Parc National Marojejy

by Daniel

Amazing. Stunning. Breathtaking. Otherworldly. Unforgettable. And many more such attributes. Parc National Marojejy was definitively a highlight on that trip to Madagascar. It is remote, it is pristine, you are quite lonely yet you don’t have to go beyond your limits for an exciting adventure.

As a matter of fact Marojejy is that little visited that you have to inform the National Park in advance. If you just show up there’ll propably be nobody to receive you. We were lucky that we stumbled across the tourist information in Sambava so they did  the reservation for us.

The next day we took an early Taxi-Brousse to Andapa and asked to be let out on the way. The NP office is right beside the street. We paid the entrance fee (45.000 Ar p.P. per day) and our guide (30.000 Ar per day) and set off.

There’s only one trail leading into the national park, so you will have to backtrack on your way back. First we passed  two villages and stunningly peaceful pastoral landscapes with small terraced hills filled with rice paddies and the vast Massif de Marojejy hiding behind foggy mist in the distance. Crystal clear streams flow from the mountains and fruit-laden lychee and mango trees line the path. Every now and then there’s the sweet scent of vanilla that is grown as a cash crop by many local farmers and in the plants supporting the vanilla beans chameleons in all sizes and colours can be spotted.

About five kilometres from the office you reach the actual boundaries of the NP. Our guide, Moses, was a very knowledgeable person. He would explain historical, geological and botanical wonders to us and every now and then joke about his name (like Moses being one of the first guides in history) or anything else. A truly great personality and although he wasn’t the youngest of persons he was remarkably fit.

When you enter the jungle, you really enter a different world. The jungle in Marojejy is completely untouched, it is thick and absolutely impenetrable be it not for the well kept trail. You need a trained eye for spotting animals since they are masters in the art of camouflage – from the myriad of frogs (you always hear them but rarely see them) to tiny and monstrous insects.

There are three basic camps in the park at different levels of altitude and each set in a spectacular location near rivers that are clean enough to unproblematically drink from. Since we arrived really early we had enough time to dip into a natural pool under a small waterfall (a welcome refreshment after a long and sweaty ascent) before having a break at the first camp. After some coffee ramen we continued to the second camp.

One of the reasons for visiting Maagascar was Frieda’s curiousity abut meeting Tenrecs. Tenrecs are best compared to what we know as hedgehogs and while there are two species of hedgehogs worldwide, there are around 30 species of Tenrecs on Madagaskar. Although we were told that the time of the year was not good for spotting them (and they are also shy as hell) we stumbled upon a mother and her two babies. And it was Frieda who spotted the small family. The babies immediately followed their instict and ran off but the mother stayed where she was ready to defend her babies even against those huge and evil human creatures. When we tried to snatch some pictures she would turn out her spiky backside and attack everything that came near her. What courage! And what an encounter.

We reached the second camp in the late afternoon. The second camp is on a steep slope bordering a different kind of mountaineous rainforest with amazing views of the towering cliffs of the surrounding mountains. From here the path becomes more like a climbing expedition if you decide to make it to the summit.

On the second day we woke up very early because Moses had told us that we might be able to see the Silky Sifaka, a big silk white lemur also called the Angel of the Forest. It is an endangered species and the group that lives around camp inhabits an area of more than 60 hectares – a sighting is by no means guaranteed and we prepared for another long walk. However, less than a kilometer from camp our guide heard their distinct noises. High up in the trees they were swinging in the branches but away from us. So we ran down a muddy slope trying to catch some more glimpses. Eventually they rested in a treetop and we could get some spectacular photos. Standing there amazed and excited as we were we did not see that one of the Sifakas approached us from behind. It had silently climbed down a tree and watched us. When we turned around our eyes met. It looked at each of us intently from a distance of maybe three metres. Nobody dared to breathe. When we finally made a slow move it merely changed the tree watched us for another 30 seconds and then disappeared into the heights – a moment of intensity that really is a privilege. Dazzled and happy we returned to our camp for breakfast. Even our guide was silent and each of us deeply moved by that encounter.

Still, we had to return in order to get back to Sambava on the same day. With a little detour to impressive Cascade Humbert we came into a tropical rainstorm that not only left us soaking wet but also battling with an extremely slippery path, clouds of mosqitoes and dozens of leeches that tried to make their way to some sweet human blood. After a breakless five hour walk we came out of the national park (and out of the rain) and hurried back to the main road where we caught a late Taxi-Be back to Sambava.

A most dangerous trip - Maroantsetra to Antalaha

By Daniel

„Choose your boat wisely, some do capsize“ – that is what the Lonely Planet says about travelling by cargo boat along the east coast of Madagascar. But what do you do if there is no other choice?

There are basically two options to reach Antalaha from Maroantsetra: by foot or by boat. If you walk, it is a three to four day hike that can be arranged with one of the local guides from the National Park. If you want to take all of your belongings you there is the possibility of hiring porters as well and it all adds up. If you don’t mind carrying everything on your own it is possible to do this trek on your own. Just be aware that you will carry everything through scorching sun at around 35°C and/or through torrential rainstorms (it is the wettest and most stormy region of Madagascar), yet it is possible.

If you take a boat, you can either rent a private one for around 7 Million Ariary or wait for a cargo boat (30.000 – 40.000 Ar p.P.). They are quite frequent but have no fixed schedule. The boats arrive, unload, fill up with cargo and leave when they are full. Be prepared to wait for up to a week. The boats to Antalaha do not leave at the regular port, but at Port Ankikabe on the eastern side of Maroantsetra. It is best to go there every day and check for a boat yourself.

When we saw that a boat had arrived, we prepared everything but were told that it would leave in another three days. The boat looked old but trustworthy and we decided to give it a try. So we waited in Maroantsetra (check out Coco Beach for decent internet and Florida Snack, Ravi Nala, or Avia Mona for inexpensive quality local food).

On the day of our departure we went to the port at 4.30 in the morning and the boat was clearly overburdened with cargo and people. It was so packed, that what seemed trustworthy before turned into a game of Russian roulette. However, by then, it was too late. We found a place on the deck and the „Stephanot“ navigated slowly out of the sleepy river port.

The journey is scenic yet strenuous. There is no shade (seriously, bring an umbrella) nor shelter. There is no seat nor bed. No drinking water nor any opportunity to get some. And the journey takes between 24 to 30 hours. Be prepared!

Although the sea was quite calm you will feel the waves. This is not for the fainthearted. At one point there was a problem with the motor. The overloaded boat drifted into a leeward position and tilted so heavily from one side to the other that any serious gust of wind would have caused it to capsize. Eventually the crew managed to get the motor running and we steamed on through burning sunshine only once interrupted by a short rainshower.

Around noon the seamen dished up some rice and beans that they had cooked on an open fire in the back of the boat. We had to climb there balancing on the reling holding onto motorcycle exhausts, bike handles or grabbing the hand or foot of a fellow passenger. Once having entered the ship’s cabin it felt like stepping into a crack joint. People lying on narrow bunk beds fast asleep and an unbearable air of diesel gases and again clove. Still, the meal cheered everyone up and conversations became livelier until the sun slowly began to set casting the sky into an intense array of reds.

The night was very uncomfortable, since you are responsible to find a place to sleep somewhere. And  that can be tricky on huge bags of clove (which at first smells nice but after a while you might prefer your armpits to that nauseous and penetrating smell) because you choose between the possibility of falling into the sea at night or sleeping near the front where cockroaches hush between the algae-stained ropes of the anchor. Once we managed to find some sleep we were woken up by the sound and eerie feeling of a woman vomiting on our feet. Yummy…

When we eventually reached Antalaha the next morning we were tired but relieved. Despite the hardships this is a story that you will tell your grandchildren over and over again when you alzheimer away at an old age…

Nosy Mangabe

By Frieda

Nosy Mangabe (Island of many Mangos) is around 500 hectar big and is half an hour by pirouge from Maroansetra. It is a National Park and two kind of lemurs plus a lot of reptiles can be sighted here. The big Masaola Peninsula is also close to Maroansetra but it is very very expensive to go there. We decided to go to Nosy Mangabe which was less above our budget. It was still expensive and therefore we tried to find other people to share the costs of boat and guide. We were lucky and met a very nice guy from  Switzerland who came with us.

We arranged a trip to the island where we could stay overnight, because it is best in the evening and morning to see the animals. The entry fee for the park is 45 000 Ariary per day but if you stay over night but not longer than 24hours you pay only one day. For the guide we payed 140 000 Ariary. The camping on a campground with showers, toilets and even roofed shelters was free because we did not have a tent but only hammocks. Otherwise it would have been 5000 for the both of us. Additionally we had to buy food for ourself and the guide. There is a clean river close to the camp and we have a good filter so we had enough drinking water and did not have to buy it in advance.

We took a pirouge to get to the island (90 000 Ar). Apperently the boat driver was very unhappy with this price. We arrived there at around 11. The pirouge stirred directly to the camp on an amazingly beautiful stretch of beach with rough sand and thick rainforest rising behind it on steep hills. This sight made our hearts beat faster und tickled our longing for adventure.

After we stored our stuff at the camp we started a trail around the island. In the first very easy part of the hike we sighted the amazing Leaftail Gecko. This small reptile is a specialist on camouflage. Because it is dayblind it sleeps during the day and is almost not distinguishable from the bark of the tree trunks where it hides. Nevertheless Daniel sighted one rather quickly. The animal amazed us very much and we felt like searching for easter eggs trying to find another one. And we actually found another one but this time the credits go to our guide ;).

After that, we climbed the jungle track up the hill to an old broken lighthouse. In the jungle it was extremly humid and we sweated like hell. Then the trail led us up and down the hills of the island making us sweat some more. One the descent from the summit we saw a group of White-Front Brown  Lemurs jumping around in the trees over our heads. We offered them some bananas and they came quite close. What  liked the most about this encounter was that the interest for each other seemed not one-sided but mutual. The lemurs came close to us because they wanted to watch us a bit J.

Close to the camp we passed on a mystical place between rocks with some tombs of an ancient royal family  of Madagascar who used to live on Nosy Mangabe back in their days. In Madagascar it is a tradition to visit the graves of decayed ancestors  every November to turn their bones in the tomb. So the descendants of this family of kings (some of them are still in politics) come to Nosy Mangabe to turn the bones of their forefathers and to wish for good luck for the next year.

Back at the camp we swam in the amazingly refreshing sea. Later we cooked dinner (therefore we bought some fish from some closeby fisherman camp) and went to bed early. In the hammock we lacked a mosquito net but luckily there were very little mosquitos so close to the sea and we did not get bitten. To the sound of the waves hitting the sea shore we slept well and deep.

In the morning i woke with the fist gleam of light at around 4:30 am. Soon after that i saw high up in the tree some lemurs jumping around. I stood up quickly and tried (very badly of course) to imitate their sounds and actually they came closer and again it felt as if they were as interested in watching me as I was in watching them. I woke up Daniel and got some bananas. After that the ice was broken and a group of 6 or 7 lemurs came very close to the ground. Some were braver than others and came as close as one meter to us. One female was especially brave. She was not even afraid to take banana pieces out of my hand. She even touched my hand with her fingers. I expected it to be a soft paw but it was exceptionally hard. It felt more like bare bones than like a paw J. We spent quite a while feeding them bananas and watching them from a very close distance until they got bored and huddeled away.

After breakfast we made another walk on the island to the Dutch Man’s Beach where the crew of a sunken ship stranded and they engraved their names in the rocks at the shore. One the way we saw some Black-and-White Lemurs but from a far distance. It was also almost impossible to stop moving because we were followed and sourrounded by huge clouds of mosquitos. I advise anyone who wants to go to the jungle to take a lot of insect repellent if possible even for the clothes because they even stung us trough our trousers. From the beach the boat picked us up and brought us back to Maroansetra.

The most amazing thing in Nosy Mangabe was, apart from beautiful beach and nature, the mutual interest of us and the lemurs which made it really fun to watch them J

Route National 5 (Mananara to Maroantsetra)

By Daniel

Imagine yourself seated in a washing machine. First of all you will be flooded with foamy water, then everything starts rotating and eventually the tumble dry mode shakes your bones like they were gaming cubes. You get out of the washing machine and ask yourself how you could have survived that.

It is hard to describe the RN 5. From its name you’ll think it is an important road, well trodden and easily accessible. Then you realize that at its best it is a pot-holed dirt track and at its worst it is not recognizable at all and only the fiercest and most daring 4x4 cowboys are able to navigate it. And we only took the supposedly easier stretch from Mananara to Maroantsetra.

Talking in the analogy, you’ll literally be flooded. There are innumerable river crossings, one crazier than the other. A fully functioning ferry (a flat steel pontoon with a motor and a watchtower) is the exception. In one case our driver’s assistant had to take the battery of our Nissan Terrano, take out two litres of diesel by sucking it from the car’s tank, and then cross the river in a dugout canoe to get the ferry on the other side of the river. And that was maybe the least spectacular crossing. In another instance the ferry didn’t have an engine but by pulling an algae covered rope all of us male passengers managed to get the steel pontoon across. The wildest thing (calling it a ferry seems too far-fetched) was a rabble of bamboo sticks wildly tied together. Even the driver seemed scared when he saw it. When the jeep climbed it, it ached loudly and you could hear something break, then it partly sank but somehow held the car and the passengers and, standing almost knee deep in the chestnut colored water, four old fishermen navigated it across the river pushing “the thing” with long bamboo sticks.

Talking rotation, there are stretches of road that you will have to walk because the jeep with its 18 passengers and their luggage is simply too heavy. This is mostly when you drive right on a beautiful pristine white sand beach. Eventually the wheels start rotating and the jeep gets stuck in the fine sand. You push and pull it out, the jeep drives ahead and the passengers trod behind, one time for more than half an hour.

The tumble dry mode is the most frequent one. With an average speed of 15 km/h you crawl from pot hole to pot hole one deeper than the other. Every now and then the driver’s assistant (a muscle-packed lad who clings to the side  of the jeep for the whole ride) runs ahead to find the most or only suitable path for the jeep. And then it is like in that Sean Paul song: Shake that thing... Having said that, the shaking is not that bad since you are tightly crammed into your seat and the soft pressure of your neighbour’s obese body prevents you from bouncing up and down.

The most dangerous thing, however, are the abysmal bridges. The passengers are required to get out first and cross the bridge in order to check whether they are safe and stable enough. These bridges are wild constructions of withered wood with only some planks to hold the wheels. A tiny slip of the driver’s hand, a second of standstill in the middle of an old plank, a strong gust of wind at the wrong time – and it’s farewell to the car and its luggage.

Having mentioned all of the above, the RN 5 isn’t your average travel. It is more of an adventure in itself. The road takes you through dense jungle, pastoral scenery complete with sweating peasants toiling knee deep in flooded rice paddies, sleepy fishing villages lined with endless rows of laden coconut palms, along unspoiled and empty beaches rivalling any postcard-perfect tourist destination, and over crocodile-infested rivers where the zebus cross swimming and the herdsmen follow in dugout canoes. If you don’t rent your own 4x4 but take a taxi-brousse your fellow passengers share the same toils, the same food, the same jokes, the same feeling of tiredness and strangely become some kind of family to you.

Only if you are very lucky you will be able to do this stretch in one day. Your journey is subject to circumstance – the weather, the condition of the road and your car, the ability of your driver, the tides, the availability of ferries and so on. We  got stuck at the last river crossing – it was simply to late at night – but setting up our hammocks between the jeep and a coconut tree had a good sleep until we were woken up at 4 in the morning and continued until we reached Maroantsetra at nine.

 

 

Mananara & Aye Aye Island

By Frieda

Manara is located in the middle of the Route Nationale 5 which is one of the worst roads in the world. It is only reachable by 4x4 trucks or boat and therefore lacks behind the rest of Madagascar in development. Walking through the rather busy “streets” (a sandy mixture between deep holes and sewers) of Manara we felt a little bit taken back in time.

From the pier we walked with our backpacks to the center of town to the hotel “Chez Roger” (d 25000Ar).The owner of the hotel is also the owner of the small Aye Aye Island located in a river close to Mananara. On this island lives a special lemur, the Aye Aye, which is very difficoult to encounter everywhere else. We booked a tour to the island for the same evening (20000Ar).

At 4:30 pm we were, together with two very nice girls who had also booked the tour, picked up by a truck and brought to the river bank. From there we got on by pirouge (a small boat carved out of a tree trunk) to cross the river to the island. Arriving there our guide went first to pick a lot of lychees for us from a nearby tree. Munching them we walked a few meters through the junglelike island to see some red lemurs. Fairly quickly we actually found a group of them making very funny noises and jumping around in the trees, one of them even having a baby on its back. We watched them jumping around for quite a while until darkness set in and they settled themselves for the night huddeled up together high up in a tree.

Then we waited for the night to settle because the Aye Aye only comes out when it is pitch dark. But this day the Aye Aye let us wait a long time. Our guide told us that this is because of the peak of the lychee season. Because of the lychees the lemurs are full and lazy with not much interest in showing themselves to the tourists.

To my great delight our guide found us a tenrec which I was longing to see. Tenrecs are a small species of animal that is endemic to Madagascar. There are about 20 different kinds of tenrecs. The one we saw resembles very much the european hedgehog but is smaller with a very pointy nose and very agile. Still we were able to see two of them.

After we we almost gave up hope to see the Aye Aye one of them showed himself to us. And how it did. Other than expeceted it was rather close to the ground clinging to a trunk of a tree being rather unimpressed by the bright beam of the torch being held in its face. We stood not more than a meter away and watched the bizarre animal looking at us as we looked at him. Especially funny is the hand of the aye aye which has an extremely long middle finger to finger out the flesh of coconuts.

What followed was a hunt on the pitch dark island trying to follow the lemur with the beam of the torch on its way from tree to tree. Sometimes it stopped for a while and looked at us and sometimes it let himself dangle on a branch with only one hand to scratch his belly. This encounter was absolutely amazing and the first time that we saw lemurs J

From Sainte Marie to Mananara

By Frieda

Completely relaxed and full of new energy we left Ile aux Nattes and Ile Sainte Marie after 10 days.

The next destination that we choose was Mananara, a small town further north on the east cost. There are two options to get there from Ile Sainta Marie. Either you take the boat to Soaniera Ivongo (50 000Ar) and take a 4x4. Either you take a taxi brousse to Mananara (around 100 000Ar) or rent a private car (way more expensive ;) I think something like 50 Euro per day plus fuel. The road is incredibly bad and it takes something between 8 hours and two days to reach Mananara.

The other option which we dicided to take is to get to Mananra by boat. You can either get a ticket with a private boat company which costs about 100 000 Ariary and leaves 3 times a week from Sainte Marie or by cargo boat (50 000Ar). But it is very difficult to catch one because there are no schedules and you have to go down to the pier every day and and ask if there is a cargo boat going your direction.

So on the first day in back on Ile Sainta Marie we tried our luck at the pier but were unsuccesful. The next day Jacquot, a nice guy we met before, gave us the tip of going in the post office and ask for Mathias. So we did that and it turned out that he is the one in charge of the cargo boats arriving and leaving Sainte Marie. He was very nice and helpful and told us that there would be a cargo ship to Mananara the next day or the day after that and he promised to drop by our hotel as soon as he knew. So we waited for that boat that actually arrived two days later (during those two days Mathias updated us around two times a day J) but unfortunately it was fully loaded and therefore unable to take passengers.

But Mathias informed us that there would be a private boat going to Mananra at 8 o’clock in the evening of the next day for 100 000 Ariary. After 4 days of waiting for a boat we decided to take that option even though it was more expensive than a cargo boat. Next day at 8pm we  waited at the pier but there was no one. No other passengers, no captain or any staff. But as we knew that in Madagascar people take it “mora mora”(slowly slowly) we waited a little longer and after a while the Captain, two other passengers and two employees of the Captain appeared.

What followed was one of the most beautiful boat rides I’ve ever had! The boat was open on the back and because there where almost no other passangers we could take the benches directly at that opening. So we had the most amazing clear night sky full of stars over the open sea as our view for the night. The rocking of the boat made us sleep like babies and we woke up to the golden sun rising over the waves our boat made in the rather calm sea. Relaxed, happy and devoted to the beauty of planet earth we arrived around 8 in the morning in Mananra.  

 

Waiting for the Boat

By Frieda

While we waited for the boat to Mananara we visited an open air concert of a madagascan pop star called Dadi Love. It was a very good and happy atmosphere at the concert and we could take part in  the enthusiastic way of a madagascan celebration J.

The day after that a local farmer invited us to see his farm. Therfore we walked one hour to the opposite site of Sainta Marie. The walk was amazingly beautyful, passing rice fields untouched nature and some small villages. Everywhere friendly people were greeting us as we passed them, sometimes amused that we knew how to greet in the madagascan language.

The Farm was a compound of 50 square metres full of coconut trees, vanilla- and maniok plants, located directly at the beach. His house was a very basic hut, of course with neither running water nor electricity. He makes a living of his plants and some fishing. In the evening he told us that he loved to listen to soap operas on the radio. The basic life and the positive attitude of  this guy impressed us very much and we felt very honured to be his guests. While having one of his exceptionally good coconuts we enjoyed the beauty and calmness of the place.

We stayed so late that we had trouble to get back to the other side of the island before it would get dark. While we hurried down the path several cars with white people passed by without taking any notice of us (we got the impression that Sainte Marie is rather full of old french man moving to the island or visiting it to mate up with rather young madagascan women. Nowhere else in Madagascar we saw so many of those rather unfriendly kind of european people). But the one car driven by young madagascan boys offered us immidiately a lift back to town. Arriving there they invited us to hang around with them later on.

When we met them a few hours later they took us to a very nice spot an the beach to have some drinks with them. Listening to madagascan music we talked about life in Madagascar and in Germany. (they would not even give us a chance to pay for anything). The whole day was a very nice experience of madagascan hospitality.

From Addis to Arba Minch

By Frieda

Our plan was to go to Shashamane, a city which is supposed to be a very relaxed nice place close to large lakes and some sites in the nature and also home to Ethiopia’ Rastafarian community. We arrived there by local bus in the evening but Shashamane did not show its nice side to us. We could not prevent beeing “guided”, so two guys brought us to a hotel. But as we found out a little later that it was not the one we wanted to go to. Their “service” took them around 10 minutes and they wanted too much money for that. Not that alone, but the demanding and unfriendy and rather agressive habit in which they treated us made the situation very uncomfortable. And also the owner of the hotel tried to convince us to give them more money which I found very unappropriete as well.

A little later we realised that they had not even brought us to the right hotel. The place we were stranded now turned out to have neither light nor running water. The whole situation and our own stupidity of course annoyed us so much that we decided not to give that city a second chance. We left in the early morning before dawn and took the bus to Arba Minch a city further down in the south.

Early the next morning we took a minibus to Sodo (100 Birr) and then changed on a bus to Arba Minch (75 Birr), where we arrived in the afternoon.

From Lalibela to Addis

By Frieda

In the evening we went to the bus station to get some information on how to get best to Addis the next day. It seemed like the the best idea is to take the local bus to Woldia and then hope to catch a minibus to Addis. We were not sure if we could make it in one day and prepared to stay maybe one night in Woldia.

However, early the next mornig someone knocked on our door to tell us our taxi had arrived. Even though we did not arrange anything we got down to see a fancy jeep waiting in front of our hotel for us. A few locals explained to us that this car would go to Addis in one day and this would be what we would want. And in this point he was right J we thought quickly about it and decided that 800 Birr was the maximum that we were willing to pay altogether and that they could either take it or we would take the local bus. They wanted 1000 Birr and we agreed.

In the bus were already three people and the driver. The two of us cramped to the two other people on the back seat and started our journey. This was around 5:30 in the morning. Around 12 hours and several stops later we arrived after dusk in Addis and were very happy that we could have made it in only one day. By public transport you must be very lucky to make it in one day, it might even be impossible.

From Bahir Dar to Lalibela

(6 am bus to Weldiya, get off at Geshena (5h), change into the bus or anything else to Lalibela (6h), altogether around 250 Birr)

By Frieda

To get from Bahir Dar to Lalibela we had to start very early in the morning. It is a very long way and we hoped to be able to do it in one day. The evening before we met a “nice” guy who was promising us a good connection going directly to Lalibela. Even though we knew better we trusted him after a while. We were chatting with him for a little time and he managed to compliment us in a way that we thought it was worth giving him a chance of convincing us that being suspicious was not necessary. For example he was very interested in Daniels political views and impressed by his knowledge of the political situation (even though he scammed us i still think he was impressed). When he told us that we had to pay in advance we told him that we never do that but as i said before we wanted to give it a chance and paid 100Birr in advance (he wanted the full price of 500Birr) knowing of the possibility to just lose the money. The next morning, surprisingly, someone actually came to pick us up but instead of bringing us to a direct private transport he took us to the local bus we wolud have taken anyway. So the 100Birr were lost as expected and with them my hope of people being nice for the sake of itself if they also want to sell you something.

I like travelling by local bus. In one bus fit around 70 people crammed into small rows of seats. Even though you have very little space I consider it rather comfortable and I can sleep there pretty well. For Daniel with his long legs it is a bit less nice but he is never complaining. The bad thing about the local bus is that it is very slow. The roads are often bad. Either dirtroads or asphalted roads with huge holes in them. On the plus side you see a lot of Ethiopia’s beautyful countryside, villages and small towns if you travel slowly by bus. And for my experience sooner or mostly later you get where you want to go.

On this trip we arrived around noon in a small village where we had to change buses. But before we could get to the bus to Lalibela a truck driver offered us a ride for 100Birr. We accepted because we liked the idea of trying out another vehicle for a change. So we sat in the truck’s cabin for the next five hours. But after 20 minutes the truck stopped to load some more stuff which could not fit into another truck waiting by the roadside. Daniel helped to load and then we drove for hours on a very very bad road (it was in such a bad condition that I was happy we did not take the local bus) through a scenic lndscape up and down through hilly sorroundings. During dusk we finally arrived up in the mountain city Lalibela.

Bahir Dar

By Frieda

We went from Gondar to Bahir Dar by minibus. It took about 4 hours and cost us 200 Birr.

The road is apparently dangerous at night but we travelled during the day and reached Bahir Dar before nightfall.  We tried the first Hotel we saw when we got off the minibus. The hotel had a reasonable price (200 Birr) and the rooms were perfectly fine for us. Clean and with a working shower. It even had a TV.

After we checked in we strolled a little around town and found us a local place where we could get Shekelau Tibs. This dish is medium sized pices of beef served in a sizzeling pot with glowing coal under it so that the meat stays hot while you eat.

The next day we wanted to go to the lake Tana which borders the city. We took a boat tour to see a few of the monestaries located on islands on the lake and its shores. As almost everywhere in Ethiopia a ”guide“ found us in our hotel, offering exactly what we were looking for. He offered a reasonable price so we took his offer (200 Birr per person). We went with him to the lake but arriving there he told us that unfortunatly the boat was not full because he could not find other tourists to take the tour with us. Just one person and therfore it should be 200 Birr more for the two of us. We were not willing to pay but preferred to wait for more tourists. But after a while of waiting we agreed to pay the higher price. But we had not enough money on us so we agreed to pay the difference in the evening. In the end the boat was rather full but only one other farangi was on board.

The boat took us over the lake to a close peninsula for a visit of about an hour. The water of the lake had a muddy brown colour which is typical for lakes and rivers in Ethiopia. On the peninsula were three monasteries. The way up to the first one was clustered with stalls of souvenirs for tourists. They had scarfs, religious pictures, lunchboxes made of goat fur and some neklaces. Instead of having a look at the first monastery we headed for the second one further inside of the peninsula. But even though we followed the marked path we couldnt find it. But it was a nice walk in a jungle-like landscape. On our way we saw several kinds of monkeys and beautiful birds. When we came back to our boat everyone was already waiting for us. Apparently they had just visited the first monatery and went directly back to the boat afterwards.

We left the peninsula and the boat rode to a small island close by. Here women where not allowed to the monastery so I waited by the boat.  Our boat driver gave us some fruit he picked from a tree I had never seen before. It was small like a walnut had a lilac skin, white flesh a big stone in the middle and tasted  very sour.

From the island we crossed the lake to its right side where the Blue Nile flows out of the lake. This took us about half an hour. In this spot were supposed to live hippos. And really we could see the head of a hippo emerging from the water serveral times relatively close to our boat. The head was huge and i was surprised how long the hippo could stay under water without breathing. After that we headed for our starting point an the bank of the lake. The hippo was really my day’s highlight.

Piscine Naturelle

 

Ile aux Nattes

By Frieda

After two nights in Ambodifotatra, the capital of Ile Sainte Marie, we made our way to Ile aux Nattes a small island south of Sainte Marie. The tuk-tuk ride cost us 15 000 Ar to get to the southernest spot of the Island. From there we took a pirogue directly to the hotel we wanted to stay in, “Chez Sica” (35 000Ar.). Again we payed too much J. We knew it should be 10 000 but the pirouge charged us 20 000Ar. but we were so impressed by the beauty of the island that we did not negotiate J.

We had a very basic bungalow but it was very well kept and we did not mind that the bathroom was outside. The island is one of the most beautiful tropical islands that i have ever been to. It is not long that it has been discovered for tourism and therfore very pure. But still the beach is already rather full of bungalow places. Inside the island you have amazingly beautiful walks trough junglelike forests and some very small villages. There is even a nice lighthouse from where you can overlook the whole island. Also, walking on the beach is great as you are usually quite by yourself surrounded by nothing but sand, the sea and coconut palms.

Our plan was to relax on Ile aux Nattes because travelling can be exhausting after a while ;). This plan perfectly worked out. We did nothing but reading, sleeping and snorkling. In front of “Chez Sica” is a nice reef you can reach at high tide. Sometimes in the afternoon we walked a little bit around the island.

We were also very happy about the bungalow place having an open kitchen where you could cook for yourself. In the kitchen we befriended Judith, a women living in the nearby village, who had a job as a chef for one week at “Chez Sicas”. She was very very sweet always explaining what she was  cooking and sometimes helping us. For example she showed us how to make an excellent pulp salad which we ate almost every day after that J. Communicating with Judith was epecially for me difficult (I dont speak French and hers wasn#t good either) but we still tried and used hand and feet always laughing when we did not understand each other. So we had a lot to laugh about in the kitchen.

Every morning we walked 15 minutes into the village to buy bread for breakfast and vegatables for cooking in the evening. We loved the village very much and because we came every day people in the village knew us and greeted us very friendly. They even started to ask us about news (the local way to do small talk).

We also found one shop with a very nice and (as we called him) “honest tradesman” who would not give us extremely exaggerated prices and could get us everything we wanted within a few hours. Here we retuned every day for fresh eggs and freshly caught pulp. All together we had an amazing relaxing time on Ile aux Nattes and our hearts felt a little bit heavy when we had to leave.