To Walk on Tiptoe

         Stone knifes spread for miles, pushing up through the earth and catching eyes with their sheerness. The edges are razor sharp. They glint poised to slice directly, quickly and efficiently connecting with your gut, spilling your innards across the landscape in a feeling of utter amazement.

    

National Geographic - Stephen Alvarez

          The edges are sharp. Razor sharp. Painful. Horrible. Dangerous. Yet, somehow there is still an allure for romanticists to scale its harsh height. Miles of stone intimidatingly tall, threatening to shred you to ribbons, but daring you to climb it. It seduces those daring adventurers to traverse within its valleys, and climb its cutting edge. It feels a lot like life; Sharp and dangerous, and still breathtakingly beautiful. Still calling our names to walk the angular rode.

National Geographic - Stephen Alvarez

          In clumsiness we hoist ourselves along, whilst snow white lemurs, almost extinct in our unforgiving world, traverse the rocky way. They seemingly glide along as if they are angels; leaping and flying, acting oblivious to the dangerous game of knives they have undertaken. … Or perhaps they do know, and they have simply learnt to embrace it. 

 

National Geographic - Stephen Alvarez (combined by myself, Kenzie)

          After all, this menacing plateau actually serves as a haven to many rare species. Like the great cathedrals of old (NationalGeographic) it provides safety for those creatures who plead for sanctuary. It towers above, imperial and grand, hauntingly beautiful, but offering shelter in an endearing way. 

          This daringly captivating location also serves as mother nature’s metropolis. It is her attempt at industrialization; a natural segment of skyscrapers. Her development of stone structures tower straight and cold above the earth. “Observing the tsingy from the air, pilots have been reminded of the deep urban canyons of Manhattan, where an angular, chaotic skyline descends into a grid of streets and alleys, buildings and parks, everything underlain by a circulatory system of pipes, sewers, and train tunnels. The metaphor applies to the tsingy's inhabitants as well, because the formations have become like rows of high-rise apartment buildings, providing shelter to a different array of species at each level”(NationalGeographic). It holds exoctic creatures who thrive in the environment. They bustle around in a confident way, exuding a more carefree persona than the commonly pinned new yorkers as busy and rude. 

National Geographic - Stephen Alvarez

         Whether cathedral or city, it holds its head erect and proud; dwarfing common sense with its uncanny appeal. 

         The expansive complex of edifices is created of limestone - perhaps the most regal breed to be found standing. Researchers theorize that this plateau of limestone was eroded away by water over time. Snaking into the limestone the water filled its hungry belly, satiated its busy tendrils, and created tunnels which must have been a sight to behold. Gravity jumped on the bandwagon, and working patiently with time bore down on the tunnels until the weight collapsed them; leaving the rebellious shards threatening the sky by refusing to fall. They stand today with teeth bared having survived corrosive water and cumbersome gravity. (NationalGeographic)

         

National Geographic - Stephen Alvarez

This enthralling place is commonly referred to as the Stone Forest located in Madagascar. It was officially made a nature reserve and is more formally called, Tsingy du Bemaraha (OddStuffMagazine). The local dialect, Malagasy, translates “tsinzhi” as “a place you can not go barefoot”(OddStuffMagazine), “where one cannot walk barefoot”(AmusingPlanet), or “to walk on tiptoe”(Allthatisinteresting).

     

          So, with thick boots, a strong determination, and a crazy case of romanticism, few have tiptoed through Madagascar’s Tsingy with its many rare species. It is difficult to get there, harder still to climb, but it is possible. That is what the very stone seems to say, Dare the impossible, for it can be done.

National Geographic - Stephen Alvarez

References: 

"Tsingy: The Stone Forest of Madagascar." Tsingy: The Stone Forest of Madagascar. Web. 10 Oct. 2015. <http://www.amusingplanet.com/2010/08/tsingy-stone-forest-of-madagascar.html>.  

"Natural Beauty of Stone Forest in Madagascar." Odd Stuff Magazine. Web. 10 Oct. 2015. <http://oddstuffmagazine.com/natural-beauty-of-stone-forest-in-madagascar.html>.

"Stone Forest." — National Geographic Magazine. Web. 10 Oct. 2015. <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/11/stone-forest/shea-text/1>.

Pictures are cited directly underneath the picture and linked for ease. Feel free to visit any of these websites for more information. (I personally really enjoyed the National Geographic article.)