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

Fantastic! Thank you so much for posting such an adventure report!

I've been preparing my next adventure to Madagascar (2014) for a couple of months now, I'm very thrilled and your post is just boosting my enthusiasm for that trip even more. I have to decide on which bike I'll ship for this trip between a TTR250R, 640Adv and 690R. The plan is to ship the bike to Mozambique afterwards for the following trip in 2015. To be continued, for sure!

That's great to hear, I look forward to hearing about it once you are underway. Nice to bring your own bike though to be fair the bikes available over here are really good which is part of the reason I decided to buy out here.
For those who have been wondering, the people to get in touch with are Motostore based in Madagascar's capital which has a mouthful of a name Antananarivo- but known as Tana for short.
Motostore MG - Husqvarna - SYM - Aeon
is their website, get in touch with them to ask about buying or hiring a bike, Francois is the main guy to talk to- he speaks good English, although so do the rest of the team.

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

Just to backtrack a bit, pre-sister
I had to get back to the mainland of Madagascar and this was the boat myself and Suzi the bike were taking to the open sea in



To be honest there is a something that I would think of as a better ferry but my timings meant I was heading out in this. They quickly got Suzi on board




All was peaceful in the early morning on the beach, as I waited for more passengers to arrive; a duck seller approached and wanted to know if I was interested in his wares. I pointed out I was travelling by motorcycle and he offered to tether them, still ive, to Suzi


I declined.

and then all hell let loose when the earlier cargo, a zebu (African cross between an ox and a cow) charged back onto the beach



with half the village either running from it or chasing it
I was one of those cowering behind a tree taking these photos





this appeared to be the end of its adventures but it tossed its head, charged at the guy who had hold of the rope, who, quite naturally let go and ran for his life (with the rest of the village watching and roaring with laughter)

the zebu then changed tack, having been chasing up and down the road and the beach, it headed away from the people



and out to sea





this was on full zoom - similar to those blurry Loch Ness monster photos from the 1950's. This is definitely genuine.

At which point as it reached 1/4 mile out to sea with no sign of stopping, the boat guys ran out from the café where they were having breakfast and took to the boat in attempt to head off the zebu




Hmm, yes, well spotted, that IS Suzi acting as part of the Inshore Lifeboat rescue team, strapped down in the boat which is little more than a glorified rowing boat.

They reached the zebu, grabbed its trailing rope




and brought it back to shore at a forced march version of a swim




however, as its feet reached solid ground once more, it took off, lowered its head




even angrier than before and we had the Pamplona Running of the Bulls on a tropical beach again



Until finally, after a lot more bull charging, it was finally caught and tethered to a tree on the beach to calm down

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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

beets a rainy afternoon in crewe doing the washing and couch surfing

A chance to do a bit more of a catch up as we are staying here for two days - Morondava is like the Blackpool of Madagascar, lots of locals enjoying the beach and wondering what on earth these "vazahas" - foreigners were doing in their midst, body surfing the waves. The Loud Libararian aka my younger sister (she and Lois were good friends at school) is with me now for the next three weeks, this was her arrival at the airport last week




For some reason her boyfriend is a bit concerned about her safety while travelling with me

I picked her up in style - a fellow bike enthusiast who had heard about me via the web had invited me to stay with him and his family and so we were able to collect her from the airport in a landrover with diplomatic plates (his KTM also has diplomatic plates!!)

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