#isalo

Friday September 15 – Isalo to Ifaty

 Had our final drive today west to the beach town of Ifaty.  En route we drove through the sapphire mining area, including the town of Ilakaka.  This area of Madagascar is poorer than the other areas we visited so we were not allowed to get out of the bus much during the drive. In Ilakaka we stopped on a bridge to watch the townspeople panning in the river for sapphire bits.   Don’t think they were likely getting much but the town (and many others on the drive seemed to have an inordinate amount of gem shops).  After the river, as we drove through town, we spotted a guy in one of the stalls wearing a Canucks shirt, which was a bit of a shock!  It did look like they had a number of used clothes for sale in the markets that were left by or sent from North America so it was likely sent by one of the many bandwagon fans! ?  We passed by a rum “factory” which looked like it produced something that would cause instant blindness.   I think we were also happy to stay on the bus there and avoid any samples! We also passed by a number of Tombs, including on shaped like a large boat.   We stopped in the beach city of Tulear for lunch at a nice looking place where I had a pizza,  which was good.  We then carried on the short bit north to Ifaty and our hotel on the beach.   I lucked out and got a bungalow right on the beach.  Although it did required quite the climb to go to the restaurant!  We hung out at the bar after freshening up and enjoyed the fact that we didn’t have any more early mornings and long bus rides!   After dinner headed down to the bungalow and had no problem falling asleep with the crashing waves. 

Thursday September 14 – Isalo

Today we would be doing our final nature hike and have our last chance to see lemurs in Isalo National Park.  This area is desert like and very warm and there was an opportunity to see 4 different types of lemur.  The park was close to the hotel but required a few kilometre ride in the bus on a very bumpy road.  Once we got to the park we set out up a hill, spotting some birds, a frog and a large stick insect along the way.   At the top our guide pointed out the two types of tombs, which were caves in the cliffs with the lower cave being the initial “drying cave” and the higher ones up the cliff being the permanent tombs, which required rock climbing skills for the family to place the coffins and bones! We saw a plant called the elephant foot which is a plant endemic to Madagascar.  It has a big bulbous bottom in the shape of an elephant foot with yellow flowers. We hiked up to a viewpoint where we got a good view of the rocks and the canyon.   We also saw a grass snake,  which was super fast, and a scorpion,  which our guide found under a rock.  We carried on to the natural pool,  which was a little blue lagoon and waterfall in the canyon.   There was a family of lemurs beside the pool,  chasing each other around.   Some of the group went for a quick swim while others relaxed in the shade.  We carried on in the heat through the grassland along the edge of the canyon (wondered how many snakes were slithering around in there!).  Finally we descended down the canyon to a campsite area where we had a bbq zebu lunch.  After lunch we walked through the canyon to two more natural pools,  where some of the group did some more swimming.  I was tempted to go in until two lemurs approached with the intention of liberating some bananas from some of our packs.   One was extremely persistent and would not give up even when I had my camera in his face!  His efforts paid off though as he managed to open the zippers of someone’s pack, poke his head in and grab a banana! As we walked back through the canyon we saw a massive spider,  which was apparently still a “baby” in a web alongside the path.   When we got back to the camp we spotted a sifaka, who lived alone.   As we approached it “danced” across the ground and went up a tree,  topping off the visit for everyone! Hiked back to the car after a long hot day out and took a swim in the hotel swimming pool when we got back before dinner.  An amazing day with other closest encounter with the lemurs.