Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
When researchers first started investigating the fauna of Andringitra, in the early
1990s, they thought they'd found a subspecies of
Lemur catta
. The lemurs here look
different from those in the southern spiny desert and gallery forest of Berenty. They
appearslightlylarger,theirfuristhicker,andthecoloursseemmoredramatic:achest-
nut back, rather than grey-brown, with whiter whites and blacker blacks. And their
behaviourisdifferent.Intheabsenceoftreestheselemursleapfromrocktorockwith
greatagility,oftenontheirbacklegslikesifakas.Itisnowknownthatthisvariationis
simplyanadaptationtotheircold,treelessenvironment-sothelemursofAndringitra
are an ecotype, not a subspecies.
You will notice that not only the scenery but the villages are different. Bara houses are
solidly constructed from red earth (no elegant Merina pillars here) with small windows.
Bunches of maize are often suspended from the roof to dry in the sun.
Shortly after Ambalavao you start to see tombs - some painted with scenes from the life
of the deceased.
Cyclistscanfindaccommodationat
Ankaramena
(PK519),whereacattlemarkettakes
place on Fridays, or at Hôtel Tongasoa in
Zazafotsy
(PK 576) - the name means 'white
child'. The next town of importance is Ihosy (see
Click Here
).
HOPE IN A PLASTIC BOTTLE
Theresa Haine
InToamasina,onamonitoringtripforthecharityMoneyforMadagascar,Ifoundmy-
self enthralled by a story of rubbish! Whilst visiting SAF - a Malagasy development
organisation - I talked with my friend Charnette about her project to tackle the moun-
tains of rubbish polluting the town.
She had decided to start at grassroots level by setting up training courses in recyc-
ling and vegetable growing. For pots, they use are an assortment of plastic bags and
softdrinksbottlesfromtherubbishheaps.Thesearecleanedandthepeoplearetaught
how to make compost from the vegetable peelings and other scraps that are normally
thrown away. The first seeds are given free of charge.
I visited several households in the backstreets of Toamasina and was impressed
to see a wonderfully healthy assortment of salad vegetables, and even strawberries,
growing on every available ledge, step and windowsill. Many even have a surplus to
sell at the market. The enthusiasm of all involved was infectious.
One memorable visit was to a disabled man of 29 who lives in a tiny two-room
shack with his 11-year-old son. He lost his wife nine months ago and sent his younger
son to live with his grandmother in the forest. The older boy chose to remain with his
father, but the loss of his mother affected him very badly. His father has great diffi-
