Thursday, July 31

Peggy awoke VERY early, remember the rooster? And the rain hitting the tin roof? And the 5:15 call to prayer over the loudspeaker a few blocks away? Problem is, when you don’t speak the language, and aren’t used to the call to prayer, voices coming over a loudspeaker from a few blocks away at 5:15 in the morning sounds ominous. So Peggy got up to investigate…Tom slept through it all, including the rooster…and the rain on the tin roof.

Just outside the hotel, Peggy was surrounded by a group of adolescent males who were begging, and that, accompanied by the rooster, the rain on the tin roof, and the call to prayer, had her pretty freaked out. We ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant, which had about a dozen tables. We were the first party to be seated for breakfast, and the only other party to be seated decided to sit right next to us and speak rather loudly. Go figure.

Gabe and I decided to go to the pharmacy a few blocks away to purchase medications for traditional travel illnesses. Peggy was unable to locate us, and when we failed to return in a timely fashion, she got worried about us. It was not turning out to be a good day for Peggy.

After we checked out of the hotel we drove one hour south to a town called Ranamafana, where we saw a beautiful waterfall. We checked into our hotel called Domain Nature, a series of A-frame cabins on a hillside along a running stream. Each of the cabins had doors that opened to a deck overlooking the valley, a most beautiful setting. The rooms were like tree houses and the waterfall provided an incredible view and soundscape.

The boys took the cabin that had no toilet seat. Ginger and Peggy both continued to struggle with traditional intestinal difficulties, and much of our discussion of an evening revolved around bodily functions. That afternoon we had lunch at the restaurant associated with the hotel, including a delicious soup.

In the afternoon we toured our second rain forest, although Ginger stayed home to be close to the toilet that did have a seat. We saw lemurs and bamboo and, unlike our first rain forest which had a primitive road throughout, this rain forest proved a much more difficult traverse.

That evening we had dinner at the same restaurant, including tilapia (it still had its eyes), and leek soup. Four musicians entertained us during and after dinner in the restaurant, and as we walked back to our bungalows we enjoyed the sound of the water rushing down the stream alongside the cabins.