This morning started off with a rickshaw ride down the main avenue in Antsirabe, which is the hometown of our guide,  Sol.  The rickshaws were the type pulled by men and there were a number of vendors running alongside trying to sell us stuff. 

The rickshaw ride was not long and ended at an old grand looking hotel,  which was now apparently in disrepair so not really used. As soon as we got off our rickshaws we were surrounded by a mob of the children vendors trying to sell us various things. 

 We then boarded our bus for the day’s drive to Ranomafana stopping first in the Antsirabe workshops for stones, mini bicycles made from recycled items, embroidery,  zebu horn and wood.  Ended up buying a few things. We then started driving south to Ranomafana.

 For lunch we stopped in a town with a name that meant “castrated zebu” due to the former zebu fights held in the town.   I had some Creole shrimp which was not too spicy and fairly tasty.

 We carried on south on the long, winding road and Sol spoke more about the funerary practices including how rich families used to wrap their deceased in shrouds made of silk,  which became a target for thieves who would break into the tombs to steal the silk shrouds from the bodies as well as loot any items of value placed with the dead.   The problem grew and at one time there was the death penalty for the “silk shroud burglars”.  

The sun went down and the last bit of the drive was in the dark along the winding roads.   We arrived at our lodge along the river,  which we could hear but not see in the dark and checked into our individual bungalows. 

 For dinner I had some meat spring rolls, a zebu stir fry and a chocolate pancake for dessert.   Another long day so I had no problem quickly falling asleep.