Antsirabe Monday 21st April 2008
On Monday 21st we arranged to take a mini bus which happened to be starting a tour with a Dutch couple we befriended. We just wanted a lift to the next town south called Antsirabe. It worked out much much cheaper jumping in with them than the outrageous prices quoted by taxi drivers wanting 70 Euro whilst the mini bus which was already going that way (and had room for us) charged us just 20. We could not stand to take the conventional taxi brousse with our long legs plus our heavy backpacks, oh no! Instead we had a nice calm drive through beautiful rice terraced countryside. The journey took about 3 hours in all including stopping for supplies of biscuits and goodies on the way.
We arrived refreshed and booked into the hotel our Dutch friends were staying there too.
We all took a stroll around the town and witnessed (for the first time) a pousse pousse! The name literally meaning 'push push' these are the Malagasy version of the rickshaws found in Asia. We saw hundreds of them lining the wide avenues of Antsirabe with not only people being transported but double beds, wardrobes, sacks of rice, bicycles the list is endless. We experienced one short ride at which Martin had to unravel himself at the end of the short journey as he was way to tall to fit comfortably under the canopy. The seats are rather hard too. We won't be taking too many of them in the near future!
Our best mode of transport (as always) was hiring a Suzuki 125cc trails bike. It was great to be free without the usual call of 'pousse pousse' every time we walked into town.
We hit the road and headed off to do a circuit of the lakes around Antsirabe. The first one we arrived at was set into the crater of a dormant volcano about 20kms away (7kms of which was tarmac road the rest was dirt track) called Lac Tritriva. There, was a little man waiting ready behind a make shift wooden barrier (cashing in on a little free enterprise we wondered) to charge us 3000 Aviary each which works out to be just under one pound. We rode our motorbike up the steep track only to be besieged by about 10 children and adults trying to sell their souvenirs of straw hats, wooden boxes and eggs made from minerals such as rose quartz. We found a nice shady area overlooking the beautiful view of the lake. The water was a rich turquoise blue with a backdrop of layered rock and a forest of trees it was a perfect sight for a rest. Luckily the sellers spied a group of 9 tourists on mountain bikes (who we had passed earlier with a slight look of jealousy we thought) coming along the dirt track. They arrived all hot and sweaty as we sat calm and cool tucking into our picnic of fresh baguette and cheese.
Needless to say the children/adults vendors swamped the sweaty bikers and that left us to enjoy our picnic in peace. After refreshment and photos we took off back down the track and a further 16kms of yet more dirt track but this time much more challenging to our 125cc (and Martins riding skills, this track was not for beginners). As we travelled along everyone we met smiled as we said 'salama' which means 'greetings' in Malagasy. We also heard 'frasher' which literally means 'white skin' shouted out by Malagasy children. Even if they were working in the fields way off in the distance you could still hear this being shouted. We had to look hard to work out where it was coming from. Then you would spot loads of little hands waving frantically. It was very special. We loved using the Malagasy words to get such a warm and amusing reaction from the local people, who are only used to hearing French greetings from the (mainly French) tourists.
The countryside scenery was spectacular. Terraced fields of rice as far as the eye could see spreading up the mountain side. We loved it. Eventually we arrived in Betafo. Wow! were we the centre of attention? We stopped and bought a couple of drinks and everyone just stared. We said 'salama' and they would crack up with laughter. We sat in the shade by the road side and as I looked through my digital camera a group of adults and children gathered around me all trying to look at the picture on the 2inch by 2 inch screen.
I turned the camera to face them and took pictures. They all smiled and giggled at the sight of themselves on a small screen. They loved it and I loved the unique reaction I was causing.
We took off on our bike again in search of Lac Tatamarin. When we arrived we parked our bike right by the lake side and soon attracted a group of curious children and teenagers who were all trying to talk French to us. When we said we were from England they started talking in their basic English that they were learning at school. This was great fun. They found Martin's height really amusing, standing next to him to measure themselves and compare sizes of feet. This is always a funny subject especially as we have now learnt a few words in Malagasy such as 'very tall' and 'big feet.'
The lake itself was very beautiful and very different to the one in the volcano crater. There were people fishing and swimming in it. The water felt freezing but this did not deter the teenagers all doing acrobat summersaults after we had finished having a joke with them.
Riding the way home back to Antsirabe we choose the tarmac road. It was a much smoother and faster ride than the dirt track.
We had a brilliant day touring about in our own time and without the sweaty, hot, knackered feeling we would have felt on a mountain bike! Besides we would never have covered so much ground either. A motorbike is definitely the way to go for these oldies!!!
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