Through couchsurfing.com, I'd been in touch with an American Peace Corps worker and went to visit her
Sarah is very blonde and from Michigan - two major contrasts to being in Madagascar



She's been out here for 18 months and had a lot of good information to share and advice to give. We had lunch at a market restaurant and she introduced me to the drink rano'apango - boiled burnt rice water. Which although it smelt pretty bad, it tasted alright, like a strong roibusch (redbush) tea from South Africa.

I managed to run out of fuel- schoolgirl error, I hadn't realised that the bike had been handed over with the reserve switched on. This meant I had a bit of a delay, when I pushed the bike to the nearest village and paid someone to cycle the 6kms to the next fuel stop and bring back a coke bottle of petrol. So I was unable to get to my destination that night- because there's no way I'm riding in the dark over here. I was a bit stuck for accommodation options, the only place in the small town had red light bulbs and also rented by the hour!!

However the owner was very nice and assured me I would be safe there rather than out on the road with the animals and the brigands!

As I rode in through the gates, I saw what looked like a familiar sight-




a van identical to one I had travelled through the 'Stans with a few years ago.


the next morning (after a very peaceful night's sleep) the owner of the establishment and his wife posed for a picture



I made it back to Tana, and stayed at the house of a friend of the bike shop owner (long story)
The house was full of Enduro trophies



And the only reading material were motocross and Enduro magazines...in French naturally.


Dinner that night was provided at the house by a couple of well...reprobates is the only word to describe them, they're originally from Reunion Island and have ended up in Madagasacar. They washed it down with lots of rum, which I managed to decline.



It was back to the bike shop in the morning, to give back the 250cc and pick up the DR 350.
And time to pack it

Here I am attempting to fill the Coyote Saddle Bag



And here is what I put in it



Time to head north



for some adventures,

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

Hola Tiffany,

hey long time no news from your side, and now I see that you made it Madagaskar ... I am envious, as I also sat on a beach in Mozambique in 2004 and after that tried to find a boat from Beira to Madagaskar with no luck. And you changed to a good bike this time a DR350, I am impressed.

I just made it back to Bogota and will have a weekend of sleep and fruit juices ... getting old and grey... as you know I have always been lazy.

Enjoy your time and keep up the ride reports, everybody here on the Hubbs enjoys reading them. Drop me a line if you find the time, maybe our path will cross again one day.

Un abrazo
mika

Hola Mika
Good to hear from you and how goes life in South America? I wasn't able to get to your part of the continent earlier this year, but it sounds like you're all over the place anyway. And yes, Madagascar is proving to be a very special place, I'm having a ball
hasta luego
Tiffany

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

From the bustle of Tana the capital I headed East through the rolling green hills



to the coast and the beautiful Indian Ocean, my first morning, I woke up to this sunrise view through my bedroom window (a simple thatched hut by the beach)



I'm in the small town (three dirt roads) of Soaneira Ivango


where there are cute kids on every corner





I wandered around as the sun set


There's great street food, this is Madame Suzanne and she has established her little foodie empire under the only street light in town,


serving food to people wandering past and seating them on small wooden stools.


Assisted by her multitude of offspring.

The local butcher shop is not for the fainthearted



and yep, like a lot of teenage shop assistants the world over, he's checking out his mobile phone behind the merchandise.



I headed north up the infamous Route National 5

Not what most of us would recognise as a major national road, but hey, this is Madagascar

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

Life is simple in Madagascar, if there's water to be crossed, there will be a floating vessel of some type (I hesitate to use the word boat)

My favourites are the small dug-out canoes or pirogues as they're called over here. It seems to be every boatman's boast that he will not turn anyone away, leading to some very heavily laden pirogues.



I was broken in gently, my first one actually had an engine (of sorts)



the next one was two guys paddling



You just ride up to the edge of the water, and the rest is done for you





These kids were practising with baby baths (no doubt donated by a well-meaning NGO)



Getting Suzi in and out was at times a bit trickier than they expected as she's bigger than the average bike around here




The bigger vehicles don't fare much better



as they load more and more on


Until it's so full they can't take anymore, and off they putter across the river mouth with the waves from the sea breaking over their feet!!



I prefer to take my chances with something like this


The track I was following ran alongside the beach, where I was watching out for super soft patches of sand and also the ropes from the fishing nets



Then back in under the trees


To add some interest there's also some mud, sometimes a LOT of it



I'm sort of learning about this bike as I go



This is the shy fisherman who gave me a hand

__________________
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 wrestled with the sand for many miles and sometimes the sand won


As I was feeling so hacked off I'm sorry but I have to confess I did NOT take a picture which is unheard of for me.
I was mostly preoccupied with working out how to pick up Suzi, it's weird, but I can pick up Thelma fully-loaded without too much of an issue, but this bike which is maybe half the weight, a completely different story. However as I'm in the mddle of some bleak and deserted coastline track in Madagascar and there's no-one to help, I had to knuckle down. There was no wasy I could do it using my usual method and then...
I remembered a YouTube clip someone once shared about picking up the bike with your back towards it. I racked my memory for all the details, turn the wheel down, grab the hand grip and something at the back, put my back into it and hey presto, Suzi was once more upright.
Relief flooded through me, YES I CAN pick up this pipsqueak bike!

I continued a bit more cautiously




Ahead of me, were these guys...




The pillion passenger ran for two miles through the softer section of sand before the rider let him back on for a half mile or so. Hmm, good idea I'm thinking, as my sister is about to join me, I hope she's feeling fit and strong!! By the way the rider is wearing flipflops!

The bike is beginning to look worn in, with dust and mud everywhere



I had a night camped out on the coast, falling asleep with the sound of the waves crashing on the beach.
and taking more pictures of priogues!


The scene in my tent (it's a small one!), not exactly the life of luxury as I eat my Happy Cow cheese spread and upload photos onto the netbook




A section of track that reminds me of Australia, parts of Brazil and also the red earth tracks on Prince Edward Island in Canada.



It was a joy to ride the red earth, but soon back to this stuff




And then the final stretch of sand for this section of the trip


Dinner was being cooked in the back yard - it's too hot to cook indoors, I like the way that the fish is too big for the pan but it's stuffed in anyway!



It's time to head to a place where life is a bit easier and relaxed.

__________________
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 heard about a tropical desert island off the eastern coast and after wrestling with the sand, decided I had to find it.
fist step was tracking down this guy


His name is Werlhof, he's the official ticket seller for the Melissa Express boat and he is the Fonz reincarnated. He speaks good English (a rarity over here) and even with a Malagasy accent, he still manages to sound like the Fonz. I bought my ticket from him and then settled down to wait as I know there's no way on earth that the boat will depart on time (it was only 1.5 hours late leaving)


Life by the river, as I wait for the boat to leave




Girls fishing




This guy with the roaster in the water (it's definitely alive, and not very happy)


I asked someone what he was doing, and he explained it's a "sport chicken", the mind boggles, I don't remember seeing hens doing the 100m breaststroke. However, gradually I worked out that actually he means the so-called "sport" of cock fighting. This one is a particular favourite and it's getting the gold star treatment of a plunge in the murky looking river.

Suzi safely strapped down on board




Meanwhile below decks, in the seating area, everyone was donning their lifejackets- a worrying move I thought


A journey that I was assured would be 45 minutes but was almost two hours! I arrive at Ile Sainte Marie



Apologies, bit of a video nasty, but IT'S ONLY MY SOCKS



The first time I'd had access to running water since the mud incident (and I'd only worn the socks for one day I hasten to add)

Looking in the other direction was this peaceful scene, from my hotel window, the women doing some early morning fishing





I'm heading somewhere more relaxing
A pirogue with my bike gear, and off we go to this tiny island



where the hardest decision is which part of the beach is the most picturesque

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

Full marks for packing light Tiff

Those shoes look really light and compact, do you think they are available in my size?

Tiffany -I always have trouble deciding where to go on the next trip from a huge bucket-list of "places to visit" . Thanks for causing me to add another !

There's a rumour you have done trips like this before
So I was interested to see you "packing light" photo. Great I can get some insight into what experienced over landers take.............. bit surprised on the food choice? Is that little pile the result of 10's of 1000's of miles across many continents, over many years :confused1:


Deeply jealous to be quite honest, looks a great adventure .......... except m&m's, don't like m&m's


Tim

Great pics and words, tnx

I've been off-line for seven days, ever since my sister arrived and we hit the road heading south west, we have now reached the Mozambique Channel and are in the town of Morondava after a journey that included three days paddling down the Tseribhina River in a pirogue (dug put canoe) with Suzi the bike precariously balanced in it - photos to follow.

Just checking in really to let people know I'm alive.

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

Fashion tips for Mark Manley
we're having a chuckle abut that - and yes they might well be in your size Mark- Karrimor LADIES ones.
Abi (loud librarian sister) says NO WAY Mark - you would look too girly in them!

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