Written on 4/7/2015
After my last vacation of resting and relaxing on the beach, I told a few of my fellow Peace Corps Volunteer friends that I wanted to do something more adventurous. We looked into some options, and decided to go to the Fianarantsoa (AKA Fianar) area because of the National Parks in the area.
Thankfully, we had the idea to break down the 11 hour brousse ride into a few days, stopping at Andsirabe and Ambohistra along the way. We adventured through Andsirabe, the third largest city in Madagascar. It was really relaxing to just walk around the city. We had all seen it before on our Tech Trip, but we were just shuffled from place to place by Peace Corps Cars. It was fun to be able to explore at our own leisure. We also sang karaoke (a Malagasy Favorite) the night we stayed there - needless to say, it was quite a great time. I rocked a few Beyonce songs and we hilariously butchered Bootylicious together.
We then headed to Ambohistra - which is known for its Artisan Crafts. It was a quaint little town and a nice visit. I made friends with a few woman who were selling silk scarves they made, and ended up buying some of their scarves. Although I'm pretty sure they overcharged me a little bit more than usual - although I did bargain down to half their original price - they were wonderful women and I felt like I was putting money into good, hardworking hands. Its nice to have something that has a story and a face behind it!
Next, we headed to Fianar - where the real adventures began. From Fianar, we decided to take a short trip to go PARAGLIDING. I highly recommend it if you ever have the chance. It was so exhilarating and oddly relaxing. Its so quite up in the sky and the view from up their - priceless. But you do have to hike up a huge mountain and then jump off it..and then land on the ground. We had a few crash landings - including my own - because of the lack of wind at the ground level. Luckly, nothing serious - just not the pretty, soft landing you hope for. More of a hitting the ground and falling over. I was the first to go, and luckily got quite a bit of air time. It was fun being the first because I was greeted by the children who live in a town nearby. They are used to foreigners who don't speak Malagasy, so it was fun to chat with them and teach them a little bit of English while I waited for my friends to glide down. Afterwards, we enjoyed a beer with our paragliding pals and talked about his qualifications...which, in hindsight...would've been a good thing to ask before we jumped off a mountain with him. (Just so you know, he was very qualified and can even teach others to paraglide alone...fewww).
The next adventure was a trip through Ranomafana (probably the most well-known of all the National Parks). We went on a six hour hike and saw five different types of lemurs and a beautiful waterfall. I don't think we walked on a flat surface the whole time - it was either hiking up a steep hill or cautiously stepping down hill. Two days later and my legs are still sore. But it was worth it to see more of this beautiful island!
Now I'll be spending a few days in Tana working on a grant for a teacher's training and celebrating my upcoming birthday with a few other volunteers! And then back to teaching I go!
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