Wild lemurs in the forest, a stunning bridge crossing by cable ropes over ravines – the geological formations of the Grand Tsingy limestone park was by far one of the most awesome features of Madagascar.
This was the closest I had come to rock-climbing in nature. I had only ever done it before in a gym, but on a hot winter day in Madagascar, I swung the loops of a harness over my legs in the parking lot and got ready for the climb. The landscape changed dramatically as we approached the jagged limestone rocks, from savannah to shady forests to rock walls.
Right from the start, we were lucky to run into a sportive lemur chilling on a tree almost at my eye level. It seemed to stare at me with its big round eyes, but this species is blind during the day. Madagascar is the only place in the world where you can find these super cute guys. He moved his head as he heard us approach. My guide pointed out other natives to the environment, parasitic vines and medicinal plants.
I was eager to get right to the climbing. The soft earth turned into a few boulders and then sharp spires of limestone rock. I clipped myself to metal cables running up the side of the rock and stepped over steep layers of rocks like a natural staircase to the sky. We ducked into crevices and emerged onto the final leg, a a ledge that swirled around the corner and then curled up, so I had to really push to propel myself up. At the top, I waited for my turn to cross over a steep gorge that dropped down into a hell of spikes. I put one foot on the bridge held by cables and planks and bounced it up and down to see how it shook. Seemed fine. I walked straight across, looked down at my feet and around and didn’t feel a bit afraid.
