Manambolo River, Madagascar

The next morning we again woke at dawn. We would be taking a pirogue (dugout canoe) trip up the Manambolo River. The two pirogues were tied together, and Ludo, Dean and I sat on wooden planks, while our “driver” sat at the back “punting” with a long pole.

The scenery was incredible…the tsingy was on our left and high cliffs on our right. We saw caves, long sand bars, birds, lemurs, butterflies….The rocky walls were amazing. On the paddle home Dean said, “I wonder what would happen if a rock fell.” Not 10 seconds later there was a huge BOOM and a boulder came crashing down the mountain and into the water. Hmmm.

Ludo helped by paddling…going upstream was a tedious process. It took us around five hours to get to our destination. I offered to paddle (dragonboat paddler…come on!) but never got a chance (probably okay since I haven’t paddled in almost a year and the paddle looked HEAVY).

After five hours of sitting on a plank we turned onto a smaller side river that led us to “the pools.” When we reviewed our trip with Ludo he mentioned that very few people make it to the last pool. He said that after the long paddle upriver, people get to the second pool which is soooo beautiful and refreshing that they never want to hike further upriver. Well, the gauntlet had been thrown down…we would make it to the last pool!

AND then we got to the second pool. Come on! No wonder people never leave it! There were multiple waterfalls and pools to swim around in. After swimming you pull out your fish and butter sandwich (delicious as long as you don’t look between the slices of bread and actually see the fish, eggs and all) and laze in the sun.

However, we were not going to give up. We threw on our clothes and began the long climb over boulders and along rocky stream beds. Then the thunder and lightning began….and the pouring rain. I must say though….this was worth the effort!

We only stayed long enough to snap two quick pictures. Dean joked about the directions to this special place, “Fly 20+ hours to South Africa and spend the night, fly to Tana, Madagascar and spend the night, fly to Morondava and spend the night, drive 10 hours over 4WD roads to Bekopaka and spend the night, get on a pirogue for five hours, hike over boulders for another hour and wah-lah!”

Picture #2…worth showing. At this point the rain was pouring from the sky. Rocks + moss + rain = falling down. Everyone got their chance…and it wasn’t pretty. I had a difficult time navigating the rocks without it being slippery. Ludo saved the day by finding me a walking stick…but it was a LONG hike back. Our ride home was a blustery, cold one. We made it in 1.5 hours…which tells you how blustery. I was shaking like a leaf…but hot tea and a warm shower helped!

Dinner! I finally get my chance to talk about the food! This is delicious river fish. Most of the time your choices are fish, chicken or zebu…served with rice or fried potatoes. You soon learn to avoid the chicken…scrawny, rangy looking things….they taste like they look. The Zebu is delicious when served with marinade. The first red meat I’ve liked in a long time.