Good stuff Tiff!

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UK to Mongolia 2009, on a DR350

The small red ones in the top picture are lychees
Below that are melons and small mangoes - all delicious

Quite often I come across fruit that I'm not familiar with and then I ask the stallholders how to eat them.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

The lychees/mangoes i was familiar with the melons were a bit of a guess ,is it a type of rock melon?
Thanks for the reply Noel

Great excitement in the Coates household - one of my Madagascar photos has been shortlisted for the HU Calendar.
Voting closes tomorrow, please vote for me if you like my picture, it's this one



You can vote for it on this page

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...inners-75142-2

My picture is the second to last photo - so trawl through to the bottom. Naturally there are a lot of extremely good pictures featured, and I'm flattered to be amongst them.

Thank you to all those who have voted for me - it is much appreciated.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

I wandered around town and on the outskirts I spotted this tranquil place






The sign out front



It's the final resting place of Commonwealth Soldiers who died here during the Second World War, I found out a bit more about this remote part of the planet which had become embroiled in battle scenes that I mostly associated with Europe, the Far East and North Africa. This is one of the few places south of the equator that saw action including some Japanese midget submarines which entered the harbour .
I wandered around the cemetary, which is beautifully maintained, reading the inscriptions and feeling for these young men who had died a long way from home.

The Welsh Fusilier



The African Corporal

And the Belgian Soldier



And placed flowers on this Trooper's grave.


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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

I went further afield exploring along the coastline on some dirt tracks to blow the cobwebs away.


The track eroded away through the soft dirt of the ground



It was fun to ride



I reached the coast once more


Leaving Suzi the bike in the shade next to a cafe I headed out across the bay in a boat


The sea is a beautiful colour and so incredibly clear.




We stopped at an island where the boat guy caught some fish

which within minutes were on a plate ready to eat



I skipped the fish, but had a couple of s, this is the woman who cooked the fish


The deckhand had a nap in the shade under the sail



On the way back, I persuaded the boat man to stop so that I could have a swim.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Follow the yellow van - by Madagascan standards, this van still has plenty of space for more luggage.



I'm heading towards the Vanilla Coast in the North East

I pause to have a chat with a guy running a motorbike repair place - not quite how they look back home, but he seemed to know what he was doing.




Suzi was kept parked overnight in the hotel reception



The guys cheered when I rode out straight down the steps - I have to admit I may have looked more confident than I felt, I can't stand it when I know my feet can't reach the ground at all.

The road started to deteriorate and the traffic became more rural



I hadn't been on dirt for a while, so it was a welcome sight



But the ominous sight of clouds was not quite so welcome, I was reaching the area I'd been warned about and the last thing I needed was the rain and mud as I tackled these hills



I bought some fresh bread from the baker - he was on his rounds through the remote villages and was delighted to have a foreign customer in the middle of nowhere.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Breakfast was the usual noodle soup type dish with milky tea, sunshine and good company in the form of this schoolgirl who spoke good french



And at my feet, pecking up any bits that I dropped...


Daisy Duck - destined for the stew pot in the not too distant future according to her owner.

Congestion on the road caused by this pig having a bath and not wanting to move


This photo was taken by the guy guarding a broken down pick up truck, he'd been there 24 hours already when I saw him.


The weather changed dramatically from the sun to grey clouds and rain
Having grappled with mud in the rain (and been so miserable with it I did NOT stop to take pictures), I paused at this village


I realised my rear tyre was very soft and so I got my pump out (Thom, you might recognise the pump!)
The guys were all very intrigued and so I let them take over




I pushed on hard for the final part of the day's ride- there's nothing like the thought of a cold as motivation...


And I'd once more reached the coastline - looking somewhat worse for wear after yet another bloody tough day.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Now where was I? Oh yes, sat on a beautiful beach, enjoying the view whilst sipping a cold - life feels good despite my aching muscles, and at least I'm clean as I also had a shower - many of these hard days end with no shower at all, just a dip in the sea or a river if I'm lucky.

The fishermen are paddling past on their way home




My dinner arrives - tomato salad and chips.. the life of a vegetarian



I went for a stroll through the village and met this little boy, who shyly showed me his homemade boat - constructed from a discarded flip flop, twigs and leaves



He demonstrated how well it floated



And I went with him downstream where he and his friends were racing them- using the gentle breeze blowing in from the ocean.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

I was getting some enjoyment out of spotting the school crossing signs, they seem to vary a lot from one town to the next - and at the risk of sounding a bit weird, I ended up with a folder of photos showing the different signs (a bit like my folder of photos of different cow signs in Latin America - when you travel on your own and there's no one to talk to...)

Here they look...



In this village I'm expecting to see people with short stumpy legs and elbows that don't bend.

While here



Even the kids have quiffs and the adults have abnormally long arms.

In the real world I was meeting guys like this


He's 86 and runs the village shop in a place where the houses look like this



That's the posh end of the village, this is mostly what the houses looked like




he has run the shop every day for the last 50 years, he took over from his father-in-law, his wife died 16 years ago. I drank a soft drink with him (no electricity so it was warm from the shelf, after he had wiped the dust off the bottle) and gave him some of my wasabi peas - an acquired taste, especially for someone living in the middle of nowhere in northern Madagascar. He said he'd never tasted anything like them and shared them with his great-nephew who had come along to check I wasn't there to mug the old guy.

Back to my journey, 6.15am and the view from my shack looks like this




The morning rush hour started up...

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

My favourite pig picture- the sow was wallowing on her side just enjoying the mud and the piglets kept pushing at her for milk, even trying to suckle on the teats that were submerged, as usual this is in the middle of the road.



I picked up a hithhiker



It took a liking to my Cornish flag


I coudn't find anyone who would confirm that they eat snails in Madagascar -a s a former french colony I think they are missing out on these extra large snails.

More over-loaded vans, crammed with people and luggage, the guy hnging out the back is the conductor and money collector and laso acts as the rear view mirror, calling through to the driver when I was overtaking


I reached the coastal town of Antalaha on the Vanilla Coast - riding the roads, the air is full of the scent of the vanilla and clove plantations.


the road ends here, and it was time to find a an laternative route around this final peninsula of land. I headed down to the docks, in search of a ship or boat. The docks were empty and I was told there are no boats. I searched around a bit mroe then headed into town where I had some vegiie britters and chatted to the owner of the stand. She was very excited to discover that I'm from Britain and started telling me about her friend the British missionary who also travels around on a motorbike. Within minutes by a strange quirk of fate he appeared on his Yamaha bike, wearing black polyester trousers, a white shirt and flipflops-looking very out of place in the heat and humidity.
I was lucky to run into him, the food stand owner introduced us, Andy the Norfolk missionary, who has lived here for five years. He was able to explain that the boats do not use the purpose-built docks as they have to pay mooring charges. Instead they go down the coast a short distance and moor off one of the beaches. If work is needed to be done, the boat is beached and the work is arried out on the sand.

I heeded in the direction I'd been sent


There was one boat moored off the beach which I was assured was due to head north shortly - no good to me, I needed to go south. Three boats were pulled up on the beach like the one above., none of them wre going anywhere fast. I was told to try again the next day.

I spent the rest of the day tracking down fuel- none of the garages had any petrol - only diesel. I eventually found the black marketeer operating out of a grocery shop selling it in water bottles and filled my tank. i'd been gettinag bit concerned as this was the second town where there was no fuel and I'd been on reserve for a while.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

I hung out for a couple of days, getting to know the locals and watching the progress n the boats


Or what appeared to be lack of progress. I was finally told that there was the possibility of a boat due on Sunday which "might" be heading down to Maroansetra. Unfortunately that was five days wait for the vague chance of a boat that might be going in my direction. Although my months in Madagascar had seemed to stretch away endlessly, my time for leaving was approaching rather rapidly. I didnt have the luxury of time to wait for a boat that might not run.
I turned Suzi round and for the first time on this trip I retraced my steps, heading north, to get around the dense jungles of the north.

Riding through the markets




I ended up at another small coastal town




Down at the beach, the fishermen were bringing their catch ashore


They spotted me and brought them over

I pointed out they would be too big for my motorbike! They continued their search for a customer.

Laying them out to be admired


The colours are incredible

Having foud a customer, the guy then guts the fish at the edge of the sea.

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

I needed to find an Internet Cafe and having been assured by the hotel owner that there was one just down the road, I headed off to find it, the afternoon became a wild goose chase culminating in me having to "kidnap" the heloful loke from the Jovenna garage to be my guide and point out the route to me from Suzi's pillion.



I was so long at the Internet Cafe - partly because I'd had no contact with the outside world for quite a few days and also because the connection was a bit slow - that when I came out it was dark. i rode back to my hotel at a cautious speed, watching out for potholes and wanderig cows like this one


The next morning I went back to find some flame trees I'd spotted while doing my wild goose chase and was successful

Another shot where I mistimed my self-timer


It was time to get out of Dodge City, Suzi and I turned west towards the mountains, our departure noted only by the zebu


Time for a quick couple of selfies


I got that one a bit wrong with the timer - I seem to be peering at the camera wondering if it has taken the picture yet. this was better


I look at these and think to myself..maybe it's time for some new leather trousers, these ones get baggier by the day and I've been wearing them for over 10 years. Comfortable with a capital C

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Definitely NOT one of mine



Ahead of me, I was facing my final dirt road across a mountain range which already was covered in mud as the dreaded Wet Season had started, nervous???
I was shaking in my boots, yes I HAD been through some deep mud already, but this time it would be combind with steep rocky slopes with precipice edge, or maybe I had just lost my nerve



The first section didn't look too bad, and I started to feel somewhat more confident. As usual there is virtually no other traffic or sign of any people.
But then it started to deteriorate...


The Checkpoint Guy



He was happy to pose for a photo and then subjected me to grave warnings about the road ahead whilst also expressing sheer bewilderment that I was on my own. To make him feel better I told him my husband was waiting for me in Ambilobe

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

I'd got used to seeing mainly zebu traffic, but this was the first time I'd seen a triple yoke one



The guy with him was a cheery fellow and stopped to ask me about the bike and to warn me about the track ahead



I pulled up for a comfort break (!) and when I returned to Suzi, we had a visitor, a very nosy one









I persuaded him to head home, a motorcycle is no place for a young chameleon


And as he climbed back into the bushes, you can see the almost instant colouring change


He's gone back to all-green after picking up shades of brown to match the colours on Suzi...perhaps I should have ridden a Kawasaki

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Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo