We backtracked using the same rickety wooden ferry as before and began the long journey to Antsirabe, staying over in the seaside town of Morondava, via Baobab Alley for the sunset (including a stop to pick up a new battery for the jeep).

Lolo stayed with his family last night so we accepted to start a little bit later and headed off at 8.30 AM for the last very long driving day. There was a Zebu market on just outside Morondava so we did a quick stop there to look at the locals and the Zebus. Some local women were cooking an animal or should I say they made a fire with a dead animal inside - but was struggling to see what it was at first. Got clarity of that when the driver took us to a food stall close by where there was a head of goat lying still dripping with fresh blood. Also next to the goat head they were frying some pieces of meat on a frying pan where our driver bought a piece. Both Heather and I were glad he didn't offer us any - since was not sure what part of the goat it was - but for sure not the parts that we would normally eat. No doubt a delicacy for them - but I was not keen to try.

Otherwise we had 4 hours drive to our lunch stop in Miandrivazo and had at least another 4 hours drive to Antsirabe - so we knew we were not going to reach that in daylight. Also did a short break halfway in a small village, where again it was just interesting to watch the local life and people were really friendly and happy for us to take a few photos. Had a beautiful sunset over the mountains today - so got Lolo to stop for a few pictures of that as well. Took 4 ½ hours to reach Antsirabe since the last hour was basically driving in the dark, which becomes really difficult since there are so many people, animals and bicycles without lights around so you have to be really careful not to hit someone. It was therefore 6.30 PM before we reached our hotel 'Couleur Café', which turned out to be a real treat. Such a beautiful place with a lovely garden and we got a nice big room with a fireplace and a massive bathroom.

Were luckily in Antsirabe for 2 nights so had time to explore a bit more of the area and fully enjoy our lovely hotel. However it is cold in the mornings and evenings here since we are up in the altitude - so were wearing a bit more clothes than normal when starting our morning trip to 2 nearby lakes at 9 AM. Went to the lake Tritiva furthest away first (around 20 KM from the city centre), which we were told were a turquoise crater lake, where there would also be a swimming opportunity - so was wearing my swimming costume underneath. In my head I thought this would just be a flat lake surrounded by some beaches where you could just walk straight to and go for a swim - but my picture couldn't have been more wrong. First of all we got an English guide to take us around and then it turned out that we were walking 45 minutes around the lake and quite a bit up and downhill - first to reach the bottom of the lake and afterwards to walk back up to the Parking lot. I was therefore not very practical dressed this morning with a skirt and sandals - but managed anyway. Was a beautiful lake though and the guide told us some interesting myths from the place - one being a Romeo & Juliet story where a rich girl fell in love with a slave but they were not allowed to marry so ended up killing themselves in the lake. Also the locals see this as a sacred lake and this is another place where woman will go and e.g. sacrifice a goat to ask for help with pregnancy. Based on that the locals are not allowed to swim in the lake either - but I was thinking they might just have made that rule since they thought it was too cold anyway. However it was completely acceptable for tourist to swim in the lake so I couldn't resist this and had to get in, which was really lovely whereas Heather and Dan had not put their swimming stuff on so missed out - but then I had a photographer.

Afterwards we went to the 2nd lake Andraikiba, which is a lot bigger and not something you could easily walk around. Our driver therefore just took us to the side of the lake so we could go outside and have a look at both the lake and some souvenir stalls close by. We were the only tourists there so all the people at the stalls wanted to sell us something - so was a bit difficult since you would like to help them all. However at the end I settled for a nice small handbag for £3 and a key ring for 75 pence - so at least I supported 2 of them. I know a lot of people would bargain these places - but the things they are selling are so cheap for us - that I don't have the heart to try and pay even less.

Was back at our hotel just before lunch - so I just had a quick shower after the swim and then I took Heather and Dan to 'Chez Jenny' where I had dinner last night - since they both fancied a pizza. Unfortunately it was Dan's turn to not be well today - so he couldn't finished his pizza and was clearly also not his usual self when he went to the toilet since managed to drop his camera in the toilet. Luckily the camera was still in the bag when it happened so didn't get soaking wet and after drying out properly the camera is now back working - phew.

In the afternoon there was an optional city tour - going a couple of hours with the very famous transport cyclo-pousse where you are literally based in a small trailer behind a bike, which then cycle you around. Since Dan was not well he stayed behind and only Heather and I went, which meant we just had one cyclo-pousse, where we could just fit our 2 western arses in. Started with going through a local market and then up to some workshops where we could see different things be made by local women by hand. We also saw a lot of different things made from the zebu horns - but we didn't find anything we fancied buying. However it was up hill to the workshops and had to laugh when the guy cycling us asked us to get off and walk since we were simply too heavy for him - can you believe this :-). For the rest of the tour we passed some important buildings in the city, the Train Station, the Independence Place, the Post Office, the Hotel of Thermes, the Cathedral and at the end we finished at the local food market, which was very interesting to see. Was back at our hotel already after 1 ½ hour so decided to have a beer in the bar and ensure we didn't disturb Dan yet in case he was sleeping. Just got back to the room at 5.30 PM - since we had asked if they could light the fire in our room - since as mentioned previously it does get really cold at night. Had a lovely fire that made the room a lot more cosy and Heather then went to the bar for 3 of the peppercorn rums, which was a perfect drink in front of the fire. Dan thought some straight spirit would be good for his stomach but his body was clearly telling him otherwise since he dropped the glass on the floor already after the 2nd sip - so clearly not a good idea and definitely not his day today.

Heather and I were the only ones going for dinner tonight and found a restaurant called 'Le Pousse-Pousse', which we thought sounded good and where you would be having your dinner sitting in an old Pousse-Pousse. Took a Cyclo-Pousse to get there since it was a fair distance away and paid the fortune of 50 pence for that ride. Had some really nice food, where we ended up sharing 3 starters since they had some really great starter choices and we were not super hungry. Also had some nice red wine with our meal while enjoying our seats in the old Pousse-Pousse. Based on that we had just been eating in a Pousse-Pousse - it seemed right to try a proper Pousse-Pousse going back to the hotel. Basically the difference between the Cyclo-Pousse and the Pousse-Pousse is that the Pousse-Pousse just has a running man in front instead of a bicycle. However we also realised that the trailer behind the Pousse-Pousse is a lot narrower - so Heather was half hanging out of the side of the Pousse-Pousse, which made us laugh a lot. Clearly this one was not built for 2 western arses - but had a fun trip back to the hotel. At the hotel the running man tried to get us to pay the price we agreed per person instead as for the ride - but since we knew what things are costing now he didn't quite get away with that even though we were willing to pay him a bit extra for the hard work running us home.