On the road again. Solofo came by the hotel after breakfast, we filled up the car, and we headed east out of the city to the rainforest and, eventually, the coast. It was a pleasant drive, one that I’ve gotten used to here in Madagascar, of rice fields and three-story mud houses. We eventually started down the rather high escarpment that I hadn’t realized we were on, and I could feel the temperature rise as the elevation declined. Apparently, the central plateau rises rather sharply from the coastal areas.
Something about the area reminded me of the crinum lilies I’d seen but neglected to photograph near Ranomafana, and I mentioned that to Solofo. He didn’t remember them but promptly pointed one out on the roadside, asking me if I meant that one. Of course I had, so he pulled off to the side, and I got out to take a pic (and squirrel away some seeds). We then drove on along the railroad to Andasibe National Park.
Solofo suggested a hotel run by an ethnic Chinese family, and I liked it. My little bungalow was far at the end of the compound, staring into the side of a mountain just across a river. Of course, there was practically no one there, and I loved it. No internet, but electricity with hot water and a toilet. My quarters here reminded me a lot of the bungalow/tents we stayed in in Kenya.
I had a good lunch in the cavernous restaurant and took a nap. After I roused about 3:30, we went to the park visitor center to check out the displays and meet tomorrow’s guide – a friend of Solof’s named Pascal. He seemed pretty on-the-ball, so we planned to meet at the awful hour of 7 am tomorrow.
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