel Tamboho. |
We headed down for the breakfast buffet at the hotel, which was nice; bread, cheese, meats, jams, and a few hot items like bacon, rice, and banana fritters. It was accompanied by tasty strong coffee! The others were there and waiting for us, so we caught up and heard from our two companions who had arrived earlier than we had.
 |
| That's a big stack of cash! |
The good news was that they had made their connection in Johannesburg - they had been worried about the 1h50 connection time. Unfortunately, none of their luggage had made the connection! Apparently, a conveyor belt at the Joberg airport had broken, and all sorts of luggage had been lost yesterday.
 |
| Too thick for a wallet |
So they had taken advantage of their afternoon arrival yesterday to buy some clothes at the local stores.
They had also exchanged money for all of us, so I was able to trade in $300 US for a huge wad of Malagasy Ariary. The largest Ariary note is 10.000, which comes out to just over $3 US. It is a huge stack of cash!
 |
| Balcony view, Hotel Tamboho. Next time, a swim? |
We finished breakfast, repacked and checked out by 9AM for our ride to Andasibe. Unfortunately, there was no time to use the nice swimming pool, and it really felt like a lightning-fast stay. We had two cars, so we split up - two couples in one and one in the other. Today, it was our turn to have a private car.
We drove through Antananarivo, along narrow streets lined with brightly colored houses. There were seemingly thousands of pedestrians crowding the streets, many dressed in fine Sunday clothes.
There were many markets along the streets, and lots of traffic, so the first part was very slow going.
 |
| Refrigeration optional |
We stopped off at a gas station for a comfort stop, and I bought a bottle of Malagasy wine for 16.000 Ariary – barely $5 US. We shall see how it tastes.
It took almost an hour to get out of the city, though we were rewarded with nice views of the city and the hills that it is built upon, once we reached the outskirts of town.
We passed through numerous small towns along the way to Andasibe. People were doing laundry in every river or stream.
The scenery was beautiful, though. This formation reminded me of Half Dome in Yosemite. The rice paddies were a little different, though!
Then the road climbed steeply, and twisted through a National Park. We stopped off at a scenic viewpoint for a few minutes, which was good because the twisty turns of the narrow mountain road were getting to us a little.
After getting some nice fresh air and enjoying the view, it was back in the van for the rest of the trip. But not before we saw a go-kart loaded with bananas flying down the highway! These crazy kids are on the same road that is used by big trucks use to transport supplies to and from the port!
 |
| THB. It's everywhere! |
 |
| Ravitoto - pork chunks in shredded cassava leaves. Yum! |
The six of us had lunch and drinks for under 80,000 Ariary, which is about $25 US. I had a traditional Malagasy dish of pork in shredded cassava leaves, and Chris had a chicken leg with tomato sauce. I had the first of many beers from Three Horses brewery - the beer was about as cheap as water, and only slightly heavier. The food was quite tasty!
We headed north from lunch, and stopped off at Perinet for our first hike, in the Analamazoatra Reserve.
Our guide set a pretty quick pace, which was no problem for us, but some of the group fell behind and he wasn't very observant and often didn't wait.
At one point I had to leave Chris with the guide watching lemurs, and go back for the others who had fallen behind. Since we'd left the marked trail, there would have been no way for them to find us.
Eastern (grey) bamboo lemurs, and common brown lemurs abounded. This mother leaped from tree to tree while carrying her baby on her back! I needed good timing for that shot.
We also saw a Parson’s chameleon up close.
And nice scenery along the trail.
After a good bunch of wildlife sightings, we piled back into the Jeeps for one last bumpy ride to the hotel, where we checked in and pre-ordered dinner. This became a common occurrence - since the lodges are small and supplies are presumably limited, it helps if they know what you'd like to eat several hours in advance. Not usually an issue, but a bit of a difference from other places we've traveled.
We were shown to our bungalow which was rustic, but certainly nice enough. There was running water, a flush toilet, mosquito netting, and electricity, so it was hard to ask for much more that that out here in the wilds.
 |
| Baby crocodiles, on display. Vakona Forest Lodge |
After we changed for dinner, we brought our gas station bottle of wine down to the dining room, and sat out on the deck with our group for pre-dinner drinks. The Malagasy wine was borderline drinkable, but we managed to finish it before dinner. It was better if you washed it down with some THB.
 |
| Salade Nicoise, Vakona Forest Lodge |
Dinner was a 3-course menu with a few choices. I had salade Nicoise to start, a traditional Malagasy main course called Romazava for a main (zebu meat, cooked in a broth with vegetables, and served with rice and tomato salsa), and a pineapple cupcake for dessert.
 |
| Zebu medallions with creamy pepper sauce |
Chris had tomato-mozzarella salad to start, zebu medallions served with a creamy pepper sauce for her main, and a crepe filled with ice cream for dessert.
Zebu is a dish we'd become very familiar with over the next two weeks. It's a type of cattle, so think of tough beef that's overcooked and you get the idea. With sauce, it's not too bad.
 |
| Crepe with vanilla ice cream |
We ordered some more Malagasy wine from the bar list, which was only a little better than my gas station find. I think that we will explore the South African part of the wine list tomorrow!
So far the food has been pretty good. To tell the truth, I was hoping it would be mediocre and that I wouldn't be tempted to overeat. No chance so far!
After a long first day on the ground, we made it to bed before 10 PM. Hoping for a decent night’s sleep, as there is much more hiking, and hopefully more wildlife, on the agenda for tomorrow!
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