“Burnt Vanilla” A journey through Madagascar
Each journey that one embarks on is so different, so unpredictable, littered with lessons. Ultimately each journey will always etch a scar of life as it passes. As I fight the twisting path of this journey, a path that has sent me on so many unplanned detours. If I look back at the different stages [...]
What road
The reason for my massive detour to the west and the crews backtrack of 1000 km was road conditions due to the rains. The vehicle turned back at Breiville and on I went. For the first 30 km I was a bit peeved, as the road was fair, then rounding a bend I hit the [...]
The charioteers
It’s really hard to believe that an economy can still be driven by oxcart in this day and age. But on top of that, some of them even have still had wooden wheels. The central North West of Madagascar is reliant on this mode of transport in large areas. Daily dozens of these carts move [...]
Island in the sun
Snaking trough the hills the Zebu track winds up into the clouds and then down it goes again. How I hate the down, because that means swamp again and there is no way around it. You must go through it, knee deep mud and slush with a shinny mercury like layer baking in the sun, [...]
Can food get worse?
It had been 5 hard days, not much to eat. The town of Bikapeka laid ahead, a chance of food. The recent rain had left the Zebu Chariot track a muddy swamp, shin deep leading into town. As usual the village looked quaint from a distance, but as I got closer, reality unfolded. The usual, [...]
Zebu hoof soup
There is not much that I wont eat or cant, over the years I have developed quite a strong constitution as well as mentally I can switch off to what I am eating in order to get it down. The most important thing is that you have to eat in order to survive. If I [...]
The nuns
Most of the remote villages have no where that one can stay on a rest day very few have rooms to rent that are called “Hotely”. The only place to stay is with a villager, but this does not work at all. Firstly you have to spend most of the evening in chit chat small [...]
The biggest challenge
Looking at this journey, the over 2000km that I have now covered by land and sea. The constant changing climate, terrain , temperature, the relentless onslaught of the insects found here, all of these put massive strain on one and slowly and quietly eat away at one physically and mentally. All the time slowly chipping [...]
Swamp land
It’s raining now, as it has been for the past few weeks. The humidity builds and builds like a bad mood, clouds begin to gather as the temper explodes with bolts of lightning thrashing left and right as all duck for cover. The growl of thunder becomes deafening as the clouds blacken and roll in, [...]
Rivers of erosion
The hand axe or chopper. Madagascar’s weapon of mass destruction has sown its destructive virus from south to north across this massive island. There is hardly a tree that has escaped it. The few that are out there show the deep scars of many attempts there have been to chop it down. Tree felling is [...]
