Happy 4th of July from Madagascar

July 4, 2011

We left the hotel at seven am and drove to Isalo National Park, which was established in 1962. We hiked up to a viewpoint that overlooks the canyon, passing rock formations that looked like a turtle and a crocodile. The stone has iron and aluminum oxides so it has amazing colors. The standstone is relatively soft so it has been eroded into interesting shapes.

The Bara people of this region use the caves formed in the stones for their burial rituals. The dead are placed in coffins and left in a temporary tomb for two years. At this point, the bones are removed and ritualistically washed in the river. The bones are then wrapped in a shroud and placed in a permanent family tomb in a cave high in the standstone cliffs.

After taking in the view, we hiked down into the canyon where there is a natural pool. This is like a small oasis in the relatively dry area and is surrounded by trees. We then hiked across the canyon floor, across a ridge and then ended up at a campsite, where we saw ring tailed lemurs. These cute lemurs live in family groups and were sleeping in little furry clumps of lemur balls when we found them. There were also some red fronted brown lemurs in the area, who are rather sneaky and fearless as they try to steal bananas from the hikers. After some lunch, we did a short hike up to some small waterfalls that involved lots of steps.

We also saw silk worm cocoons, that the local people collect to make into fabric. We found some amazing stick bugs that look just like the twigs and are up to nine inches long. We saw the rock thrush, which is a rare bird found only in this area. We also saw kestrels and scorpions. Just as we were leaving the park in the late afternoon, we saw a large chameleon. There is an interesting plant that is endemic to this area called a pachypodium. Despite living several hundred years, they stay very small, usually under one foot. They look like small baobabs with bulbous bases and a few have had some yellow flowers.

Upon returning to the hotel, we took a walk around the hotel grounds.