The park is called Isalo. My guide suggested that we cycled, as the entrance was 18 km away. He told me that I could rent a bike, and was surprised to hear that I had my own. His surprise was even greater on discovering that I had already covered a distance of 1600 km on the island. We pedalled at a modest speed, but on arrival in the park, the guide showed visible signs of fatigue. With a lock that I always carry along we attached the bicycles to a tree, and walked to Moye Canyon. The guide took off his flip-flops as soon as we felt solid rocks under our feet. For comfort, as he explained. The canyon itself was full of boulders, and we were slowly moving forward, squeezing between them. We came to a place looking just like from a fairy tale. Palms, a babbling brook, a small waterfall, and a little sandy beach. After a few minutes' rest, and we moved on. We came across a family of Sifaka lemurs sitting on a tree. Adorable creatures, their black snouts contrasting with white fur. The mother with a baby sifaka on her back was patient enough to pose for my photos.

Next day we went to a different area of the park, and my Canon could not take even a short break. I took photos of scorpions sleeping under stones, and of an amazing plant - Pachypodium rosulatum – also called 'Elephant's trunk'. It is truly extraordinary – with a grey, bulbous stem, and delicate thin twigs adorned with tiny yellow flowers and green leaves.

Another place we visited was a natural pool formed by a stone dam. It literally reminded me of paradise! The pool was 2.5 m deep, with crystal clear water at a temperature of 25° C. Next to it, a small waterfall to help massage sore limbs. Palms around the pool completed the picture. Believe me – I didn't feel like coming back to the roasting hot hotel room. Unfortunately, my guide wanted to go back home.

In the evening, when the temperature fell to an acceptable level of 27 degrees, I went out to eat something. I wasted much time trying to find a shop offering cold beer. Finally I succeeded – that was it! Swimming in the paradise pool refreshed my body from the outside, and this golden beverage did the same from the inside. Sitting at a bar with a double serving of 'akoho sosy' (chicken in sauce with rice), I met a guy from Japan. I 'talked' to him in Japanese for a while, as he couldn't speak English too well. Interesting – he wanted to travel around the world, not being able to speak any foreign languages! No wonder the locals made use of this fact when it came to footing the bills. While I paid FMG 35,000 for a nice hotel room, he paid FMG 90,000 for space on a camping site.

I set off early next morning, intending to ride as far as possible before searing heat struck again. At 8.30 am the temperature reached 32° C (in the shade), and in the afternoon it rose to 50° C (in direct sun). Anyway, I had to keep pedalling as my plan was to cover 180 km that day. At the end of the section I was totally worn out. Even though the hilly route became flat as a table in the final kilometres, I wasn't able to go faster than 12 km/h. My legs simply refused to obey. It was dark when I got to the final destination. Finding a hotel was quite difficult, because there was no electricity in the village. Once again the head torch and earplugs proved invaluable. The Malagasy were having fun at a loud disco. Much as I enjoyed listening to local music, it was unbearable when served in abundance, especially when I was so sleepy.