Back to Tana

Our boat ride from the Palmarium to our rendezvous with Michel was a completely different experience. The weather was mild, the sun peeped in and out of view, and we were rested and well-fed. The Rhinoceros got to prove its mettle in the mud, this time, making short work of a stretch of road that other vehicles could only do with winches. “On the highway I’m not the fastest,” Michel admitted, “but on the bad road, I think so, nobody can defeat me.” I know what 4×4 I want for the apocalypse.

For our last two nights in Madagascar, we rode up the moist, forested, eastern slopes of the central mountains and stayed at a newly planted orange orchard. For activities, we did another night walk, followed by a day hike encounter with the largest of lemurs, the indri. Photographing them was a real challenge, as they preferred to stay near the top of a dense canopy of trees. But I’ll never forget the their hauntingly beautiful calls.