Anja Reserve

After leaving Isalo National Park and continuing NE, we started seeing the housing change from bamboo siding to brick covered with plaster -

This was because the clay is structurally better for brick making (than that of the west where sand is predominant). This was a common structure, with either thatch or tile roofing -

Terracing for rice fields started being surrounded by rising hills…

… and then came large granite formations -

The Anja Community Reserve is a 75 acre reserve that was established in 2001 surrounding the Three Sisters mountains…

… to protect the largest concentration of Ring-tailed Lemurs in Madagascar -

We learned that baby lemurs typically spend the first 3 months of life holding on to mama’s belly and chest, and the second 3 months on to her back.

This Giant Chameleon…

… enjoyed the snack delivered by the local guide (video alert again - open this post in your browser by clicking the link at the end of the post, if you have difficulty viewing it) -

We climbed up out of the forest, through the jumbled rocks…

… to see the valley below -

Back in the forest we were introduced to the Malagasy Lantern bug in its larval stage…

… that from a distance looks just like lichen on a branch, until they start moving -

I wanted to share some more “on the road” scenes: handcarts are pushed along major roads carrying everything from bricks…

… to people -

And speaking of people, I thought this was precious -

We’re outta here (for this post) -