Left without breakfast as they still hadn't set it up 30 minutes after I asked for it to be ready. This is not a problem as its quite easy to get fruit, bread rolls, tomatoes at roadside venues, plus I have a lot of water on board.
I'm seeing a few parcels of stones but the quality is poor and they have obviously been cherry picked already. The common theme I'm hearing is no gemstone mining, gold. There has been some large discoveries of aluvial gold in the north and most of the gemstone miners have moved on. Thankfully I have some parcels arranged in Tana and the south.
Just south of Ambanja we are told some miners are still working a small sapphire deposit so we follow the directions and eventually find them. They don't have many stones with them but we can view the rest at their ville. As we are about to depart the police arrive. What do they want to see of course my DSTM which doesn't exist anymore.
After much discussion its decided that we WILL! accompany them to the outskirts of Ambanja so we can get in touch with the official whose number I have. He's not in and so I again have to accompany the police into Ambanja. We stop at a small hotel, it doesn't rate any stars even negitive, no running water, food, or power after dark. I'm basically under house arrest and must wait until tomorrow. I arrange for the driver to bring me some food, I have water. He doesn't come because, as I find out later, he has been forbidden to by the police.
I spend a very hot, dirty and mossie infested night.
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