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.