Mauritius and Madagascar

Leaving the Seychelles was ridiculously hard. I mean it IS one of the most beautiful island chains in the world. Mauritius had a lot to live up to. It has fantastic beaches and mountainous landscapes galore. It even has a great mixture of people, but it just speaks as to the amazingness of Seychelles that it felt less than what it actually is. Plus, it has a little of the tourist factor, that Seychelles somehow manages to avoid.

Moving on to Madagascar, I was energized and anticipating amazing things. It did not disappoint. The capital Antannanarivo, or Tana, is a bustling place full of ethnic looking people. Its tough to place them, as there is an Asian, Indian, African, and local flavor. It carries over to their food, thankfully. Its one of the coolest little cities I have been in. Nothing in particular, its just got that "feel" to it. From here, I went on to Ranomafana NP, where I saw one of 18 known Golden Bamboo lemurs in the world! It required a trek through a rain forest, aptly named that day, but which I barely noticed. We spent about 20 minutes with it and another 2 brown lemurs. Truly amazing. I try to compare it to the Rwandan Mountain gorillas, which were far more impressive (likely because I think I can take on a lemur, or I am far less of a man than I currently believe...), but there is nothing like the thought of seeing in nature, no scratch that in the remote jungle of Madagascar, one of the rarest species on the planet eat a leaf. Not exactly an exciting action, but once again, it is the thought that counts. On the drive I stopped at a aluminum smelting factory, my first, and an arts and crafts village run by cute little old ladies. The place was teeming with them. The crafts. You absolutely cannot tell an old little Malagasy lady "No". Its an impossibility. I do not know what I am going to do with these afgans and table settings...

I then carried on to another fantastic park with beautiful hikes and waterfalls. Had to leave before I wanted because there are no banks anywhere and they wouldn't even take US dollars. Who ever heard of such a thing. Spent a few days lazing around a pool and beach and then flew to Morondava, the "closest" airport to Tsingy NP. Truly; you can look for yourselves on a map. It does appear just "right there" next to Tsingy. However, in real life it took a taxi into town and then a 10 hour 4x4 ride in a blessedly nice Toyota Landcruiser on roads that appeared to have been bombed only last week before becoming infested by a very large mutant mole species. There were also 2 river crossings on barges that only barely would be considered sea-worthy, and which I would have reluctantly climbed aboard if I had been stuck on an island. This only brought me to the gates of the park, the site being another hour away. To say that it was worth it to get there should be obviously impressive. Crazy, razor-sharp stone formations like spikes into the sky and formed into caves, ravines and tunnels made this place special. I love crawling through stuff. This place made me clip in to ropes for safety, adding a hint of danger that always makes me feel better about a place and all it took to get there. Unfortunately, the reverse trip back to the airport traversed the same mole-infested road. Thankfully, the truck did not get eaten and I arrived for the flight back to Tana in time. That is where I am now, waiting for my Sunday flight to Egypt. I am more excited about this leg of the trip than I was before I left the States. The pyramids, Petra (going to Jordan too...), Abu Simbel, Luxor, Valley of the Kings, all were just names of a Travel Channel show or magazine article. Now they will become a real part of the world and my consciousness, which is always an amazing feeling.

So, things are going well. I will do my best to avoid the heat, though I am not sure how that is accomplished in the middle of the desert.