Zomatel Hotel Fianarantsoa

... Well that was what was said once they found out we were English of course. Oh yeah! We thought we've heard all this before. Its one of many ploys to get you to take an expensive taxi or tour etc. Luckily we have a Madagascan sim card in our mobile and we also had the phone number of the first and last place that we took the Gasy bus from in Antisirabe. One quick call in my broken French confirmed that yes indeed the Gasy bus was 'having ...

... and table tennis as well as catching up with reading. Dom's better at tennis and I'm better at table tennis. We also visited the only tea plantation in Madagascar which was nearby. It was interesting to learn how tea grew and how it was made as personally I had no idea... now I do! It was a bit of a struggle to find the place, as once again, there were no signs and no ...

Sur la route menant à Ranohira (Massif d'Isalo), nous nous arrêtons à Ambalavao. Cette halte nous permet de visiter une cave viticole (et du goûter du vin évidemment !), de visiter une fabrique de papier Antemoro et de voir le marché au zébu.

... les leurs, les vendeurs jouent des coudes pour trouver des clients rapidement, ... Le dîner au Tsara Guest House est très agréable. Il fait à présent de moins en moins froid la nuit. Plus nous descendons vers le sud, plus le climat se réchauffe et c'est très agréable. Nous prenons maintenant la route vers Isalo.

... trainings. We just finished our first teacher training (where we train middle school teachers in english methodology and leadership skills) in Ambalavao a small town outside of Fianar. It was good, although we are revising alot! It is hard to predict what problems these teachers may have when our conditions and materials are completely different in America. Let me just say that I am so greatful that I was raised ...

Today was the day I as dreading. A 13km (7-8hr) walk faced us. Phillibert and our other local guides joined us on the bus for our ride to the start of the walk. Soon though Roger said the road was too bad and he was not going to drive us any further. We got out and began to walk. We walked maybe 2 miles until Mamy said, "This is the start of the walk." I have to say, that although we seemed to spend the first 10km walking uphill ...

Leaving Ambalavao we turned off the Route Nationale 7 and headed east towards the Andringitra Massif and 'Pic Boby' the second highest peak on the island. The road here was not very good and it took much longer than expected to get anywhere. We stopped at an area sacred to the Betsileo people: their ancestors are buried here and it has always been fady (unlucky) to hunt the lemurs. From the road, we ...

It was another of those long driving days today, but as ever, Mamy split the trip up with lots of stops. The first stop was about 15 minutes into the journey at a spectacular waterfall. Back on Route Nationale 7 Mamy asked if we would like to see a blacksmith. We all said "Yeah, ok" and the bus pulled up at the next village. We were led around the back of a house to see half a ...

... to take photographs, Theo said that as he was walking yesterday he found an ideal place for a nocturnal lemur to sleep. It was nearby, so he took us over to see if anything was there. We were in luck. As Theo made a noise in the back of his throat to imitate another lemur's warning call we saw two big eyes peering out from a hole in a tree.<br><br>A few feet away, the spotters has found a small troop of Bamboo lemur. There are three types of bamboo ...

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Happy Easter all!!! I'm having a great Easter vacation here in Fianar, the 'capital' of the south of Madagascar. The full name of the town is Fianaransoa and is known for it's beautiful terraced landscapes and vineyards.(no....I have not yet tried all the wines!) I am here with 3 other PCV's and we are setting up our ...