Ranomafana, Madagascar, September 28th, 2008

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On Friday as we left Mauritius for the short flight to Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar we stocked up with duty free Mauritian rum. It was on special at 5 euros ($9) which sounded pretty reasonable, even before we found out a big bag of chocolates was also thrown in!

In Tana we stocked up with bottled water and set off. First impressions were crowds of people everywhere, many with loads on their heads. Lots of butcher shops with strings of sausages and carcases hanging in the sun. The road was crowded with trucks and pedestrians, but not many bicycles. Around the city there are rice paddies, but it soon got dark and as we continued along the slow road, we were glad of the chocolates.

It must have been midnight when we reached the Artisan Hotel in Ambositra and so it was  morning before we admired the fine woodwork in the hotel. All the dining chairs had marquetry backs and the ends of the curtain rods were carved with animals/birds. The town itself is dominated by a large Benedictine convent and is a centre for handicrafts particularly wood carvings and semi precious stones.

As we left Ambositra, we drove past lots of brickworks. The rice paddies are being dug up to make bricks, which are economically a better bet - in the short term at least.

We reached Ranomafana National Park at lunchtime. The Domaine Nature Lodge has a spectacular site on the side of a steep hill, the downside is the innumerable steps to reach the rooms! Lunch was little freshwater crays - delicious.

In the afternoon we walked into the National Park and saw our first lemurs and an incredibly bright green ghecko

Rice paddies around Antananarivo

Marquetry back of a chair in the Artisan hotel, Ambositra

 

Street scene in Ambositra. The charcoal is made from eucalyptus and is used for cooking.

 

Typical street stall in Ambositra.

 

Pousse pousse (Malagasy rickshaws) in Ambositra

 

Another street scene in Ambositra

Brick kiln outside Ambositra.  Using Eucalytus as a fuel, it takes 7 days to fire the bricks.

 These rice fields are being dug up and turned into bricks. After about 40 cm has been removed, rice can again be grown on the new lower level (I think I have the story straight)

Wooden chopping boards for sale at a roadside stall.

A red fronted brown lemur in Ranomafana National Park

 The band in the Domaine Nature Lodge. I liked the music from this instrument - the valiha - made from bamboo it was brought from South East Asia 2000 (?) years ago. Similar instruments are found in the Philippines and Borneo

Loading our bus 

 

Malagasy billy cart - more fun than walking

 

Native orchids growing by a waterfall