Day 276, Year 5 Second Day in Ankarana
Date: Thursday, July 29, 2010
Weather: Another Perfectly Beautiful Day
Location: Ankarana Special Reserve, N Madagascar
Wow! We had a second great day walking in the tsingy, exploring caves, walking through the forest and fields, and watching a sunset from a viewpoint from which we could see all of Anakarana, Goulam’s Camp, and out to sea to from Nosy Mitsio to Nosy Be. It was a spectacular view. We saw Northern Sportive Lemurs and Sanford’s Lemurs but we did not get any National Geographic shots of them today as they were so high in the trees. We did see a beautiful male Parson’s Chameleon on our night walk and just generally enjoyed a day of walking with Goulam and learning more about Madagascar flora and fauna.
Just being here is so special, but Goulam’s stories make it even more interesting. As we were climbing through the tsingy this morning, he stopped and said that we had not asked him how the tsingy got their name. We had just assumed that tsingy means sharp, pointy rocks in Malagasy, but Goulam’s story was much more interesting. In the second half of the 19th century, the French were exercising their power over this country. The Queen in power decided to try to overthrow the French and much violence pursued. The people of Ankarana fled from the French by coming in to this area with the lethally sharp rocks hoping to hide or escape from the French. The Malagasy people had no shoes, so they were fleeing into the fields of sharp, pointy rocks on tiptoes. In Malagasy “mi tsingy” means walking on tiptoes. And that is almost what you have to do even when wearing hiking boots or substantial running shoes. There are acres and acres and acres of these sharp, pointy limestone formations, some low, some very high. When walking amongst the tsingy you feel as if you are in a lost world. It is just like no other place on earth. So climbing among these rocks has been a highlight for me. The cave walks were also spectacular with other worldly stalactite and stalagmite formations and thousands of bats of all sizes. Our headlamps that we usually use for reading on passage have been invaluable leaving our hands free for climbing and holding on in the caves while viewing the fantastic sights.
Tonight we had dinner with a couple from Austria and their 19 year-old son Nick who has just completed a public service project in northeastern Madagascar. The other couple is from the Netherlands and they have just come from a tour of the southern coast. We had a great dinner of mud crab and rice and enjoyed sharing experiences with both couples. Tomorrow morning we are up and out at 7:30 am to see more tsingy, more tsingy forest, and more caves. And we are hoping to see the Crowned Lemur tomorrow.
 |
| 100729 Day 276a Ankarana NP, Madagascar–Ankarana Day 2 Morning |
 |
| 100729 Day 276b Ankarana NP, Madagascar–Ankarana Day 2 Afternoon |
