Left our hotel at 8 AM and did a few morning stops first by a big waterfall north of Ranomafana National Park and afterwards at a local pigs market. These animals markets are just a big thing here and we have come across quite a few of them now. Otherwise the landscape changed again and this time we passed a lot of beautiful big rocks and rocky mountains along the road. Tried to stop for lunch at the accommodation we are going to stay at in a couple of days - but the chef was not on duty yet so continued to another small village where we all 3 had some pasta for lunch.

We are going to spent the next couple of nights in Tsara Camp with permanent tents just outside of the Andringitra National Park and we have read that it could be quite cold particular at night - so put my expectations right down since also not sure what the tents were going to be like. The last 25 KM before the Camp was on dirt roads and the driver had to pay a small fee to get into the area. Where we stopped to pay the fee and waited for the boy to bring back a receipt and change, a lot of kids came up to the car and asked for sweets and pens. We felt bad not having anything to give them - but Heather had given our driver some of our croissants from breakfast and he decided to give that to the kids. Even if our driver broke the bread up in small pieces - 2 bread rolls between at least 20 kids were not a lot and it was quite heart breaking to see how much they fought to get a small piece of bread. However I did see a young boy share his small piece with a girl afterwards, who didn't manage to get any - so nice to see that they still tried to be fair between them - since was impossible to reach them all. I think the biggest issue out here is really the poverty and it kind of gets to you after a while and it is not easy to cope with. Have read that 92% of the population have got less than US$2 a day to live on - so even if I knew Madagascar was a poor country - I wasn't aware that it was so bad. You would like to help but at the same time there are so many that need help that it is just really difficult.

Arrived at Tsara Camp in the afternoon and it was just such a beautiful place surrounded by stunning mountains. The tents were also amazing - probably the best permanent tents I have ever stayed in. Heather and Dan got a tent with a double bed and I had 2 single beds in mine - but both tents were just so beautiful with nice decorations, a proper toilet and a great outdoor shower. Got a welcome drink and introduced to our guide Cedric, who was going to take us on a walk the following day and would be back at dinner time to explain more about the options. So for now he just explained about the Camp and the surroundings where there was a recommended walk from the Camp over a dam and down to a couple of waterfalls. The weather was beautiful and it wasn't very cold at the moment - so decided to start with the walk. Was absolutely beautiful and great to be in a different dry climate and to walk around on a lot of big rocks. Found 2 waterfalls, which were not full of water but still really nice. Could also watch the local people work in the fields - everyone just works really hard here.

Got back to the camp in time for a cold beer before dinner - just really enjoying sitting outside watching the stunning mountains. Cedric met us again at dinner time and gave us 2 options - either a 4 hours relaxing walk in the forest and to see 2 different villages or a 6 hours walk climbing the Caméleón with the altitude of 1540 meters. The Camp is in 900 meters altitude so you would be climbing 600 meters to reach the top of the Caméleón. We all 3 agreed to do the climb - since was the perfect place for it and would really love to see the views from the top of the Caméléon, which was right in front of the camp. Cedric left us to have dinner then and this time dinner was included in the package but also meant that we then had 3 courses each, which we normally have tried to avoid - since feel it is a bit too much. However was not going to turn the food down - so did at least try all 3 courses, which were really nice. We had electricity in the Camp from 5 PM - 10 PM - so escaped to our tents before the light went out and I got my head torch ready so I could continue reading after the Camp got dark. The next day at 7.30 AM Lolo drove us with our guide to a nearby village where we would start the 6-7 hours climb of Le Caméleón. However had a look around the village first where we saw how hard the women and kids are working around the houses whereas the men would be in the fields doing the ploughing. Saw also their small local grocery shop and some small houses they had built for their chickens, where they cover the entrance with bricks at night - so the fossa cannot get to them. Otherwise we started the long walk through some forest and our guide very quickly found us the most colour grasshopper we have ever seen. Was really beautiful and covered in bright red, yellow and blue colours. We also passed by some local tombs used by the people living in this area and saw several termite and ants nests. However the real highlight was when we saw our first ring-tailed lemur on a rock - who just came out to do some sunbathing. Dan had said that this was the one lemur he really wanted to see in Madagascar and even though we knew they lived in this area - we had also been told that it was rare to see them here - so felt very lucky. Also turned out that the 1 lemur was shortly joined by the rest of the family - so at one point we could see 8 of them. All of them very beautiful with the stripy tail and also amazing how they just climbed the rock and the nearby trees. Even better this time since we were on own to enjoy these amazing animals - so indeed a very special moment.

After the forest the real climb started slowly but surely and a few breaks were needed on the way up. Did a snack stop half way up where we saw a group of local young women and a few young men walking with a lots of stuff on their heads and barefoot in these mountains from one village to another. The guide told us that these women can carry 50 kilos on their heads - one thing is to carry this weight but another thing is how they get it up there in the first place. Extremely impressed and the distance they walk everyday to e.g. sell some fruit or some rice is just unbelievable. Definitely feel very unfit when you are watching this - so as soon as I am back these running shoes are coming out again. Was hard work to get to the top but we were really lucky since had a lot of clouds today and made it more bearable - in bright sunshine this walk would have been a real killer. However getting to the top was so much worth the hard work - just stunning views from up there and spent some time just enjoying it and before the dark clouds starting to gather a bit around us. Suddenly looked like we were going to have a bit of rain - so decided to start the downhill since the guide said there was a cave nearby where we could enjoy our picnic lunch and be a bit in shelter as well. Turned out that we made the right choice since while sitting down in the cave with our pasta salads - the rain started. Luckily both Dan and I brought a rain jacket but Heather has been brave enough to travel a year around the world without a rain coat - so just had to get wet. The downhill on the other side of the mountain was a lot steeper and not my favourite thing since also got quite slippery in certain places in the rain - but at least the rain stopped half way down.

Down on the other side we passed through another village and the guide found us some nice chameleons. I really like these small creatures - think they are quite special and amazing the way they camouflage into the trees and bushes - so you really have to look out for them. Also met some local kids in the village - who were really cute. They didn't have a football - so had made a football out of something that looked like some old clothes tied up together - but they all looked very happy and just wanted to say hello to us. In the fields we also saw some young boys playing in the hay and clearly loved it - so it was nice to see that despite them being so poor - it was all happy faces. 2 kids followed us for a while and luckily Heather remembered that we had some leftover biscuits from our snack stop - so we gave them to the kids - who were really grateful but also very polite and thanked us a lot - so sweet. This time we walked the whole way back to our camp and on the final stretch we met some young kids where one of the boys came dancing towards me with a big stick. Couldn't help dancing towards him as well - so all the kids thought that was really funny.

Was back at our camp at 2.30 PM and even though Heather and I had said we wanted to jump straight in the shower - a cold beer on the terrace was a lot more tempting - so that is exactly what we had. Afterwards we did try the outdoor shower which was cold but very refreshing and nice to get all the sweat washed off. Was still daylight but just before the sun was setting - so thought it was time to try the red wine from Madagascar, which Dan and I bought, while watching the sky changing colour outside our tents. OK wasn't the best wine I have had but it was drinkable - so not such a bad buy after all. Had another 3 course meal in the camp tonight and then bought an extra bottle of wine to drink after dinner and which we took back with us to Heather and Dan's tent. Again managed to get back to my tent just before the camp went dark and enjoyed another beautiful sleep in the tent despite being woken up by a storm in the middle of the night. Luckily the tents were very stable so a bit of wind was not going to move them around.