Antsirabe to Ranomafana.
Savika- (Savkk) Zebu wrestling
Savika- (Savkk) Zebu wrestling
The local Bezamozano people are known for the wearing of a traditional blanket – similar to the Maasai. The mint green pattern was common too.
– The hill of good things. (Good religion and educated at the beginning).
Antsirabe to Ranomafana
Rano-water, mana – hot.
It’s another short distance but long trip. Let’s see how we do.
Nico has an artisan family cheese/dairy factory. Today he brought a small wheel of cheese and a yogurt for us to share. (The yoghurt for Benj as it’s fermented and maybe not ok for us) He explained that the girl on the label is his sister she was 5yo, she is now 83, lives in Germany and her name is Spring – the company name. Nico is such a happy, friendly guy. Mary and I saw him twice down the street yesterday. He saw us as he was driving by with his daughter and he slowed and called out waving furiously. He has a Land Rover Discovery.
We left at 7:47am with the same group of women and men still trying to sell their tourist wares.
In Antsirabe we passed by a tobacco and cotton factory – French owned.
We moved through a changing landscape climbing again with more rocky outcrops.
Tapia bush grows only in small area that we passed through and is the plant that the wild silkworms eat. The local people pick the cocoons for the wild silk.
The soil has turned from red to brown with increased presence of potatoes and still rice everywhere. The Zebu are being used more for tilling and harrowing the terraces.
We have also seen more waterfalls today.
Still the presence of trucks, bikes, local buses, pedestrians and patches of both smooth and badly potholed and decaying roads.
Benj explained that the people up here, the Bezamozano wear a blanket like cloth similar to the Maasai with bright colours.
We saw a fair bit of brick making along the way, just sun dried rather than kiln dried. I noticed the houses of brick change colour to match the soil.
The farm terraces are picked out between the increasing amount of granite rock.
We saw more Family Tombs with one closer to the road clearly showing the family name on top.
The broken bridge over the river was dynamited during the last crisis (these are political in nature when there is an election to cause trouble and separation)
Tirabena river – means it’s forbidden to walk in the river. Every 7 years they bring the bones of the kings from the tomb. Ceremony takes place around the river. During this three days no one is allowed to go in the river – particularly upstream of the cermonies. Words/places starting with a T in Malagassy indicates/means forbidden.
Some of the road was pretty good today hit a top speed of 60kms a few times this morning.
We arrived into Ambositra (Amboostch) at 10:30. This is the town of the castrated. A town of about 50 000.
A small tribe Zafrimaniry are the carvers of the wood we’ve stopped to see. Featuring Zebu, beehives, spider webs and the sunshine. The shop we stopped at had an amazing range of items carved, inlaid, made from many types of wood as well as Zebu horn items and raffia items, leather and stone. Very skilled craftsmen.
An early lunch stop at 11:30 in a restaurant with accommodation – all carved in the Zafrimaniry style. There were also a group of musicians and dancers to play and dance for us.
Savika- (Savkk) Zebu wrestling takes place here in a stadium. We saw the stadium front coming through town and the back of it from our lunch spot – Le Artisan Hotel.
Then we started out of town and up into the hills. The housing continues to change. More thatch, taller skinnier and with less and tiny windows.
We stopped at a roadside stall to buy some pokpok, a small fruit in a paper like husk. The family -mother and two children were traditionally dressed with the draped scarf/blanket Benj has been telling us about. The girls hair was plaited in fine plaits and tied up, they were wearing bowl hats made of coloured woven raffia. They also had local rum and essential oils of eucalyptus (lemon scented) and two other local types – one was quite menthol like and the other spicy.
The houses are dotted and in small clusters and sometimes villages across the ridges above and below the terraced farm lands. The house colours are more earthen and look great, despite the misty rain.
There are many more people in the traditional brightly coloured blankets too – understandable in the cooler higher altitudes. Some
are draped across the shoulders and around the body, others worn like a wrap shirt. Most seem to be worn over standard clothing.
The brickwork here is ornate with patterns picked out in brickwork under the roof , sometimes a pattern, other times flowers.
The road continued to be of variable quality during the afternoon with a top speed of almost 80 through one village.
There were some sections of roadworks with a gang of men on crowbars and wheelbarrows- manual labour at its best.
Through another town – The hill of good things. (Good religion and educated at the beginning) AMBOHIMAHASOA.
A fuel stop for the car and a pit stop for the humans.
Once again it was getting dark at 5:30. We tuned off to the left towards Ranomafana NP where we were headed. Still 40kms to go and about 90 minutes. There were less trucks on this section and more better sections but still some wet slippery potholes sections too. All the more challenging for Nico as dusk became dark and
just before we turned left we came upon a recent truck accident. A truck with the back end slipped off the road. Lucky to have not rolled over and down a pretty steep slope. Pics not so good as I was not ready and it was getting dark.
Nico was flicking his lights on the bends to alert oncoming traffic. There were lots of blind corners and how he could see well enough to negotiate all the usual traffic and humans and animals amazed me. There were still quite a few human powered carts loaded with goods with no lighting at all as well as Zebu being driven along the roadsides.
Anyway we made it after a big day in the car. Good work to Nico. We arrived at Manja Hotel 6:26, and checked in, ordered our meals and did the hike UP to our rooms. Benj keeps telling us they have a good view. Tomorrow will tell.
Back down for dinner and spent some time chilling in the restaurant- scrolling the socials and email (wifi only in restaurant) before heading back up the hill. (Still raining) to prep for the rainforest walk in Ranomafana NP in the morning.
Rooms are basic bungalow – A shaped. Best shower we’ve had. Hot water was steady and pressure good too.
The long car rides are taking are taking a toll on us all. And the climb to the rooms was a killer. But we all made it. Looking forward to a good walk tomorrow.
Travel adventures with Nicola & co. 