This morning, have breakfast while listening to the peculiar call of the endangered Indri, the largest living lemurs, reaching up to three feet tall! Andasibe is an ideal place to observe the Indri, as there are some Indri families there who have been habituated to humans. Considered a sacred animal in Madagascar, the Indri is the focus of several origin myths. In addition to the Indri, 13 lemur species can also be seen: woody lemur, grey bamboo lemur, diademed sifaka, brown lemur, red mouse lemur, red-bellied lemur, black-and-white ruffed lemur, and aye-aye. These forests are also home to 15 other mammal species, more than 100 types of birds, 50 species of reptiles, and 80 amphibian species. Overnight at Vakona Forest Lodge.

The forest lodge is cool, way cool..

But first you just have to hear this…

This morning, transfer to the airport for the flight to Antananarivo, then transfer to Andasibe. En route admire the large roadside Raphia farinifera palms. Arrive at the hotel late in the afternoon and take an evening walk in the Mitsinjo Analamazaotra Forest Station. Mitsinjo is an important site, and a great place to see the extremely endangered Ravenea louvelii palm in its natural habitat. Explore the flora of the trail system and then as darkness descends, continue walking in search of nocturnal wildlife. With luck, have a chance to observe the locally endemic Goodman’s Mouse Lemur. Common encounters also include the Greater Dwarf Lemur, leaf-tailed geckos, and an impressive sample of Andasibe’s amphibian diversity such as the tree frogs Boophis viridis and Boophis pyrrhus. Return to the hotel for dinner. Overnight at Vakona Forest Lodge.
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Um, well….
we left our hotel this morning and headed to the airport

departure airport

in plenty of time for our flight. Which happened to be changed to close to 1100. This is Air Madagascar. Prop plane with one engine suspended from each wing and six very wicked looking propellor blades on each. The good thing? Obviously neither the wings nor engines interfered with anyone’s view. The sad thing? The country appeared pretty desolate in our 90+ minute flight.

On arrival, we were met by new van and driver. Loaded up to drive to the hotel. It was only 87 miles but took from 1300 till after dark. We made one stop along the way –

at a place that had most excellent coffee which we all needed plus offered a variety of western tourist adventures (hiking, zip lining and white water rafting). We had the coffee and looked at the sheep.

It was dark when we arrived, this place is set deep into the forest if the 30 minute practically off road drive is any judge.

Today we venture to Zombitse National Park and witness the results of a widespread environmental problem in Madagascar: deforestation. After a long history of “slashand-burn agriculture” in the region, only a small area of protected forest remains. As a result, it is a particularly abundant with flora biodiversity; baobabs and several orchids are especially common. Time permitting, visit Antsokay Arboretum, created in 1980 by amateur Swiss biologist Hermann Petignat. The 100-acre site is dedicated to conservation of the country’s endemic fauna. Continue to the seaside town of Toliara, situated near the Tropic of Capricorn. Overnight at Le Paradisier.

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Actually, another day from Hell on the bus made much better by the stop at Zombitse Park

The Park

with the

no clue why he is awake

Sportif – normally a nocturnal

the massive baobab trees

and then there was the fun of these guys …..

before driving to the end of the world

We arrived at camp late afternoon –

the main area –

After breakfast, head to the Great South and Madagascar’s most visited park, Isalo National Park. The drive is along some of the best roads in the country and the scenery is breathtaking. Expect to spend most of the day driving. En route stop at Anja Community Reserve, managed by the local community and a vital example of sustainable tourism in Madagascar. The reserve boasts a diverse variety of endemic species, including several families of orchids and saxicolous plants. Explore the reserve then have lunch in a nearby restaurant. After a long day of driving, we check in to our hotel, have dinner, and relax in anticipation of Isalo National Park – over 200,000 acres of beautiful landscapes of sandstones, canyons, fauna and flora, natural swimming pools, and waterfalls. Overnight at Le Relais de la Reine.

—–

It was an extremely long day of driving.
First – sights along the way –

that is just a taste of what driving through a town or city will show you.

But the stars of today were ring-tailed lemurs. Trust me, they are funny, amazing and not at all concerned about humans in their habitat.

and more lemurs both in the trees where they have a tendency to move around like Rocky the Flying Squirrel

There are also Zebu

and more ring tails down at the water and otherwise having an interesting time…

if you click on the picture you will get a slightly larger version. I did limit the size…

After breakfast, transfer to the mountainous Ranomafana National Park, situated on the edge of Madagascar’s High Plateau with elevations ranging from 1,640 to 4,921 feet. Ranomafana contains a variety of forest and is part of the World Heritage Site, Rainforests of the Atsinanana. Ranomafana has served as a model for subsequent parks and reserves in Madagascar and abroad. This evening we have a special traditional Tanala dinner prepared and served in a special pot, family-style. Tanala literally means “people of the forest.” Only 4% of the population of Madagascar are Tanala, so tonight’s meal is a rare treat. Overnight at Setam Lodge

Did I mention driving forever?

Yes, thought I did. The National Park is about 30 years old, give or take. It is the home to about 13 species of lemurs, six or so of which are nocturnal. I am not, so doubt that I will see any of them.

And there are a few birds, we did not see many due to the time of the day.

magpie robin

“Explore the capital city – the political, economic, and cultural heart of Madagascar. A local historian enlightens a visit to Ambohimanga, a hill and fortified royal settlement, followed by a family-style lunch with entertainment by traditional dancers and singers. This evening enjoy a welcome dinner and a talk on Madagascar’s unique biodiversity. Overnight at Relais Des Plateaux”

more to follow….

In reality, we stayed completely out of the city and went instead to what was the home of the Madagascar Royalty in the 1800s. Wooden buildings, up on the top of a high hill. Inside very English drawing room appearance complete with the kind of posed photos of Queens in English court dress that you might expect as a result of the invasion of English missionaries in the early 1800s. No photos allowed inside the building.

It too over 90 minutes to drive the 20km from the hotel to the site. After walking the site long enough for the repetition to get to me, we headed off to lunch. Local entertainment. At least we ere told it was traditional even if there was an accordion and western dress involved.

Less than 40 min return in the evening.

Before I forget – and this is being written from the Turkish Airlines Lounge in Istanbul – I just adore flying Turkish Airlines. At least in business class, no experience otherwise.

The plane itself is comfortable, they provide slippers. I don’t have a clue about their entertainment program since I enjoying watching the flight path. The service is excellent, the chefs on board prepare the food to order. The cart comes by with the starters so that you can mix and match. I never go around to desert since I decided that sleep wasn’t a bad idea at all.

But the icing on the cake? Besides the lovely lounge in the airport which is huge, open, airy with multiple snack stations and a full array of munchies, foods, drinks, teas and coffees?

salads and olives

We were parked at an outer location which meant the usual tramp and bus. There was a separate bus for business class. Not just a simple sign in the window, this was decked out with a full elegant wrap clearly distinguishing it from the ordinary white economy class. Business Class clearly emblazoned on the side, gold on chocolate brown.

Since our flight was late getting in. Oh – that was interesting. Apparently going around too many times on approach to SFO make the incoming TK 079 short on fuel. So they landed at OAK. Seriously. Refueled, took off, circled around, then landed on the SFO runway right across the bay. End result was that we were a couple hours late on departure. Fine with me since that meant a shorter time hanging out in Ataturk.

And I underestimated. Apparently the time zone different from SFO to IST is 11 hours… flip my bodies schedule on its head why don’t we.

I will continue to think about this as we deal with yet another day underway.

SFO-IST arriving today (1 June) then early morning from here to Madagascar.

I did tell you that was where we are going?

There are things about an 0500 that shouldn’t have been a surprise to me, but I was still blindsided. Bag Drop off for United didn’t open till 0330 giving only a 45 min window for checked luggage. I guess they think it is not longer a problem since just about everyone seems to carry all of their possessions onto the aircraft so they can be throughly angry when there is no overhead storage space. Me? If I can check a bag for free, I will do so every time.

Security opens at 0400. Boarding began at 0410 and there wasn’t a coffee to be had in the terminal area before 0500 including the United Club which also just happens to be open from 0500-2200. Go them. It is perhaps the only time I have boarded an aircraft without a line, without dozens of pre-boards or pushing and shoving because it is so important to be the first or second person in line rather than the fifth.

No pictures leaving SFO – as we climbed the fog promptly took over. The mountains between SFO and DEN are amazing with snow caps and a few obvious glaciers present. Admittedly from our altitude you can’t see much, but habitation was wonderfully lacking underneath our wings for most of the journey.

Unfortunately it was easy to tell when we approached Denver. And it wasn’t that the mountains started to flatten out or that there were threads of roads visible brown against the green. It was the air. From clear to nasty yellowish-brownish haze in a layer obscuring the high-rise towers of downtown in the distance. For what it is worth, the haze continued after takeoff as we flew east.

Now can anyone explain why architects, often known for designing extremely dull buildings more resembling a high-rise basement than any place a person of sense or discernment would want to live or work all seem to go nuts when faced with designing an airport terminal? Normal building? Nah, it is an AIRPORT. As such there seems to be a requirement for swooping rooflines, acres of glass and noise levels only marginally short of a train station with all platforms full. Denver is no exception. This is perhaps one of the weirdest designs I have had had the misfortune to view. Plops of snow? Stylized mountain peaks? Meringue? And the scariest part of all – this design pre-dates the legalization of pot in Colorado.

“interesting roof”

Speaking of take-off – or rather the events leading up to getting on our way – it turned out that we all exited the plane in Denver – Gate B24 knowing that if – and only if – you were continuing on to DCA it would be the same plane. A different flight number, a different crew and most likely different seats which explains why we all got off, hung out and then re-boarded the exact same plane, Sheesh. But at least I didn’t have far to go (gate wise) unless choosing to go on a search and purchase mission. Weather caused a bit of delay, but they will be handing me breakfast and the outlet at my seat works (unlike the first leg).

On arrival to DCA I managed to collect my luggage, insure that I had enough charge on my cell phone to insure ability to communicate and headed off to the Metro.

I like the Metro Cars – and I now know where BART received its’ inspiration:

electric signage, almost the same seats, easy to clean

Yellow line to Gallery Place, Red Line to White Flint. Oops – train only goes as far as Grovesnor so yet another change. Carmen bailed me out there. Cell phones are so nice to have.

On the itinerary our arrival time is listed as 0800 in NYC. We are docking at the Manhattan Pier. I am not sure which one of the 88,90,90 pier it is because it is not listed anywhere. Most of us are assuming it will be Pier 92 since that has historically been the docking location for NCL ships. Why it is not listed? Actually easy. Ships are actually listed by cruise departures. This ship will be remaining in NYC for about four days. Then she sails to Miami, but without official passengers. So there is no departure cruise. Therefore – no docking listing.

Having said all of that, we have been slowing chugging along at about 10 knots all day. In spite of the Captains best effort to get nowhere in a big hurry, our arrival time has slid earlier and earlier. Now it looks like we will be docked before 0200 in the morning. Obviously, no one is disembarking that early – customs and immigration would not be amused.

Accordingly, this afternoon, Stu and I made a tour of the upper decks, looking for a viewing location and hit several snags. The Haven is forward on the ship. Upwards of Deck 15 which has the Observation Lounge (all interior, i.e. windows with lights on) there is no place forward on which to stand and see out. There is also a fair bit of breeze. We picked out a couple of areas which I just went to double check. No – can’t get up to the Laser Tag area on the top deck which has a lovely view over Starboard and was as far forward as possible. I found I could get to a small alcove on Deck 18 so that is where I probably will head.

If I remember correctly, the last time I actually sailed into NYC was about 2014 on the Legend on a clear September morning. I was doing a back-to-back up to Quebec City and found, much to my disgust, that there was absolutely NOTHING at the Cape Liberty Terminal. Nothing, no coffee shop, no wifi, no nothing. I did get some lovely shot of both the bridge coming in and the Manhattan Skyline. I am going to try for the skyline again but reserve the right to hang it at any moment and go to bed.