October 13, 2010
I had one day left at Maison du Plya. One day left to either get what I needed and find a way to Andasibe or move to another hotel in Tana. Bus 119 finally resolved the question of “how do I get into the city from off the map?”. With that I had a productive, if exhausting day in Madagascar's much maligned capital city. I found two good maps of the city, an English ↔ Malagasy phrase book and a means to get to Andasibe.
The last one was the hard part. Taxi-brousse is the standard method for penny pinchers to get around Madagascar but I didn't want the overhead of a taxi to and from the remote terminal to buy a ticket plus another taxi when it was time to go. I flirted briefly with using the hysterical little passenger rail service but the cost seemed awfully high. Days later, I learned that the 1930's era French tram was already booked up. I focused on Madasmiles, a which I understood to be running a fairly civilized bus service. Finding them was the hard part. They weren't where the information office thought they were. I made several passes before I went into what should have been a nearby business and asked what they knew. I left with detailed, written instructions that still didn't find me Madasmiles headquarters. Again I made multiple passes before getting assistance from a local who borrowed a phone and called their number. When made it to a previously unmentioned side street and an unmarked house when I made by booking.
I wasn't real comfortable with the arrangement. But, the driver did indeed show up the next morning and take me to a waiting minibus headed for Andisibe. It was reasonably comfortable when we weren't following an other vehicle. Most vehicles in Madagascar, including modern looking SUV's, spew dark clouds of toxic suet continuously. You don't need to be in city to experience noxious air. All you need is one vehicle in front of you.
But I managed to arrive at the national park before the fumes killed me. I never was able to reach Hotel Orchidee but the Feon' my Ala was adequate.
Early the next morning, I went on a four hour hike in the adjacent reserve run by NGO Association Mitsinjo. Finally, the part of the trip that the trip is actually about. It was a nice little tour of the rain forest inhabitients including chameleons, Common Brown Lemurs and, of course, the Indri, the largest of all Lemurs with their haunting call that is reminiscent of whale song. Someway, I will get that video posted onto the web site.
I wanted to do Mantadina but there was a problem. I didn't have enough cash. There are no ATM's near Andisibe and, owing to the limits imposed by the Antananarivo's confusing cash machines, I wasn't carrying as much as I should have been. Fortunately, I lucked out, and met British/Irish couple who were headed to Mantadina the next day. We were able to pool our resources. Mantadina wasn't quite the old growth wonderland I expected but I did manage good shots of the golden sifaka and not so good captures of “black and white” sifaka.
There are more species here and Andisibe deserves more time. Unfortunately, after squaring away my debt to my new friends I didn't have enough cash. I could stay another day but I couldn't afford any more entry or guide fees. I considered doing a day trip into Moramanga to use the ATM but opted to move forward.
The next day, was taxi-brousse backward to Moramanga and then on to the Eastern port city of Tomatave. It was long and twisty and driving was questionable in some cases but not really uncomfortable. Compared to share taxi's in Cambodia, India, and Tanazania, Madgascar's taxi-brousses are actually quite civilized. I can't comment on roads they travel on in remote areas because I haven't been there yet but for the vehicles themselves, I think their reputation is overblown.
At this hour, I am in Tomatave reserching the trip north. There doesn't appear to be anything worth while been here and Ile Saine Marie so the focus is finding the most direct path to the island.