Friday, October 14: Driving to East Ankarana
It was refreshing to have a decent night of sleep for a change. We awoke recharged and ready to pack up and move on, though we were disappointed to be leaving this nice park and the hotel as well. Lots of driving to look forward to today.
Jean-Patrick (our driver and main tour guide for this section) had arranged for an earlier breakfast at 7:15 so that we could get a prompt start. We had eggs and several different breads (the baguette pieces were my favorite) with butter and jellies along with pots of freshly-brewed, strong, tasty coffee.
The drive to East Ankarana was supposed to be four hours long so time to head out!
On paper, this should not be a four hour drive. It's only 115 km, and all we have to do is drive 20 km back to the RN6, then the rest of the way is on the RN6 until we get to our hotel. RN stands for "Rue Nationale," like an interstate - so how bad can the RN6 be? And the road back to RN6 isn’t all that bad, as I recall when we drove it two night ago. Even if you stop for a lot of chameleon sightings, will it really take that long?
Even though the journey was on the RN6, the road itself was in terrible shape. Many times it was less bumpy to drive on the gravel shoulder, than it was to drive on the pavement. The prevailing speed was 20 to 30 miles per hour.
The scenery was pretty, though. This view looks westward, back towards Amber Mountain.
Here we crossed a river, about halfway along the journey. We got out to stretch our legs, and walked the bridge. It was so nice to take the seatbelts off for a while!
Beautiful scenery. It made the drive seem not so onerous.
More rice paddies. I guess that's what's for lunch!
Ahead of us, you can see the real reason for slow traffic - it's a THB truck! They ship that beer everywhere on the island. I wonder how many bottles get broken along these roads?
This was one of the better sections of the road, however. If you were stuck behind the beer truck on a bad part of the road, expect 10 MPH.
So in the end, it really did take until almost noon to get to Ankarana Lodge. Only one of our three rooms was ready so we piled our bags into one, changed into hiking clothes, and headed out. It was tempting to stay in the pool...but you can swim anywhere. We've got lemurs to see!
The first order of business was to grab lunch. Our hotel was very close to the park entrance so we had time to spare, due to our early start. Good planning by Jean-Patrick!
We stopped into a rustic place at the park gate and had quite a feast! We started with fish stuffed between eggplant slices then fried - which I thought would make a fine lunch, so I had a few.
Little did I know that this was just the appetizer! Soon, the staff brought zebu skewers, crab legs stewed in the shell in a sauce, chicken in tomato sauce, fish skewers, and tons of rice. It was a real feast!
There was plenty of hot sakay too. Sakay is a local hot sauce which livens up any dish. There are as many different recipes as there are restaurants in Madagascar, and I tried as much as I could.
We ate until we were pretty stuffed, then had fresh mango halves for dessert. They were perfectly ripe and very juicy!
We went directly to the park after that for a few hours of hiking.
At the entrance, our guides picked up tickets, and some Qat. Bela on the left was our main guide for the entire trip. Jean-Patrick is on the right.
And here is the park. East Ankarana is the less rustic, less "wild" park compared to West Ankarana.
As we entered the park, we immediately saw some crowned brown lemurs hanging out by the picnic areas. I bet people are feeding them - probably not good, but it did make for some better picture opportunities.
They were curious but not too interested in us, once they realized that we weren't feeding them.
We started by hiking to the bat cave. First we went into the lower level which wasn’t much, and I was honestly a little disappointed when we turned around and headed out.
However, we then went climbing into an upper level which was great! We went deep inside, and explored quite a bit, for almost a half hour. There were great rock formations!
As well as a lot of bats. Pretty much every dark spot on the ceiling is a bat. Have you had your rabies shots?
Luckily they weren't flying around too much.
Also, tarantulas, and other assorted bugs to be seen. Way better than the lower level! Much more to see here. Glad that the lower level wasn't all that there was.
After leaving the cave, we backtracked a little, and took anther path which led to an overlook loop.
This eventually brought us to an area on top of the roof of the cave we'd just been inside. Beautiful Tsingy all around! Such interesting formations here.
The tsingy stretch on for some distance. Impressive, but these aren't even the Grand Tsingy - that will come later.
Barren and desolate landscape.
Our group is tired but happy after all that hiking in the hot sun.
Even the late afternoon sun is pretty intense.
Tough landscape. You have to watch every step. If you fall, it will be a nasty gash somewhere, in the best case scenario. They actually recommend hiking with gloves to keep from cutting your hands.
Just as we got a break from the late afternoon sun, a few bugs came out, so we had to put on lots of DEET.
We pressed onward, back towards the parking lot and our ride home. An occasional rest / "photo" break was in order.
Towards the end of the hike, we saw a group of crowned brown lemurs up close, as they came down from the trees and crossed over a section of rock.
They were just as graceful on the ground as they were in the trees. And in these pictures, you can see the golden crown on their head which gives them the name!
Here is a video that shows them moving on the ground with grace and elegance. At least they move more gracefully over the tsingy than I do!
We headed back to the lodge and finished checking in, then showered and met up at the pool for a few minutes before dinner. It was very refreshing after the afternoon of hiking. We grabbed some THB beer and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to whet our appetites for dinner.
The restaurant here was an open-air setup, with a great atmosphere, and we had a table in the upper level. The meal started with crab salad and potatoes parmentier (mashed potatoes with strips of zebu on top) for appetizers. Mains were a seafood stew or zebu skewers with vanilla sauce. Dessert was bananas flambées, or ice cream. We had a red Bordeaux with dinner.
Afterwards it was time for bed. It was too hot to sleep very well because the AC only stays on until 10:00. I should have started it up before dinner, but I forgot because it didn't feel hot in the room at first.
Once we got back from dinner. I cooled the room as much as I could, but even with the windows and fan it was hot because the mosquito netting around the bed didn’t allow for good airflow. But eventually we slept.
It was refreshing to have a decent night of sleep for a change. We awoke recharged and ready to pack up and move on, though we were disappointed to be leaving this nice park and the hotel as well. Lots of driving to look forward to today.
 |
| The Litchi Tree, Joffreville. Main Building. |
The drive to East Ankarana was supposed to be four hours long so time to head out!
 |
| Giant chameleon, on the road to RN6 |
On paper, this should not be a four hour drive. It's only 115 km, and all we have to do is drive 20 km back to the RN6, then the rest of the way is on the RN6 until we get to our hotel. RN stands for "Rue Nationale," like an interstate - so how bad can the RN6 be? And the road back to RN6 isn’t all that bad, as I recall when we drove it two night ago. Even if you stop for a lot of chameleon sightings, will it really take that long?
 |
| Typical section of the RN6 |
Even though the journey was on the RN6, the road itself was in terrible shape. Many times it was less bumpy to drive on the gravel shoulder, than it was to drive on the pavement. The prevailing speed was 20 to 30 miles per hour.
The scenery was pretty, though. This view looks westward, back towards Amber Mountain.
Here we crossed a river, about halfway along the journey. We got out to stretch our legs, and walked the bridge. It was so nice to take the seatbelts off for a while!
Beautiful scenery. It made the drive seem not so onerous.
More rice paddies. I guess that's what's for lunch!
Ahead of us, you can see the real reason for slow traffic - it's a THB truck! They ship that beer everywhere on the island. I wonder how many bottles get broken along these roads?
This was one of the better sections of the road, however. If you were stuck behind the beer truck on a bad part of the road, expect 10 MPH.
 |
| Gorgeous Pool at Ankarana Lodge |
So in the end, it really did take until almost noon to get to Ankarana Lodge. Only one of our three rooms was ready so we piled our bags into one, changed into hiking clothes, and headed out. It was tempting to stay in the pool...but you can swim anywhere. We've got lemurs to see!
The first order of business was to grab lunch. Our hotel was very close to the park entrance so we had time to spare, due to our early start. Good planning by Jean-Patrick!
We stopped into a rustic place at the park gate and had quite a feast! We started with fish stuffed between eggplant slices then fried - which I thought would make a fine lunch, so I had a few.
 |
| A smorgasbord of delicacies, Chez Aurelien, Ankarana NP |
Little did I know that this was just the appetizer! Soon, the staff brought zebu skewers, crab legs stewed in the shell in a sauce, chicken in tomato sauce, fish skewers, and tons of rice. It was a real feast!
There was plenty of hot sakay too. Sakay is a local hot sauce which livens up any dish. There are as many different recipes as there are restaurants in Madagascar, and I tried as much as I could.
 |
| Dessert, Chez Aurelien, Ankarana NP |
We ate until we were pretty stuffed, then had fresh mango halves for dessert. They were perfectly ripe and very juicy!
We went directly to the park after that for a few hours of hiking.
At the entrance, our guides picked up tickets, and some Qat. Bela on the left was our main guide for the entire trip. Jean-Patrick is on the right.
And here is the park. East Ankarana is the less rustic, less "wild" park compared to West Ankarana.
As we entered the park, we immediately saw some crowned brown lemurs hanging out by the picnic areas. I bet people are feeding them - probably not good, but it did make for some better picture opportunities.
 |
| Crowned Brown Lemur |
They were curious but not too interested in us, once they realized that we weren't feeding them.
We started by hiking to the bat cave. First we went into the lower level which wasn’t much, and I was honestly a little disappointed when we turned around and headed out.
However, we then went climbing into an upper level which was great! We went deep inside, and explored quite a bit, for almost a half hour. There were great rock formations!
 |
| A bat in the Bat Cave, East Ankarana NP |
As well as a lot of bats. Pretty much every dark spot on the ceiling is a bat. Have you had your rabies shots?
Luckily they weren't flying around too much.
Also, tarantulas, and other assorted bugs to be seen. Way better than the lower level! Much more to see here. Glad that the lower level wasn't all that there was.
After leaving the cave, we backtracked a little, and took anther path which led to an overlook loop.
This eventually brought us to an area on top of the roof of the cave we'd just been inside. Beautiful Tsingy all around! Such interesting formations here.
The tsingy stretch on for some distance. Impressive, but these aren't even the Grand Tsingy - that will come later.
Barren and desolate landscape.
Our group is tired but happy after all that hiking in the hot sun.
Even the late afternoon sun is pretty intense.
Tough landscape. You have to watch every step. If you fall, it will be a nasty gash somewhere, in the best case scenario. They actually recommend hiking with gloves to keep from cutting your hands.
Just as we got a break from the late afternoon sun, a few bugs came out, so we had to put on lots of DEET.
We pressed onward, back towards the parking lot and our ride home. An occasional rest / "photo" break was in order.
Towards the end of the hike, we saw a group of crowned brown lemurs up close, as they came down from the trees and crossed over a section of rock.
They were just as graceful on the ground as they were in the trees. And in these pictures, you can see the golden crown on their head which gives them the name!
Here is a video that shows them moving on the ground with grace and elegance. At least they move more gracefully over the tsingy than I do!
We headed back to the lodge and finished checking in, then showered and met up at the pool for a few minutes before dinner. It was very refreshing after the afternoon of hiking. We grabbed some THB beer and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to whet our appetites for dinner.
 |
| Zebu skewers with vanilla sauce, Ankarana Lodge |
The restaurant here was an open-air setup, with a great atmosphere, and we had a table in the upper level. The meal started with crab salad and potatoes parmentier (mashed potatoes with strips of zebu on top) for appetizers. Mains were a seafood stew or zebu skewers with vanilla sauce. Dessert was bananas flambées, or ice cream. We had a red Bordeaux with dinner.
 |
| Bananas flambées, Ankarana Lodge |
Afterwards it was time for bed. It was too hot to sleep very well because the AC only stays on until 10:00. I should have started it up before dinner, but I forgot because it didn't feel hot in the room at first.
Once we got back from dinner. I cooled the room as much as I could, but even with the windows and fan it was hot because the mosquito netting around the bed didn’t allow for good airflow. But eventually we slept.
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