27 August 2008 - Day 2, part 2 - Fianarantsoa via Ambalavao to Sahambavy, 30 km
On leaving Fianarantsoa we headed further south on RN7 towards Ambalavao. This beautiful town hosts the largest Zebu market in the country each Tuesday and Wednesday. The herdsman walk large distance to bring their cattle to the large pens where hundreds of these magnificent animals are corralled.
We drove around the market stopping to look at the herds of animals and take the inevitable photographs. We also took time to look at the very colourful buildings in the town before heading back up the RN7 before making our final stop on the way to see paper made by hand.
Fabrique De Papier Antaimoro is just off the road immediately behind the aptly named Hotel Aux Bougainvillees and is set amongst many beautiful beautiful bougainvillia trees. The women from the factory were just closing for the day but still took the time to show us through the process.
The bark of the avoha bush is turned in to a pulp by boiling in water and then pounded. This pulp is then spread within moulds and formed to the size of the final item on cotton cloth that has been stretched over a wooden frame. The frame is then placed in the sun until it is almost dry at which point fresh flowers are then pressed into it to form the distinctive, colourful decorations.
When it is completely dry the fabric is cut from the frames and divided into the pieces to make books, picture frames, wall hangings, cards and envelopes. The finished items can be purchased in the shop. We bought a few souvenirs and then headed back on to the road.
The journey took us back up RN7 around the eastern side of Fianarantsoa before we located the side road and headed off the the smooth asphalt for our first taste of the normal road surface.
This road, albeit reasonably important, deteriorated into ruts, hollows, dips and creases. The weather obviously pays a big part in the shaping of the texture and we tipped, bumped and bounced our way along. Rijt was wonderful in steering the best path possible between the worst of the holes and varied his speed and braking to make the ride as comfortable as possible.
We passed through the now familiar countryside and stopped occasionally to take pictures. Each time we stopped the familiar sound of "Vazha, vazha" would start in the distance and we would see small specks start moving across the raised paths between the fields towards us. On one particular stop the car was surrounded. The girls stayed inside and gave out the sweets through the windows.
As we progressed further the sky got darker quickly and soon we were back to the inpenetrable, pitch blackness we had experienced the evening before but this time there were virtually no cars and their lights to illuminate any of the features. Rijt kept the headlights firmly dipped to ensure he could smooth our journey as much as possible over the increasingly deteriorating surface.
After a couple of hours of illuminating the road the headlights lit a sign for our destination for the night, Lac Hotel. We arrived 20 minutes later pulling into the car park alongside the hotel reception.
We walked to a small lobby to complete paperwork and collect the keys and then Tahiry and Rijt helped us take our luggage to the two rooms. The girls were staying in, ???, a two storey cottage with a double bed on each floor. Amanda and I were booked into a single storey room with a lake view, irrelevant at this time of night but with a promise of wonder for the early morning departure.
After plugging in the electronic mosquito repellers in each room and applying an extra mist of anti-mosquito body spray, we looked around the basic room and opened our cases. We headed out and gathered the girls and made our way back to the main building for dinner.
The high-ceilinged restaurant and bar room was laid out with wooden chairs and tables and there were some small sofas gathered in semi-circle around the stone fireplace with it's feature chimney.
Tahiry and Rijt were already eating their rice and chicken. Tahiry helped us convey our requirements for vegetarian options from the menu. We shared a local liquor and then Tahiry and Rijt headed off to the driver and guide accommodation. Our food arrived soon afterwards and we ate this hungrily and quickly before heading off to bed as we had scheduled an early start the following day to fit in as many sights as possible.