Day 53 Grosser Preis von Andasibe

Today the adventure 'Exploring Madagascar' is finally starting. We have hired a driver who is also our guide for the next few days.

He picked us up at the hotel promptly at 8 o'clock (agreed time was 7:30). First, we had some administrative work to do and then we set off.

We picked up his car at the nearest gas station, where he had it cleaned for our tour. The first stop was supposed to be the airport, where we made a second attempt to pick up our luggage. But on the way to the airport, we made two more stops on the roadside. Once to buy a hubcap, as he had lost his, and a second time to check the tire pressure and fill up with air.

At the airport, we were finally able to retrieve our luggage. So we were now ready to head towards Andasibe, which is east of Tana.

That didn't mean we were completely ready yet. Our driver still had to refill the coolant twice and replace a spare tire and buy a spare wheel at a tire dealer. Now we were ready.

Slowly, accompanied by a lot of traffic, we left Tana. Once we were out of the city, we had a clear road ahead. Our driver made use of that. It seemed like he wanted to be a race car driver. His overtaking maneuvers were perfect. Waiting in the slipstream (distance to the car in front less than 1 meter, at a speed of just under 90 km/h), until an opportunity to overtake presented itself. And the word opportunity was interpreted very generously. Following the motto, no one came around this turn yesterday either. Eventually, we also learned that braking at the last moment before the curve is part of his driving style.

When we arrived in Andasibe in one piece,

we checked into our room

Andasibe is a small village bordering the rainforest. And what is part of a real rainforest? Right, rain.

So in the evening, we set out in the rain for our night walk at the edge of the jungle. It was a great success. We saw 3 mouse lemurs, the smallest species of lemurs. They only weigh 45 to 48 grams and move very quickly in the trees.

We were also able to find a larger relative of the mouse lemur.

In addition, we saw several sleeping chameleons and a frog.

I have great respect for our guide. He was able to recognize these animals in the dark with his headlamp. I wouldn't have seen any of these animals. The rain and darkness didn't make photography any easier.