Ampefy and the drive back to Tana

The next day we first drove to see a panoramic view of the lake and then to see some geysers before heading back to Tana to pick up Tosoa's girlfriend, Rondro, who joined us for the remainder of the trip.  Of course the second we left the hotel I needed to pee, a major concern for me in a country with very few toilets.  Without getting into too many details, let me just say that any woman who travels to Madagascar will quickly get good at "nature" stops - peeing as fast as possible by the side of the road before a zebu cart rolls by. 

Pictures 1-3: Lake Itasy near Ampefy.  Most of the fertile land along the shore has been turned into rice fields. 
Picture 4:  There were tons of flying bugs that looked a little like mosquitoes all over the hill where we stopped to view the lake.  When we walked by they would all start to fly; the buzzing sound was quite loud considering we were hearing thousands of little bug wings.  Fascinating, but a little creepy, too.
Pictures 5-7: Religious monument at the top of the hill.  At first Caryl and I went up alone.  A local man who said he takes care of the monument came up with us asking for a donation, but since we don't speak French or Malagash, he was unable to communicate with us.  He got pretty frustrated, and when Tosoa finally joined us, he scolded Tosoa for leaving us alone and for being a bad guide.  Since Tosoa is our friend and not our paid driver, in my mind he had no responsibility to chaperone is around.  He took it in stride, but after he told us what had happened, I was a bit annoyed, as I felt the man disrespected Tosoa - after all, this was a public place, and we did not have a responsibility to understand his request for cash.  But at least the view was amazing!
Pictures 8-11: Our next stop was to see local geysers and hot springs.  A long, bumpy drive, short walk, and we were there!
Picture 12: NASA has set up an observatory and post here.  Tosoa wasn't sure if it's still functioning.
Pictures 13-16: Everyday life in Madagascar.
Picture 17:  In Malagash, bread is called mofo.  Mofoko is one of the bigger brands of sweet breads.
Picture 18: Caryl eating a mofo.  :)
Picture 19: Back in the outskirts of Tana.
Picture 20: Back at Tosoa's house - the two friendliest chickens I have ever met.  I named them Flotsam and Jetsam, like the two eels in the Little Mermaid.