Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Around the world - Madagascar - I can't feel my body anymore or do I feel it too much?


8pm. OMG, I cannot believe I actually made it today. We left at 6:30am because we needed to prepare few ropes for the day. I guess that should have put the alarm bells into action right there!
Now let me put it this way - if you want to isolate yourself in the middle of a great mass of granite and gneiss that results into long walks or if you want to find an alternative to the crowded corner of the massif in Isalo or if you want to indulge in the joys (very athletic) of climbing - THIS IS FOR YOU!
It is very pleasant to start the walk this early in the morning because the air is almost fresh. I am not going to spoil that fact by saying that by 8am it was hot like in hell. Oh, or did I just do that?! Nah well, I guess I do have a whiny streak in me occasionally! 
The massif of Tsaranoro is no longer reserved for the elite in climbing. There are actually about 30 open routes with a difficulty levels (varying from 3 to 8 - but this really isn't my field, so I don't know what those numbers mean!!!). If you are a beginner you will have the opportunity to take your first steps. If you are high skilled climbers, the Massif of Tsaranovo should satisfy absolutely everybody. But you need to know this before you actually decide to go for it. I was going for it without knowing. And I guess that was both my curse and blessing.
I'm not going to go into details of the climb in itself, I'm just going to tell you that we finished climbing at 11:30am - we arrived to the 360° point of view and set down right there to enjoy the windy spot and our pasta and pineapple for lunch. Rested for 1h and in my opinion, it should have been a slightly shorter break because even though the sun is high, the muscles do cool off and it is tricky to get them started again, only this time in the opposite direction - downwards!!!
So we started the descent at 12:30pm and let me tell you - as soon as the rope was involved, it was lots of fun for me. Not so much for my partner in crime as he doesn't like to go backwards without seeing where he puts his feet. Even so, we arrived to Tsara Camp at 3:30pm absolutely exhausted. My ankles hurt like hell, we probably used every single muscle that exists between the hip and the toes and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to move swiftly tomorrow. 
The scenery wasn't as beautiful nor variable as the previous ones but I guess it wasn't much about the landscape as it was about the effort. We did get to see the "Pic du caméléon" from every side and that was fun. Gégé showed us lots of different birds and plants and he definitely wins the first place on the winning stand for all his patience and kindness. Again, I'm glad we left so early, that way we "avoided" the sharpest heat during the biggest physical effort time. The highest spot was 1700m of altitude above the sea. This may not seem like much to you as you are comfortably seated in front of your computer but I swear I was sweating blood today. It was both wonderful and awful to put my body through such effort.
This one was a killer. Limit for me. But I am so glad I did it and very proud too.
As a reward, the night sky is stunningly beautiful tonight. Every star that exists decided to show up for the dance with the moon and they all shine bright down on us. Thank you universe for your generosity, I feel very lucky right now.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Around the world - Madagascar - The mind is set but is the body?


22. September 2013 - Ranohira
When you decide to do a 3 day trek in Madagascar, you need to understand that the 3rd day isn't really going to be as busy (or difficult) as the first 2 days. You might feel frustrated about it because in fact, you are paying for 3 full days and 2 full nights. But sometimes you will feel OK about it. Our 3rd day of our 2nd trek started early, as always but we didn't leave the camping until 7:30am. We only had 6km to walk in order to get back to the Ranohira village where we left our bags the other day.
Alice from the Chez Alice was happy to see us return in one piece and she proudly showed us her future natural swimming pool that she bumped into on her terrain and was now going to exploit it. For the moment, not many people know about it and her ambition is to finish it on time for the arrival of her parents who live in France. It's supposed to be a surprise for them and a refreshing get away for her future guests.
We didn't stay long in Ranohira because first of all - there is nothing to do nor to see and we had a T-B waiting for us. And today's destination is Ambalavao where JB from JB trekking company and our next guide are waiting for us.
23. September 2013 - Ambalavao
This morning was disorganized. I was going to say slightly but I would not be loyal to my criteria of that word and its meaning. We met Gégé "the gorgeous one", who turned 29 in July and got married on Saturday. He is kind, smiling, gentle, soothing, well educated and well spoken, it's a real pleasure to spend time with him. Too bad I'm in no mood for yet another 2h in a shady T-B, yet another 3h of walk under burning sun, yet another trek. 
My legs feel heavy (could it be my 1kg heavy trekking shoes or just the fact that my brain and legs are fed up?). The heart is simply not meeting the initial plan with as much enthusiasm as one could wish for. I must say, 3 treks of 3 days each - it's fun when you are used to trekking action all year through. Which, obviously, is not my case. 
The T-B took us to Vohitsaoka village and from there we walked a very boring and tiresome walk. It was a dusty hot road that many Jeeps took to drive other tourists to their destination. Dreadful. We arrived to Meva Camp at 2:45pm and immediately went into the tent to take a nap. The sun killed us and the little energy we had left. Which was fine because the plan of the day wasn't to go climbing but just to get to the camping site from where we would leave the following morning. After the nap, we went to the forest and watched lemurs (Catta again) eat and jump and eat and play. Even though they were more savage than at the previous camping site, they paraded their way out of the forest only a meter in front of us. It was as if they wanted to reward us for allowing them to live their lives without disturbing them.
Went back to the camp, drank lemongrass tea, had a shot of rum (grenadine, ginger - very nice!!!), had dinner and talked with Gégé until 10min ago. It's 8:45pm and off we are to the dreamland again. Alarm is set up for 5:30am, that way we don't get heatstroke right from the start! Wish us luck, for this time it looks like the most difficult trek of them all.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Around the world - Madagascar - I'm in shape, you're in shape, they're in shape...


6am. To my surprise, I slept rather well and a lot! Maybe plugging my ears was of a help to avoid hearing the small beasts swirl around me? Well, I slept well - that is when you don't take the pain in my hips from the hard ground in consideration and the nature of my dreams. But since this time the dreams are rated, I'm not gonna go into the details. To avoid embarrassment. Mine? Yours? You choose!
1pm. We are at the natural swimming pool N*3 and we have been here for the last 2h. It's stunning what the nature can create sometimes. All the beautiful bone and muscle structures. Oh, sorry, did you think I was gonna brag about yet another natural swimming pool? Yes, it's again very different from the previous two and gorgeous but... Nah, forget about the pool already! I'm looking at a dozen of young Malagasy adults and my eyes are having a real feast (believe me, bodies I have seen in my career!). Well, OK OK, some of them are still in their late teens but I have eyes and I have had my share of looking at the nature and now it's turn to get to know something else! And excuse me, they find me exotic too. White skin (long pants and long sleeves do help to maintain that healthy color!), tall (thank you family genes for such a wonderful gift), smiling (working on the naso-labial lines as usual but yes, to smile is my devise!), kind (yes, I massage twisted ankles of our guide - thank you BR for Crème Défatigante by the way), curious (I ask questions - of all sorts and not in small quantities otherwise where is the fun!), generous (I shared my lunch with a very honky male). What's there not to like, I ask of you. So what that I have red bug bites all over my legs, belly, arms, cleavage, neck and now even the face! (I swear it spreads like a black storm!) 
Malagasy youngsters are fit. They don't need to pay expensive gym club memberships. They just work harder than hard from a very young age. They walk, they run, they lift and carry tons of food, earth, stones, they work the earth of their fields with their whole bodies (instead of using the bodies of the strong animals - they cost too much and not everybody can afford that kind of luxury!)... It's all muscle. They are lean, dry and they know it and know also how to show it when there is a new girl around. And this time the party was all for me and me only. Thank you guys! I shall always remember you in the pool, fooling around (them, not me!), jumping crazy happy poses and admiring my mermaid skills. Too bad we had to leave so early, I would have loved to ask you about your dreams. 
I guess all good moments have their ends and so we left for the circus. Which was equally breathtaking. Again, it reminded me of a place I have never been to before, the Grand Canyon. I'm told it's probably 3 times bigger over there but I must tell you - I'm impressed already with the smaller Malagasy version. 
Jacquelin is adorable and shares his impressive knowledge of the bugs, birds, animals, trees, plants, flowers. And so the ones I remember and am impressed with, I try to photograph. Stick insect, elephant foot, praying mantis, scorpion, thermite cones, rosewood tree and the snow flake bugs that turn into half butterflies, the dragonflies, the bird of paradise, the chameleons and lizards, grass hoppers poop (believe me, it's huge for such a small creature)... 
There was a very important fire about three years ago that has ravaged a great part of the park. Most of the fires that happen here are illegal and very saddening when they do occur. But I am very happy to say that the strong life of the nature took over and the trees and plants are blooming again. And the trees that look dead, I believe they will bloom soon as well. 
The rest of the walk was easy and we actually arrived back to the camping rather early, at 3:30pm. Jacquelin wanted to take us to the cascades but once more we refused politely, our day felt already full enough of gorgeous images. Francois and Blondie (another guy with a girlie name) prepared us a royal dinner that we devoured and shortly after that, my favorite guy - the sandman - paid us a visit and off we went to the dreamland.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Around the world - Madagascar - Efforts create dreams


Ever since I have arrived to Madagascar, I have been sleeping like a baby. Ever since I have been sleeping like a baby (for at least 8h per night, do I dare to confess?!) - I have been having nights entirely filled with dreams. Pleasant, restful, happy dreams. But last night turned out to be the exception. There is always one. I had horrible dreams last night. My mother and younger sister got murdered and nobody in my family would let me know. So when, after a trip, I returned to my parent's house - it was all tears from there. That dream gave me a stunning headache and shortened my night. But I guess that was fine by me anyway. I love to dream but I'm more of "peace, love and life" kind of a girl rather than death! I was glad it was over.
Taking a cold shower seemed to be not only a refreshing idea but also a very refreshing action in itself. The electricity was again out of order and so really, did I have a choice? Nope, one would say. But then again - I never did mind the cold water, quite on the contrary (my japanese friends will nod their heads in agreement as they read this. I was the only one taking a cold shower instead of sitting in the boiling hot onsen!). Obviously, we had a rich breakfast and at 7am we were off to our new trekking adventure. 
So are you ready? This time I will be taking you all into the Isalo National Park. The park is known for its wide variety of terrain, it's a massive expanse of eroded sandstone and its formations dating from the Jurassic era (only some hundreds of millions of years ago!), deep canyons, palm-lined oasis and grassland. It all extends over almost 82000 ha. Yay for the legs! Even though we left early, the first 2h of our walk were very challenging. Not that the terrain was difficult but it was sooo darn hot!!! The sun was hitting the body from the back and the canyon rocks from the front. A real oven! I truly, madly and deeply dislike this kind of heat. Makes me feel anxious, annoyed, weak - and more - all at the same time. It's excruciating! 
Like I mentioned just a while ago - the landscape is totally different from the previous trek. It's canyon-ish, very dry, rocky, sandy at times, there are very few trees. The rocks look as if they were behind prison bars. It's gorgeous and there are so many colors that Mother Nature used there! After lunch break, the scenery changed very quickly and radically. Tropical forest/oasis kind of scenery. Even though I have never been to either, this surely feels like it. The relief is ruin-form, and the views are stunning, especially when the sun is playing the game. 
We ended up at the natural "swimming pool". There were actually two of them. One carries the name "blue", the other is "black". Blue is more shallow and the bright colored stones turn the water into a very intense light blue. The black is much darker because it is larger and most importantly - deeper. The water in both of them is fresh. I believe it isn't the greatest idea for one to jump into it. Especially because the temperature around you is somewhere between 30-35*C and the water must be 15*C at the most! 
After taking a swim, we dried on the stone - we just simply followed the example a variety of lizards gave us. I can assure you, it was not a pure bliss to put our heavy walking shoes back on on our refreshed feet but that was the thing to do and so we did. After which we headed for the camping site. 
I will be repeating myself but the walk was just amazing! I could have stayed and camped the night right there. Source water falling down along the orange walls of earth, palm trees, wild river, round grey stones, beige sand here and there. Tried to take some pictures but the eye catches so much more than a camera does! 
We were welcomed to the camping by a whole bunch of lemurs (Catta) and a one little cute chameleon. And flies, and some mosquitoes, and other bugs but let's not go there. We should be having dinner shortly and then off to sleep in our tent. I haven't done this since I was a little girl. The difference between then and now is the following: I cannot ignore the bugs, the rats, the lemurs, eventual snakes and other creatures that could try to co-habitate with us tonight.
Just before I go on one of my scare trips, let me tell you: The effort does create a dream or two. But a dream can turn the effort into a great adventure.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Around the world - Madagascar - FCE vs time


So, the FCE was not repaired on time. We waited for 2h to see if there could be the slightest chance of taking it but there wasn't. So we had to come up with a plan B and let me tell you, it wasn't easy at first. But once we grabbed the whole thing into perspective, we decided to rather enjoy 2 more days at one of the beaches later on in our trip instead of wasting time waiting for the train and then basically travel for 2 full days just so we could say we have been on the damn FCE. 
Just a little fact about the FCE railway, that way you know why we were so keen to get on it. First of all, certain rails were built in 1896! Even though it's only 170 km of railroad to travel, it can take between 7 to 12h to get from Fianar to Manakara. (Nothing really, compared to India or Burma, trust me!) There are 17 stops every 10km, the train chugs along at 20 to 35km/h. Now, this is where my info will be confusing because I'm getting them from two different sources. The French "Le Routard" says that on the 1200m of altitude, you will pass through 21 tunnels and cross 42 bridges. The English version of Lonely Planet states that it's 48 tunnels and 67 bridges. Go and figure! Either way, along the way you are to pass plantations, misty valleys, green hills and waterfalls. At every station, local people will sell their culinary specialty such as samosa, grilled chicken, crayfish, banana fritters. Sounds fairy tale like, doesn't it? And now you know why we wanted to experience it. 
But instead, we took of with another T-B to Ranohira. Did you know that there were 2 kinds of T-B? I certainly didn't but the receptionist at the hotel kindly informed us about this fact before we left. So, there is the regional kind - that takes all the regional (very bad) roads. The national kind takes the RN7 (route nationale) which is mostly in a good condition. There is another difference between them (other than the price). If you have a car that can take 15 people on board, the regional will have something between 22 and 25, so you can only imagine how tight it can become as the number increases. The national will respect the number of the passengers most of the time and if they don't, it's not as excessive as the regional T-B. You need to know that the regular size of Malagasy person is approximately 160 cm (165 cm in more developed areas). And everything is adapted to that height. And so when you measure 178 cm, even when the count is correct, there is still a very little of legroom. Unless you sit in the front row. And that is if you don't mind the heat, because all the essential parts that make the vehicle function are right under your ass or feet. But, let's go back to our journey. 
It took us little longer than expected because the gear of the car broke at some point and needed to be fixed. After 6h30 of a slightly bumpy ride, we were welcomed in Ranohira by our guide Jacquelin. He's 50 years old, speaks French comfortably and seems to be serious about his work and his fares. We checked in a place called Chez Alice. We are staying in a bungalow with too many beds (the double bed bungalows were all taken) but it's nice and comfy. We had an appetizer in front of the bungalow eating tomatoes, French sausage, drinking last can of Perrier while we watched the sun go down. Beautiful light, beautiful colors. 
Did some reading and then went to have dinner. Very well cooked, well for my part they had to get it right on the second try but once it was to my liking, I enjoyed every bite of it. Alice, the owner, is a very dynamic character. It was fun to see her tell a customer (who deserved it) to get the heck out of her establishment (yes, there was some yelling involved but in her defense - the client was a dick). She kindly offered to watch over our backpacks while we went trekking. But that's tomorrow's story.