WEATHER: Cool, rainy and overcast – a good travel day I guess lows 13C – high cloudy 21C
HIGHTLIGHT OF THE DAY: Making it back the capital alive – Malagasy roads are INSANE
BUMMER OF THE DAY: A long day in the car with literally one break for lunch
BUYS OF THE DAY: My chicken Malagasy pizza for 6AUD
WORD OF THE DAY: Crazy – referring to the drivers on the road
With such a BIG travel day ahead meant for an early start. 6am wake up for a 6.30am breakfast and bags were in the car and we were on the road at 7.25am. So we have 400km to travel today and depending on traffic Alan thinks it will take around 7 hours. Not only the traffic, but that is just the way the roads are, slow and windy and getting stuck behind the taxi buses and trucks. I do have to say that 90% of the drivers are all courteous to each other on the roads. The slow cars will move over, the trucks will let you know when it’s good to pass them with indicators and when you do pass them they give you a friendly toot. The slow people don’t cop it from others, the taxis are stopping anywhere and everywhere picking up people and goods and if there is a breakdown they always have their fluro hazard stands out and if they don’t have them they get branches from trees and put them up to 30m away from the truck on the road so you know there is a hazard coming up, whether it is broken down or just unloading or loading. So I may go on about how crazy the roads are, but it is the small 10% crazy drivers over taking on bends or getting impatient waiting for a clearance behind a truck that make up the carzy component and we saw 3 near accidents just today based on that. It is also the conditions with children playing beside the road, dogs. chickens, people on bikes, people pushing varumba’s, people heading to church in their family groups you name it the side of the roads in Madagascar have it. I’m not sure I would have the nerve to drive here just based on that. The first 2 hours we were still on the plateau, the weather was pretty foggy, so Alan had to super concentrate as we were lucky to be able to see 30m in front of us at one stage. It is the first bad day’s weather we have had over the 10 days and if we were to have one, today would be it as we literally sat in the car the whole day.
So more driving time to think as I look at the Malagasy people out of my window. As the weather is a lot cooler and a little showery, most of the villagers we rugged up in Masai look-a-like blankets, which is the first time I have seen them be used. I have seen them hanging off their shoulders all week, but never worn and it was a site to see 90% of people all rugging up in these blankets. I do have to note their normal day clothes. A lot of their clothing is donated from Europe and USA, so it is funny to see sometimes a man wearing a sequined top in the rice paddy, people wearing Team USA tracksuits or football jerseys’ with Johnny or Hank personalized above their numbers on the back. Men wearing pink hoodies, suit jackets while carrying a bag of fire wood, Hawaii shorts with checked shirts. The ladies are a little better dressed, but I guess when the clothes are donated you really aren’t going to be too picky. I want to point out I am not laughing at them, it is just interesting seeing all the colours mixed and matched in that makes the people them I suppose.
I sometimes wonder how can the lives of these people be improved. How much would a varumba (cart) cost? This I know for a fact would be a massive help to people, or a bike. It is incredible how much can be carried on a bicycle and also to be used as a mode of transport. It still amazes me how the women, and men, balance their bags on their heads. The children do it as well, so I guess you start at an early age, but some of the things on their heads range from just a shopping bag to a 10kg bag of firewood, bags of rice, buckets of water and trays of food and they walk with purpose and confidence that their load will not fall off their heads. How would you even start to help? Is it fair to only help one village? How do you decide? Hmmm I might think a little further on that.
The final 25km took us 40 minutes. We got stuck behind this truck on the windiest bit of the road back into Tanna, so there was just no opportunity for an overtake, so we pretty much went 40km the last of the way pulling into the hotel at 4pm. Phew what a BIG day and that’s just for me, what about poor Alan driving the whole way. So after a thanks, a tip and a hug (which he is obviously not a hugger - awkward) I said goodbye to my guide and driver for the last 10 days. Alan wasn’t taking me to the airport in the morning as he has another group coming in, so Hans his brother was coming to collect me at 6.45am. So this is a MASSIVE THANKS to Alan. Even though his English was not the greatest, we got along well, we had some laughs, sang together, and we did have long but comfortable silences but they were companionable, so I may have not got the whole history about his country, but I still had a marvelous time.
I was banking on getting a lot of internet done tonight. Last time I was here the internet speed was amazing. Well I was on the ground floor last time, getting a room on the 3rd level this time obviously affects the speed and it was slower than a Sunday driver. Bloody hell.
So my time in Madagascar comes to a close. It was a far better experience than I imagined and would recommend it to anyone that has it on a travel list. It would be perfect for the walkers and the hikers with all their national parks here. It is a shame I didn’t get further south to their beaches, I am sure the sand and the colour of the water would have been amazing. Well maybe that could be another trip back to this vast country. I take away a lot of images from Madagascar including:
The colour of the soil, I can see why it is known as the Red Island; it is a real deep red colour.
The crazy roads and the crazy drivers, the local buses loaded with all their wares from chickens to bikes
The local transport in the villages - Zebu’s and carts and varumba’s
The beautiful rice and brick paddies
The Lemurs
The stunning scenery
Children working – this is a way of life in third world countries but it is still hard to see
Ladies balancing all sorts of baskets and goods on their heads – this is truly amazing
The bright colours of the Malagasy people – stunning
Car horns – always beeping telling people to move, or thanks or hello – insistent all the time
So I say goodbye Madagascar and her people. You were amazing.
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