Oasis in the city

Another post from Hong Kong.

Bordering on Nathan Road in the Tsim Sha Tsui tourist district is Kowloon Park, a green space that makes a lovely respite from the hustle of the city. Of course, I was immediately caught up in admiring the plantings, especially the skillful way in which pleasing views were created, even in this relatively small park.

Who could resist this pagoda with plantings of azalea?

We wandered through the park, stopping to rest on a bench and to watch a man moving through his martial arts practice.

The Chinese of Hong Kong have a flair of using space. In this park, there were quiet corners where retired men could gather to discuss the issues of the day.  In this open area, parents share lunch with their children, little people bouncing in bright sweatsuits and munching their sandwiches. Across the way, women work their way through exercise machines that are discretely screened by hedging -- like an outdoor "Curves". For everyone passing through and stopping in the park, it is a safe and peaceful place to find a quiet moment. 

If you look at a map of Hong Kong, you will discover there are pockets of green space everywhere, like tiny perfect oases in the city.  The Chinese here have a landscaping style that calls for intense cultivation, exactly what you would expect in a place were land is limited.  I admire this way of planting very much. A picture of a single, glorious flower (which I still hope to identify) was my beautiful take-away as we continued our explorations of the city.

Sometimes weather happens

A cyclone was blowing out in the Mozambique channel, off the eastern coast of Madagasgar and we had to make a decision.  From the town of Tulear we were to take a boat south to a little beach village called Anakao for a two-night stay. Getting there might be possible, assuming the port authority gave the local fleet the all clear, but if the stormy weather continued, we might get stuck in Anakao. That could make it very difficult to get back to Tana for our onward flight to Bangkok, Thailand.

We opted to return to Tana by road with Dorique and our driver, Joey, doing in two days what we had earlier done in four. Continuing our Malagasy road trip sounded like more fun than waiting two days in blowy, humid Tulear to catch the regional flight originally booked for us.

Would we miss out on our beach experience?  Well no, not quite. We made a jaunt south to Sarodrano, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn on the way. We drove past mangrove trees and strange euphorbia with poisonous sap (second photo below).

We passed baby baobab trees.  

Best of all, we were able to see spiny compass trees. Their fleshy cactus-like branches bend with the prevailing wind, giving a directional clue to passing travelers.

Dug out canoes rested on the beach and a few fishermen's huts clung to the sand behind a twig fence. Surely these structures would be scant protection against a cyclone's winds. 

For us, it was time to head inland.  Past the giant baobab trees of the southwest.  

It did take us two tiring days, but our mode of travel was extremely comfortable compared to so many of the vehicles we passed on the road.  I photographed this bus at the gas station where we filled up.  Just a couple kilometers down the road, it was stopped and an ominous pool of oil had appear under it.

Overloaded taxi buses like the one below were a common site on all the roads.

We pulled into Tana as a spectacular moody sunset reached over the rice fields on the city's outskirts.  It kind of felt like arriving home.

 

 

Hiking in Isalo

The shoulder-height grasses bent and bucked in the stiff wind, almost obscuring the hiking trail.  Ahead of us, a trail of stone steps would lead us down to a treed rest spot for lunch.  We were in Isalo National Park in southern Madagascar - 81,450 hectares of majestic wind-weathered rock buttes, stony desert grassland and hidden cascades surrounded by palm and tropical plants. This is Madagascar's most popular park.  It protects some of the rarest plants and fauna on earth.

You could spend a lifetime studying the plants in this region and still have more to learn.  Our local guide, Zakatina, knew the botanical names for all the plants we passed.  A former teacher, he is one of the most experienced guides in the park; we were happy to follow him, even for a strenuous seven-kilometre hike.  

I was pretty happy when I made it to the anticipated viewing point.

Fortunately it was an overcaast and breezy day, otherwise we would have faced 35 or 40 degree heat.  Drinking water, and lots of it, was essential.  Dorique, our fun-loving guide from Cactus Tours, practiced his water-carrying technique.  That's Zakatina on the left.

We learned that the Bara people, the local tribe, considers the high sandstone rocks to be sacred. They still bury their loved ones in small caves, returning in three years for the dry bones which are honored in a celebration before being interred in a final resting place high in the rock face. Zakatina explained that it is forbidden to point at the sacred rock with an outstretched finger; instead, you must use a curled finger.

Rob, an entomologist at heart, was delighted with the insects were encountered, like this sowbug-type insect that rolled itself into a ball.

A large stick insect that blended perfectly with the twiggy branches of the shrubs.

A " technicolor" grasshopper that does not fly.

And then there was this boa constrictor that moved across our path.

The wind and light rain meant that we did not see many lemurs.  We had hoped to glimpse the all white Verreaux sifaka, but at lunch we did enjoy the antics of a family of ring-tailed lemurs.  They were habituated to people, but still rather wary of our movements.

Zakatina led us to a beautiful waterfall where Rob took a swim. Later we climbed to the Cascade des nyphmes, a hidden waterfall that captured the hidden beauty of Isalo.

After a long and demanding day, we are glad to return to our hotel, Isalo Ranch, to savour the memory and mystery of this place.

 

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