Jo works on her parents’ farm in Nebraska for half the year, and travels the world for the other six months. Sound like a good deal? There’s probably not as much stopping you as you think…
She emerged from her room as we were having breakfast, heading off into Tana to find out what Madagascar has to offer. We’d spoken briefly last night – she’d done little research before arriving (because when you’re travelling around Africa for 6 months, it’s difficult to thoroughly research each place you might visit). On a whim, I suggested to Rudy we ask her along. Whilst we’d previously decided that sharing with just one other person wouldn’t reduce the price sufficiently to sacrifice our flexibility, she seem easy-going and interesting and it’d be nice to make a foursome. We had approximately 30 seconds to decide before she disappeared into Tana.
Happily, she accepted. Now to deal with the inevitable negotiation with Jimmy. Technically, the additional person would be minimal cost to Jimmy – only maybe a slight increase in fuel, but nothing significant.
He was understandably surprised at the change of plan, and it took a while for us to convince him that we spoke the truth when we told him it was unplanned until 30 mins ago. We tried to reason that there was little additional cost, but he wanted something in return (fair enough), but didn’t know what! At first he said it would cost more and then it wouldn’t.
“Maybe you buy something for me,” he suggested.
“Sure. What would you like?”
A smile.
“A t-shirt?”
A little laugh.
It only occurred to us afterwards that he was suggesting we bribe him. But none of our western minds cottoned on until it was too late.
Eventually we settled on a small increase in the fee, and off we set.
Stacks of bricks lined the road coming out of Tana, beyond which were the rice paddies that fed some of the population (including, unfortunately, the mosquitoes):
And throughout the journey it was obvious they were being used. After the shacks of Asia and Sri Lanka, seeing brick buildings (most quite new) was a little surprising:
Jimmy is the youngest of 8 children. Six years ago his sister died from a cyst that developed after a heart operation. He was brought up in Toliara (southwest Madagascar) and worked as an interpreter at the sapphire mines, but the associated violence made his mother beg him to change jobs. After a stint as a taxi driver, he became a taxi-brousse driver as it offered a more steady income.
Taxi-brousse are the Malagsy’s long distance buses. Minibuses for 15 people are crammed to the brim with people, luggage, furniture, livestock and anything else people wish to transport.
Three years’ later, fed up with the long hours, a relative invited him to work as a tour guide in Tana. And here we are.
During the journey we passed through different areas, each with its own speciality. Today this included:
- Strawberries
- Wooden painted toys
- Vegetables (farmed on the land along with literally tons of rice)
- Stones (workers are paid to break it into consistently-sized pieces and it’s sold as garden decoration)
There are 18 tribes in Madagascar, each with their own traditions, fady (beliefs) and houses.
Tribal houses on this stretch of Route National 7 (RN7) are built out of clay (as the only suitable and available material in rural Madagascar), have very few windows (to keep them cool in summer and warm in winter) and usually have three storeys – the top is for the kitchen, the middle floor is for living and the bottom for livestock.
Nearby are the distinctive white tombs where, after the initial ceremony, the deceased is buried and the tombs never entered again. Colourful decorations often adorn the walls of the richer deceased depicting images of items and scenes they hope will follow their loved one into the next life (a powerful reminder that you can’t take anything with you from this one).
And, of course, the richer the deceased, the bigger the tomb:
Stopping for a break at a local cafe, we spotted a coffin on top of a taxi-brousse. Later we saw the funeral party at the river – after the funeral everyone washes their clothes, the men cut their hair and the women wear braids for a week to wash out the ghosts of the departed. Seems quite harsh to be forgotten so quickly, but maybe it’s a healthy way to move on.
Wednesday is Zebu market day in Tana and we saw plenty of farmers and their charges en route:
Arriving in Antsirabe, we had an hour to kill before the restaurant Jimmy had recommended opened. First stop was the church:
As we strolled down the main street, we started collecting locals who approached us to sell or beg, and were engaged by the inimitable Rudy:
By the time we arrived at the statue depicting the 18 Malagsy tribes, we were a party of eight.
Dinner was notable on two accounts: the puddings were incredible – the chocolate mousse a smooth, creamy and intense chocolate hit – and the wall behind us was an eye-catching display of large bottles filled with flavoured rum – a Malagsy speciality:
And yes, I’m having two puddings. Life’s too short.
Other random stuff from today:
Transport the old-fashioned (and sustainable!) way:
And some heart-breaking scenes (although we later learnt that pine and eucalyptus are grown to give the locals an alternative):
