Mapless in Madagascar
 

Madagascar - a place I've dreamt about visiting ever since camping on a Mozambique beach under a full moon and gazing out across the Indian Ocean. Although it's out of sight, knowing that there was this immense and slightly mysterious island out there.
And so, some years later (other travels and work got in the way:innocent:) , here I am heading that way for some travel and exploration.

My Dad mis-read the name of this trip (every journey needs a title) and chuckled "Hapless, that about sums up all your trips" thanks for the vote of confidence Dad!
In fact it's Mapless, although I am taking some maps, many of the places that I'm hoping to visit are not actually on a map, they're too small and too remote - just the type of places I like.
I've even got a sticker for the trip - very un-British of me

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For those still unsure, Madagascar is the island to the right of the front wheel on the bike.

Aah yes, the bike...Thelma- she's NOT coming with me on this one:eek:. She's my 1992 BW R80GS, she's done well over 200,000 miles and for the first time I am not taking her, it's just to expensive to ship her over.

I'll be there for three months exploring and travelling, mostly on my own, although my sister (quiet librarian:lol2:) will be joining me for three weeks of pillion riding.

Getting Ready
 

The past few weeks have been pretty busy with getting ready to go whilst still holding down a full-time job up until the day before I left the countrydoh

I've had a lot of help from various people, whom I like to think are doing this because they feel
"Wow what a great adventure to support"
but actually I suspect it's something more along the lines of
"that poor misguided Englishwoman is setting off again, she needs all the help she can get"!

First of all Bill Mayers who customised the seat on Thelma for me, and who is someone that realises just what a bony backside I've got, has sent me a strap-on seat. A new BMS Ergo, to try out

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whilst those nice chaps at Giant Loop sent me a box of goodies
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My excitement knows no bounds as I dig through the contents of the box

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Here it all is, now I've got to work out how to attach it to a bike. Some of the stuff is new prototype- if it passes the Tiffany Coates test than anyone can use it!
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I fitted in a quick trip to Cyprus to visit my brother, refresh my diving skills and get some warmth!
I also had some new sunglasses from Ugly Fish - the best motorcycle glasses in the world
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While I'm away, Thelma will be in the safe hands of Craig and Barbara where she will be having a bit of an overhaul and some TLC. It was sad to leave her behind, but nice to see how happy these two are to have her in their clutches! I'll be getting regular updates.

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Ian Coates came down the weekend before I left- mainly to wave someone off at Lands End but I persuaded him to stay for a couple of days, and we managed a nice coastal walk... in the driving rain!
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Ian has also travelled extensively, and as we share a surname (no relation) he's often asked in various corners of the world- are you Tiffany's Dad?! We've narrowly missed each other when we've managed to be on the same continent and were even once both in Bulgaria at the same time but opposite ends of the country and I had a tour group tagging along who would probably not have appreciated doing a social call! So it was good to finally met up.

Maps purchased from Stanfords and I was ready to go, once more heading to an airport with full bike gear.

Madagascar
 

It's a long journey to Madagascar.
And straight away everything looks and feels different
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That was the view from the taxi. The taxis are easy to spot, they're all beige and almost every one is an old French classic complete with holes in the floor where I could see the ground passing by

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Scenes from the local market

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The view from my room

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The dogs I was sharing the house with

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As soon as possible I headed to the bike shop, they're selling me a Suzuki DR 350, which looks good - not that I'd know if it wasn't looking good! It's going to be ready on Monday so in the meantime they said I can borrow something else for the weekend. I've got this Suzuki 250cc (at least I think that's what it is!)

the guys at Motostore Madagsacar have been really helpful and friendly.
Here I am, getting ready to set off.

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What to do at the weekend?
 

With the 250 loaded up, I had the weekend ahead of me and I needed to beat the rush hour traffic getting out of town, Madagascar is similar to Mongolia in that there is a decided lack of paved roads- just five roads lead out of the capital so it's not too hard to find your way. I was soon weaving and filtering through the various vehicles as I made my way west to the Highlands.

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The roads pretty soon got much quieter which was nice, the tarmac isn't bad except for the occasional pot hole.
I stopped for a cold drink from this guy...
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The rural villages have only dirt roads and zebu carts- zebu being the African cattle with humps on their backs and big horns, they're used more like oxen as they plough with them and get them to pull heavily laden carts often with wheels made of iron-clad wood.

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A dirt track led me to a clearing amongst some citrus trees, the sun was setting fast so I put up my tent just before it got dark (stealth camping at its best).


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By the morning half the village had wandered past to say hello...so much for my stealth!!


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Moving on I found a lovely spot by Lake Itasy and decided on a room for the night and a meal on the terrace overlooking the lake

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I was delighted to find that not only did they offer tea but that it was served in a large tea pot.

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I went for a wander around the village and found a laundry line with a difference. the locals wash their clothes in the river, then climb up the river bank and arrange the laundry on the bride railings to dry.

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Street food is something I always try. This was unlike anything I had ever seen - was it meat or fish??

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The guy selling it assured me it's sweet and definitely vegetarian friendly so I bought a slice.

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I liked the way he served it wrapped in a piece of paper torn from a school exercise book - complete with a lesson written on it.

Taste the Dust
 

The next morning, the view from my window looked something like this...

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A typical African scene.
I was on the shores of Lake Itasy, which is rumoured to have crocodiles in it, but this was the closest I got to seeing one

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A photo in the hotel reception.

I headed off to find some local waterfalls, and was directed along a small track which got increasingly narrow and full of fesh fesh (bulldust).
I had assumed I was on the route that the bush taxis take, but there's no way that anything with four wheels used this track - and I'm sorry but I was having such a hard time riding that I didn't take any pictures at this stage. I had a couple of river crossings and then I was told I was heading the wrong way and had to go back again!
I found more people AND a proper bridge, I MUST be on the right track now

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I finally got to the waterfalls, very dusty and sweaty

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but still able to smile

It was like being at a smaller version of Victoria Falls, much smaller

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I zoomed in with my camera at the white blob at the top to see this

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A couple of ducks that looked like they're contemplating diving in!!

And yes, as I turned to go, here were the bush taxis arriving on the good road

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I just had to try and follow this road out.

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After the Dust
 

I did come face to face with a crocodile
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Luckily it was just in a bar, where I was having a well-earned cold beer.

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Bike Swap
 

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

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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!!:oops2:

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-

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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

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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

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

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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.

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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

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And here is what I put in it

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Time to head north

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for some adventures,

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Hola Tiffany
 

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
 

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 :mchappy:
hasta luego
Tiffany

I reach the Sand
 

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

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

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where there are cute kids on every corner

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I wandered around as the sun set
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There's great street food, this is Madame Suzanne and she has established her little foodie empire under the only street light in town,
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serving food to people wandering past and seating them on small wooden stools.
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Assisted by her multitude of offspring.

The local butcher shop is not for the fainthearted

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

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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

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Infrastructure - What Infrastructure?
 

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.

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

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the next one was two guys paddling

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

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

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

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The bigger vehicles don't fare much better

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as they load more and more on
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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!!

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I prefer to take my chances with something like this

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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

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Then back in under the trees
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To add some interest there's also some mud, sometimes a LOT of it

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

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This is the shy fisherman who gave me a hand

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Progress of sorts...
 

I wrestled with the sand for many miles:scooter: 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:helpsmilie:, 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

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Ahead of me, were these guys...

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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

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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!
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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


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

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

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

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

Off Shore
 

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
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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

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Girls fishing

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

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Meanwhile below decks, in the seating area, everyone was donning their lifejackets- a worrying move I thought
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A journey that I was assured would be 45 minutes but was almost two hours! I arrive at Ile Sainte Marie

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

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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

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

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

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Island Life
 

I'm on the island of Ile aux Nattes, where life is relaxed, everything is man(or woman)-powered and the fastest thing is...
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not sure what, but stuff being paddled over to the next island. I can't complain about the neighbourhood

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Or the neighbours

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Island Life 2
 

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

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Swiss mechanic- Giovanni, at work

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

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The kids watching my every move from their vantage point in the tree
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I hailed a passing pirogue

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

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

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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

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and later brought his friend

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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

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Another tough day in paradise, I have a restful beer

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