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

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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

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

I'm on the island of Ile aux Nattes, where life is relaxed, everything is man(or woman)-powered and the fastest thing is...


not sure what, but stuff being paddled over to the next island. I can't complain about the neighbourhood



Or the neighbours

__________________
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 had a bit of an oil leaking problem, as luck would have it, I found an Italian guy with bikes and so could explain to him in Spanish what was happening. Although I can get by in French (English is barely spoken over here) I am still a lot more comfortable talking bike stuff in Spanish after months of travel in Latin America.
And then I lucked out even more as the mechanic turned out to be Swiss and he even spoke English



Swiss mechanic- Giovanni, at work



I left Suzi in his capable hands overnight, meanwhile I was getting around on bicycle rickshaw, here's the view form the passenger seat.



The kids watching my every move from their vantage point in the tree



I hailed a passing pirogue




And use it to get back to the main island, to retrieve Suzi



This time, I hail a tuk tuk plying the route along the beaches





I know someone is going to ask what was wrong with Suzi - but I can't explain beyond...the mechanic had to put silicone stuff somewhere to stop the oil coming out and replace a couple of bolts.

The lemur came back down to play again



and later brought his friend



They're incredibly gentle as they take the banana from my hand, licking my fingers clean and then softly holding my hand to check for any more. Their paws feel more like a baby's hand.

The passing traffic from my hut



Another tough day in paradise, I have a restful

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