Day 252, Year 5 Walk to the Top
Date: Monday, July 5, 2010
Weather: 15th Gorgeous Day in a Row
Location: Ampangorina Village, Nosy Komba, NW Madagascar
Today’s walk to the top of the mountain took us from sea level to 1,850 feet in three hours and we are estimating that to be about four miles. Climbing the first 300 feet up, walking what felt like straight up the mountain, was the hardest, but the whole trip was exhausting. At the same time, we had a great guide, a young man named Rio, who shared so much information about the flora and fauna of Madagascar. He is just learning English, but he did a great job. We saw a gecko, lizards, two different kinds of VERY large snakes, two large birds, and loads of tiny butterflies-white, yellow, orange, and blue. We learned much about how people here traditionally use the wayside plants for medicinal purposes, and from time to time we emerged from the jungle to have great views of the area. We learned much about the history of the island including the coming of the Catholic mission in the mid-1830’s, the building of a sanatarium on the mountain later in the 1800’s where military personnel were brought to recover or die or from malaria and various bronchial problems, mostly tuberculosis.
The lizard we saw was a Zonosaurus madagascariensis with gold, cream, and black coloring. The snakes were boas and a couple of Madagascar hog-nosed snakes. Both are at least six feet long and two to three inches in diameter, but not threatening in any way. Rio could pick them up and plop them back down so we could see them more clearly. The birds we saw were black crested drongos (Dicrurus forficatus) and the giant coua (Coua gigas). Getting a photo of this guy deep in the jungle was not really possible. I have a great shot of the very long tail and a shadow of the whole bird, but nothing identifiable. At various places along the way we could smell the wonderful perfume of the ylang ylang trees. We visited the village of Antamanom (means city of the missionaries) which was built by the Catholic missionaries, another tiny village off the beaten path on the way to the military cemetery with wonderful examples of traditionally built homes, beautiful gardens, and Arabica coffee drying everywhere on the ground. All of this was at about 1,500 feet, so walking up and down the mountain has to be an arduous task. But we met women carrying heavy loads on their heads with babies on their backs, and men toting bags of sand. These are hardy folks!
At the end of the trip, after six hours of hiking, we descended back to the Parc Lemurier and visited the tortoises, chameleons, and lemurs once again. We enjoyed our second look at the tortoises, the panther chameleon, and the lemurs. The chameleons are fascinating in that their circular eyes are covered with skin, all but the pupils, and the eyes can be swiveled independently so that one eye is looking at me and another at Mark. Today the male climbed on to Mark’s arm and went from Mark to Lynne to Rio. We only got to play with the all black male lemurs today, but what a delight. Rio had fed most of the bananas he had to the tortoises, so the lemurs proceeded to steal what was left from the giant tortoise. They have no fear. We are absolutely addicted to them and will return in the morning for another visit. They are just too much fun.
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| 100705 Day 252a Nosy Komba, Madagascar– Hike to the Top |
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| 100705 Day 252b Nosy Komba, Madagascar–Madagascar Embroidery |
