Hello from South Africa

I am having a great time in South Africa and already have a blog started on what I've been doing here so I'm not going to tell you anything else at this stage - except that it's been so busy that I didn't get as much typed and posted as I expected.

I have just posted blogs for Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles. I'm not really sure they were perfect by any means but I just didn't have time for a final read through. I figured I'd better get something up there or people would be yelling at me, and since I head off to Cape Town tomorrow and leave my free computer access behind, posting won't be quite as easy there.

Egypt and Tanzania still aren't ready to go but I'll keep trying. And hopefully I'll also have South Africa finished by the time I leave. That's not until the 22nd though so don't expect if for at least a week or so.

I thought I should just add a brief bit here to say that all is well with my feet. For those of you who read the other three posts (Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles) before this one, you're probably wondering. For those who read this one first, you'll just have to read the other entries now to find out what I'm talking about.

I went to see a doctor once I got to Johannesburg and he sent me for x-rays. Nothing was broken so that was great. However, they suggested orthopaedic boots or ankle supports again for a while. I chose the ankle supports and that's what I am now wearing. They are much more comfortable than a boot and much less obvious. This is generally a good thing but certainly doesn't get you near as much sympathy.

Okay, that's if for this one. I'm sure you'll have more than enough trouble getting through all the others I've posted so I'll keep this one reasonably short.

Cheers!

Jayne

Seychelles
Monday, March 26th

I flew to Seychelles on Thursday, March 22nd and it was a great flight. While both leaving Mauritius and arriving in Seychelles three hours later we had some fantastic views of the islands and the Indian Ocean. The water is a beautiful colour ranging from blue to turquoise to green. No one was at the airport to meet me even though I had paid for an airport transfer but one of the other tour companies gave me a lift to my hotel. I guess it’s a small enough place that the look after each other and us tourists, which is nice.

The drive to the resort only took about half an hour but what scenery. First there were great seascapes and beaches, then small towns, then winding highways up and back down a mountainside through thick rainforest areas with incredibly lush vegetation, and then back to small towns, seascapes and beaches. And all within 30 minutes! The Seychelles island of Mahe is the largest island of the chain of over 100 islands in the group and it is only 27 km by 7 km in size and from zero to 900 metres in elevation.

The resort is on the coast and there is a small beach on the north side around a natural lagoon. There are rocks around the rest of the property and the waves sound and look powerful as they crash into the rocks – quite a contrast to the peaceful calm of the water in the lagoon.

You enter the resort at level three from the inland side. Level two opens on to a big pool area and the restaurants and lounge surround it. You can go down a flight of stairs outside to level one and then another flight of stairs to the beach and garden, which is very large and green. There are seven stories in total in the resort and all rooms have an ocean view so it’s very relaxing to sit on your patio and enjoy the view and the sounds at any point in the day.

Oops, speaking of patios and any point in the day, I am sitting on my patio right now and it is March 30th and I forgot to note the date in this blog. The sun is setting behind the nearby islands and it is a quiet evening. The sunsets have been incredible every night and I have taken way too many pictures. Luckily tonight’s sunset is nice but not spectacular so I’m trying to control my picture taking. It’s about 6:15 p.m. and the temperature is still probably over 30 degrees Celsius and there are still people in the pool and in the lagoon. Not me though. I came up to start my packing am now writing and enjoying the sunset before I go down for dinner. And then tomorrow morning I’m off to South Africa.

So what did I see and do in Seychelles? I visited three islands: Mahe for 5 days, Praslin for 3 days and while in Praslin I did a day trip to La Digue. Praslin is the second largest island in the Seychelles but it is very small. I never saw a road sign with anything higher than 10 km on it and the guidebook when talking about trails said not to worry about getting lost because you would cross any point of the island in an hour or less so it was impossible to get lost. La Digue is even smaller and it’s the third largest island. Some of the other islands have no inhabitants but these three have 30,000, 6,000 and 2,000 respectively.

I started and ended my stay in Mahe, which is where the international airport is located. The resort had a free shuttle service so I made use of it. On Friday the 23rd I went to the sister resort in Baie Beau Vallon, which is on one of the largest and nicest beaches in the Seychelles. It was indeed very nice. The water is calm and the sand is white powder. I took some pictures but obviously didn’t feel comfortable walking on the beach because I spent the afternoon at the poolside, which was very nice. It rained for while but I was safe and dry under my umbrella. It amazes me how quickly the rains start and end here. Sometimes no one even cares because it’s so hot you dry off instantly anyway. However sometimes it’s such a torrential downpour that you are soaked instantly and definitely wouldn’t dry. I guess that’s the joy of living in the tropics. Anyway, I read the afternoon away, didn’t even get in the water as they had no step, only stairs, then I caught the shuttle back to the hotel.

Since it was my birthday I got slightly dressed up for dinner. The previous night they had a cake and sang happy birthday to a German lady and took lots of pictures and then split the cake amongst everyone in the dining room. She was travelling alone and couldn’t figure out how they knew it was her birthday. They told her they got it from the registration info so I knew I’d get a cake too and be centred out at dinner. I figured this was a good thing, as I would get my picture taken with my cake and candles to mark the occasion. Well how disappointed do you think I was when I sat in anticipation throughout my entire dinner and nothing happened? Even the German lady stopped by to say how sorry she was because she didn’t understand why they’d give her a cake and not me. It was quite bizarre at the time but only she and I were expecting anything so we were the only ones disappointed. I left after they brought me my drink bill – I even splurged for a glass of wine for the celebration – and went to check e-mails just so I could find someone to wish me a Happy Birthday and sure enough some people did. I guess this cakeless birthday makes up for some of those years where I had 3 or 4 cakes! And it was a great birthday and very memorable anyway – nice and relaxing and in a beautiful place I will probably never visit again.

On Saturday, March 24th I took the shuttle into Victoria, the capital city with a population of 20,000. I went straight to the market as it was only held on Saturday mornings. It was indeed a very busy place and also a very large place in about three different areas. I don’t know if some of it was daily, as opposed to just Saturday, but all of it looked busy. Fruit, vegetables and fish were the main items for sale and they all looked very fresh and delicious.

I wandered around a few streets and into a few stores but it was so hot I decided to take it easy for a while. At 12:30 I went into the museum but she said they were closing at 1:00 so I might want to come back another time. The library was right next door so I went in there to rest for a while and read the paper. Well, they closed at 1:00 too so soon kicked me out. It seemed like the whole city closed at 1:00 on Saturdays so there wasn’t much to do and the shuttle wasn’t going back until 4:30. Well, never fear. There was an internet café nearby so I spent 2 hours clearing e-mails since I hadn’t been on in over a week, and then I went to a restaurant for something to eat.

So I didn’t see much in Victoria – the market, a few stores, the entrance to the museum, the reading area of the library, the Pirates Arms Restaurant that was very busy, and a few street scenes and statues. The city is quite nice and modern and very easy to get around in. The only downside was the fact that most things closed in the afternoon and the fact that it was incredibly hot and humid, which made the visit quite unbearable. I should note that they had an incredible torrential rain while I was in the internet café so it was a bit cooler when I came out.

On the 25th I flew from Mahe to Praslin – a quick 15-minute trip that provided some incredible views. Praslin has lots of beautiful beaches and the same thick lush rainforests as Mahe in the interior. The resort is on the beach but back quite a ways from it. The main restaurant and bar and reception are back by the rooms but there is one open-air restaurant right on the beach. As I was up early for my short flight I had lunch on the beach and it was wonderful. The food was delicious and the beach view was very relaxing and beautiful. The shade and breeze at the restaurant also made the temperature very bearable.

While at this resort I went for several walks on the beach as the sand was a fine white powder and well packed. The beach is long and curved around the coast – technically not a bay but pretty close. The palm trees around the edge provide some shade at some points in the day but not a lot. And most of the time the beach was totally empty because it was just too hot. Mornings and late afternoons were the busiest times. I went in the water a couple of times – one morning after a walk and one evening after a walk. The water is so warm it’s unbelievable. I’ve had cooler baths and showers. And the water is very clear and there are fish swimming around you at times. With hat on and in water up to my chin, it was a great place to cool off.

The pool at the resort was small but nice. I also spent some time around it the one day. It’s always good to be under one of those nice umbrellas when the torrential rains come and boy did they come when I was on Praslin. I’ve never seen so much rain at one time.

On the 26th I went by bus and boat and oxcart for a tour of La Digue. Very few vehicles are allowed on this island so oxcarts and bicycles are the main modes of transportation. While I would have preferred to be on a bike, I figured the oxcart would be safer for me and my feet. The boat ride between the two islands is about 30 minutes so we had about 7 hours on the island. It’s small so you don’t need much time but when you’re moving as slowly as an ox moves, you need all the time you can get. At least the cart was covered so we had shade. We certainly weren’t going fast enough for a breeze!

We rode along the coast and through tiny villages until we reached L’Union Estate. The old plantation house was beautiful and overlooked the ocean and a beautiful green lawn surrounded by all the servants’ huts. Apparently the boss liked to see his workers at all times. The former prime minister used to use the place as his holiday house but the current one has a place in Praslin instead. The house’s other claim to fame is that the movie (?) “Emmanuel, Come Home” was filmed here. Needless to say, no one on the tour admitted to having seen the movie – a porn flick.

They gave us a demonstration on how to make coconut oil. The coconuts are gathered and piled in one location where they are husked. That they do by pounding the coconut many times on a wooden stake in the ground, and it looked like hard work. Following that the coconuts are cut in half and the milk drained. The coconut halves are then baked for several days in a huge walk-in oven about 8’ by 15’ that has a big brick fireplace on the outside with heat pipes in to the oven. The coconut halves are then removed and the coconut shell just falls off after the baking. The coconut half is broken into pieces and these are put into the press and ground to get the oil. The copra press is turned by an ox pushing a wheel around in a circle – at least it was in the old days and still is now for tourist purposes. The baked coconut is called copra so this was an old copra factory. Eating raw coconut is okay and using coconut oil is okay in moderation, but apparently you don’t want to eat the copra itself or you will be sitting in the bathroom for several days.

The estate was huge and also had vanilla vines but it was the wrong season to be harvesting vanilla. There was a huge area for dozens of adult giant tortoises and a very small pen for the younger ones who have to be separated so the heavier adults don’t crush them. There are more tortoises in Seychelles than people. I think the count was 1000,000 to 80,000 respectively.

There is a beautiful beach area at the end of the estate – Anse La Source D’Argent. They said it was easy walking access but not for me in my bare feet. I would have been better off with my hiking boots. There were lovely bits of sandy beach but they were amidst granite boulders and required some tricky access. I retreated back to the main area and just relaxed and waited for the others to return. We had lunch at Chateau St. Cloud, a resort in the interior of the island. It was a good meal and we were lucky to be in a covered area because we had another torrential downpour for over an hour.

After lunch I went to the beach as planned while the others went shopping since it was still cloudy. The English speaking guide and I went for a walk on the beach which was very level and had well-packed sand. We watched a fisherman bring in his trap of wood and netting. He had 10 – 12 fish in it. Some he threw back into the water and the rest he threw on to the sand to die. He put papaya and coconut and leaves in the trap as bait and he sets and retrieves the trap daily. The trap is only in about 4’ of water so it’s a very easy process with very basic materials and yet it seems to work well.

I was supposed to go to Vallee de Mai on a tour the one day but it got cancelled. I really wanted to go so I took the local bus on the last day, did the tour myself, returned on the local bus and then showered, packed and left to fly back to Mahe. It was a rush but I’m glad I did it.

Vallee de Mai is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It includes the world’s only coco de mer forest. There are paths clearly marked through the park, which is very small. The guides told me which route to follow for a one-hour walk and I did it in two hours with lots of stops along the way. The path was great in some places and rather tricky in others. We had another torrential downpour while I was there so that didn’t help the path any. At times it was like a river running down the path way and the rocks you had to climb over were rather wet and slippery. However I made it.

Vallee de Mai is definitely a hilly rainforest area with thick vegetation that almost totally blocks the sunlight but unfortunately not the heat or humidity. I was soaked totally before it ever started to rain. The rain was at least a bit cooler.

The coco de mer tree is huge and the nut produced by the female tree is the largest seed in the world. It also just happens to look very female, like the female buttocks and pelvis to be precise. And the male tree has a large appropriately male catkin.

I also saw and heard the elusive black parrot that is only found here. However, he wasn’t very cooperative about having his picture taken. It was a fun walk and I’m glad I did it even if it was hard work and at times I really wondered if I’d make it. I guess the fact that it’s the world’s smallest World Heritage Site helped those of us with walking problems.

Just a bit more about the coco de mer: Male trees reach 30 metres and female trees 24 metres in height. The seed can weigh 20 kg and the fruit inside takes 6-7 years to ripen. The leaves of young trees can be 15 metres in length and a trunk doesn’t form until year 15. Maturity is between 20-40 years and they live for 200 – 400 years. They are now planning the trees on another Seychelles island just in case something disastrous happens on Praslin. Obviously it will take a long time, if ever, before the new site reaches the maturity of the original one.

There were other plants as well that are only found in Seychelles, too many to mention and most of which I don’t even remember. Some with roots outside the trunk and about 2-3’ above the ground and some with roots or trunks that come down from the branches in many different places. There were also lots of vines and creepers covering everything and mosses and ferns covering the area as well.

Other parts of the islands remind me of bayou country along the gulf between Texas and Florida. The roads here are often through wet swampy areas and the roads are elevated to stay above the water. The trees and bushes in the water are thick and there are lots of “knees” or “elbows” or whatever those roots are that stick up everywhere in the water.

Other aspects of the Seychelles remind me of that area as well. The Seychelles is definitely Creole country and the food and music and language reflect that. If my regular French was bad, my Creole French is totally nonexistent. I can’t even understand the basics half the time. Even simple words like bonjour and s’il vous plait are totally lost in their heavy Creole accent. The music has a very Acadian feel to it and I guess that makes sense too since a lot of our Acadians went to Creole country in the southeaster US. Obviously that is the type of music these folks all enjoy.

The last few days in the Seychelles were wonderful and relaxing. On the 28th I flew from Praslin back to Mahe and on the 29th I took the hotel’s free shuttle to Port Launay and the beach at the lagoon of the Marine Park. I wasn’t sure what I’d do there for five hours so I had change to catch the regular bus back if needed. However, in the end I could have stayed longer. It is a beautiful beach with beautiful white powder sand and a very level and gentle slope into the water. The water is perfectly clear and incredibly warm. There were beautiful fish all around so I didn’t even need snorkel gear. Most of the time I just sat on the beach on my towel and enjoyed the scenery. It was wonderful.

Over the lunch hour some college students, about 30 males, came down in a bus and they were most entertaining for about an hour. They had an organized game of ball in the water – kind of a mix of basketball and rugby and football – but fun to watch and good for many laughs. After their game they got into gymnastics and back flips and pyramid building and just plain silliness, which kept everyone on the beach entertained. It probably also scared the fish a fair bit.

The rest of the time I just relaxed and read and it was very cool in the shade and very quiet and nice. The same can be said for the 30th when I simply went to the lagoon beach at the hotel and relaxed and read most of the day. This part of the trip definitely felt like a holiday – finally!

As usual, there are a million other things I would like to have seen in the Seychelles but tours never seemed to be running when I was available. It’s their “off season” so not very busy which has both good and bad sides. On the good side it is quiet and there are no crowds around but on the bad side, many of the tours and other tourist attractions are not available when you might want them.

Seychelles is right at the equator and they are beautiful. Again their history is diverse with Portuguese, French, English, Arabs, Indonesians, Dutch, etc. all involved. As well as Creole, people speak English and French and those in the tourism area also speak German, Dutch, Spanish, etc. as needed. Pirates once frequented the islands and there are stories of buried treasures. I didn’t find any gold lying around anywhere so I guess I’ll be going back to work when I get home. And that I think just about covers my visit to the Seychelles. They are beautiful islands and one could spend weeks exploring all there is to see. Needless to say, I certainly didn’t see everything so I guess a return trip will be required some day so I can see the rest of the islands.

Mauritius

Baie du Toulous
Saturday, March 17th

I arrived in Mauritius late last night after a slightly delayed flight from Madagascar. It was then about a one hour drive in the pouring rain to the hotel but at least Mauritius has an excellent highway north/south on the island. It was almost midnight when I checked into Les Cocotiers hotel and I definitely had mixed feelings about it. On the positive side, they spoke English. On the negative side, it seemed very small and primitive. However, on this trip I have definitely learned to not judge a place until at least the daylight hours of day two.

Well, it’s now the afternoon of day two and the place is indeed small and primitive. However, it is also clean and comfortable and the ocean and beach are right here so I think I’ll survive. I’m sitting on my second-floor balcony right now. The pool is to my left and there are several people in and around it. The beach and ocean are right in front of me through the palm trees and there is no one out there. It’s a very small beach so there couldn’t be more than 20 people out there or it would be very crowded. The hotel frontage appears to only be about 60-100’ and right now there is only about 10’ of white sand before the water. I don’t know if it’s high or low tide right now but I’m guessing it is high tide and there is normally more beach. The hotel faces the west so hopefully I’ll see some good sunsets.

The hotel has a pool in the centre – long and narrow but certainly adequate for the size of the place. The units are small with four per building along the one side of the pool and at the non-ocean end. The reception is an open but covered area, as is the dining area, which is right on the ocean. It is lunchtime now but I don’t see anyone eating. I’m on half board so will be trying to make a late breakfast last me until an early dinner. I just had some crackers and cheese and a banana as a snack to tide me over and yes, it was all stolen from the breakfast buffet.

There is a reef around most of Mauritius including this area. As a result the waves are breaking way off shore and the water is very calm and gentle on shore. It is cool by their standards and cloudy today as a result of the cyclone off Northern Madagascar. It will probably rain again tonight but rain at night is just fine by me.

On Monday and Wednesday they have a free shuttle to their sister resort which is a 4 or 5 star hotel on the main beach. I will probably go both days for a change of scenery. Their only shuttle to town is on Thursdays and since I arrived on Friday and leave on Thursday I guess I won’t be taking that one. We are in a rather isolated area so I’m not sure what it would cost for a taxi to and from town.

Town would be Port Louis, the capital. We drove through it last night in the dark and the rain but it still looked very nice. It has a large new harbour area, which seems to be the place to be these days. There is a lot of other stuff to see and do in town and on the island. However, with the location of the hotel and the situation with my feet, I’m just not sure what I’ll be able to see. I don’t want to overdo it but I’d sure like to see more of Mauritius than I saw of Madagascar.

Later the same day

I’m now back out on the patio to watch the sunset. We just had a quick down pour that seems to be over now and the air is very clean and cool and fresh. The birds are going nuts in the trees. Their chirps are all but drowning out the music and noise from the pool, which is a blessing in my opinion. There are more people around now, I assume having returned from a day of touring I have a small, young gecko on my deck. He’s obviously come in from the rain and seems quite comfortable to stay even though I’m only about 3’ away from him. He’s about a foot long and very slender. He is a beautiful bright almost fluorescent emerald green with red spots on his back. I’m assuming he is young because he doesn’t have the blue stripes yet to accompany the red dots. If I’m not mistaken he is an Ornated Day Gecko and he is famous on the island according to the tour books.

People are on the beach taking pictures of the sunset. From my vantage point through the trees there is nothing to take a picture of. I guess I’ll actually have to go down and check it out.

Sunday, March 25th

Although I’m now in Seychelles I’m going to finish Mauritius before I do anything else. Trust me, it won’t take long. And no, the sunset was not worth going down for but others throughout the week were quite wonderful so I have lots of pictures from a couple of those nights.

On Sunday I thought I might go into town but someone said not much was open so I stayed by the poolside instead. I did get in the pool a couple of times because I had to cool off but getting in is not an easy process. They have steps as well as ladders but there is no railing so you really have to be sure footed, which I’m not, to get in and out gracefully. I got in and out but I’m sure I never mastered the graceful part.

I have no books to read as the only books in their book exchange are in German. As a result I sat at poolside finishing my Egyptian saga by hand. They have no internet, supposedly because of the cyclone but I’m not sure they don’t use that as an excuse for everything.

I went for a walk on the beach at sunset. With my boots on I can navigate the slope and uneven sand and washed-up coral (also supposedly the result of the most recent cyclone and not normally on the beach) but I certainly couldn’t do it in sandals or barefoot. I was so looking forward to enjoying the beaches in these locations but I guess that wasn’t meant to be.

On Monday I took the shuttle over to their sister resort, which is on another beautiful beach. I didn’t even try getting across the beach to the water as it was a very deep beach with lots of loose sand. By not even trying to go down I missed the opportunity for a glass-bottom boat trip out over the reef. I would have enjoyed that. Snorkelling is another thing I’d really love to be doing but I can’t because of my feet. The glass bottom boat would have been a good substitute.

Oh well, back to my actual day. I spent it by the pool and was thrilled to see that the entire length of the pool had wide, shallow steps into the water so I thought I could manage that. And each step was even clearly delineated by a wide tile of a different colour. How hard could that be? Well, it was too hard for me. The wider steps were actually gentle slops and the darker tiles were level but very slippery. I made it to the first level only and couldn’t get any further. And of course I’ trying to be cool about it and pretending I’m really not trying to get in! I did eventually get in once by going around to the other side and using the steps there. As usual they didn’t have a railing but they were going along the one side of the pool so I could hang on to the pool edge as I went. The top steps were the only tricky ones but I made them.

If you think I’m getting paranoid about my feet, you’re right. This whole thing is ridiculous. If I step on anything that isn’t completely smooth and flat I just about fall over. A hard pea, a tiny pebble, probably a grain of rice – they would all be a problem. I’m starting to feel like a real princess, as in the Princess and the Pea story, and I’m not enjoying it. I’d gladly go back to commoner status at any time if my feet worked.

Okay, back to Mauritius. Monday night / Tuesday morning I spent most of the time in the bathroom and that continued until Wednesday, and I checked out on Thursday and flew to Seychelles. As a result there is really not much else to say. I saw my resort and its sister resort and the road to and from the airport. The island is beautiful and green and has some wonderful mountain peaks on it. Aside from that, I know nothing about the place.

On my, I just found some notes I made at some point. I guess I should include them.

Mauritius is a very small island so it only takes an hour to an hour and a half to drive across the island at any point. The main highway is great. The smaller highways are good but very narrow with no shoulder for extra room or for pedestrians.

You can almost always see one coast or another from wherever you are on the island so there are lots of ocean views. It’s a very green island with lots of agriculture and rolling hills. The cities and towns are new and modern looking but there are still places that look like slum areas with small tin and wood shacks crowded close together.

There is a good bus system and it seems well used. There is heavy traffic at business rush hours and they make 3 or 4 lanes in the direction needed (instead of 2 in each direction). However, there are no signs or signals for this. You just know when you reach the roadblock in one lane that you can’t go there any more. I don’t know how they tell people joining the highway after the initial roadblock but obviously they have some sign or signal.

There are flowers everywhere and they are very beautiful. One place I really wanted to get to was the Botanical Gardens to see the giant water lilies and other unique plants and flowers. It looked amazing in the pictures.

The birds around here are also amazing and their songs in the morning and evening are almost deafening they are so loud. However they are also beautiful to listen to. I didn’t even mind them waking me up at 5 a.m. since I knew I’d get back to sleep for a bit longer anyway.

The weather was hot – in the low 30s C but it didn’t seem too hot or humid. There was almost always a nice breeze from the ocean. And the ocean water was warm too – almost the same temperature as the air they tell me.

The food was mainly Indian with lots of spices and curries. Needless to say, that didn’t work too well for me but everyone else seemed to enjoy it.

Mauritius is another country with a diverse background – Portuguese, Dutch, French, British, Indian, Chinese, Arabian all played a role in the country’s history. English is the official language but French and Creole are also spoken. Those in the hospitality area also speak German, Italian, Spanish, Hindi and other languages. Their literacy rate is around 90% and everybody speaks at least 2 languages – another country Canada could learn from.

Madagascar

Sunday, March 11th
Antananarivo, Madagascar

I arrived here late on the 9th after an afternoon flight from Nairobi to Mauritius and then Antananarivo. I wasn’t sure at times that I was heading to the right place but I made it. I guess the full city name is a bit too much for many visitors so they shorten it to various names like Tana or Rivo or Tanarivo (which I think is what the pilot was saying because at one point I thought I might be heading back to Tenerife on the Canary Islands.) Anyway, I was met at the airport by the DoDo Travel and Tour rep. I’m not sure why anyone would call their company DoDo, especially when there certainly aren’t any Dodo birds in the country, but that’s their name and perhaps I, as the tourist, am the Dodo. It was nice to have someone at the airport waiting for me as it was a bit of a zoo with lots of people trying to lure people into taxis, and there didn’t seem to be any central control point. I was hesitant to pay for the transfers since they were so expensive but now I’m glad I did since it was close to midnight when I got to the Tana Plaza Hotel and the process was very hassle free.

The Tana Plaza Hotel is right across from the train station and at the start (or end) of the Avenue de l’Independence, which is a wide street with center boulevard of park area and statues. You could probably get 10 lanes of traffic down the street and still have room for parking and sidewalks but they have left it as a very nice open, green space instead.

Much of the city is green. There are trees in many streets and on the sides of streets and on hillsides, and there are many parks with flowers and benches or with lakes and walkways. It’s very hilly as well so every view looks green and fresh.

I went for a walk both yesterday and today. I think the people on the front desk think I’m weird for walking instead of taking a taxi but I definitely need the exercise after several months of cruises and bus trips and safaris where you sit all day long and eat a lot, whether you need it or not. The front desk folks think some of other areas aren’t safe but so far I’ve had no problems. Besides, who is going to try and rob a stupid looking white female in hiking boots, Tilley pants, light shirt under a long sleeve blouse (to save on sun screen) and wearing sunglasses and a safari hat. – all in mixed colours. I look like something out of an old safari movie – a really bad old movie And I have no valuables with me – just my camera of course and a little change in case I need to buy something like an ice cream cone. If someone looks at my bulging pockets suspiciously I just take out my water bottle and have a drink or my camera and take a picture. After that I’m sure they know I’m not worth bothering with. So far the only problems I’ve had are with the street vendors and the local children who keep asking for money. I must have said “no thank you” and or “no, merci” a thousand times on my two walks and today was quiet because it’s Sunday.

And of course my ignorance was showing again in that I did not know that Madagascar was once French and therefore French is their main language. I really feel stupid when I can’t speak French and yet it’s one of our official languages. I couldn’t even get the waiter in the restaurant to understand my room number last night and I thought I could at least handle numbers like 4 –0-7. Perhaps I should just chalk it up to the difference between Canadian French and Madagascar French.

Yesterday I just walked down the Ave de l’Independence, went into the Pavilions du Zoma or market area and walked back again. The Avenue was very busy with Saturday shoppers and the market was packed. The vendors on the Avenue tried to sell me things and followed me around but the shopkeepers in the market just ignored me. I think it was obvious to them that I was just a tourist looking around and not buying, while the locals were all busy actually buying things.

Today I went down the avenue to the tunnel Ralaimongo, which I walked through and then on to Lac Anosy. I walked around the lake and went out to the Monument aux Morts, which is built out in the lake. I didn’t do in to the actual monument because there were about 10 guys sitting outside and their spokesman said admission was 5,000 Malagasy Francs or Ariary. That’s only about $3 Canadian but I was quite sure there was to be no charge and I just didn’t like the thought of going into an enclosed area with the 10 of them at the gate on the outside and more of them visible on the inside. What I could see was all in French and Malagasy so I said there was no use of me going in as it wasn’t in English, and I just took a picture and walked around the little island. The folks back at the hotel later confirmed my suspicion that there was not charge to go into the monument.

On my way back from the lake I went through the tunnel again to Ave de l’Independence and part way back took the steps (Escalier Ranavalona) up to Place de l’Independence. It was a beautiful park on the top of the hill with great views of the city. The trees were very shady and the roses were beautiful and the benches were very relaxing. I sat there for a while and enjoyed the scenery and refreshing breeze until two young guys smelling of alcohol decided to come and join me on my bench when several other benches in the area were free. They didn’t say or do anything but it was a bit too cozy for me so I headed back down the stairs and wandered home. And let me assure you that I’m seldom walking on my own if that is what you might be worried about. I generally have an entourage of vendors and little children with me on each side and in front of me. They are all very polite so they’re quite bearable – not like some I’ve encountered in other areas an- and although they’ll stick with you for a long time, they do accept “No” for an answer. You might have to say it a thousand times but eventually they leave you alone.

The streets are all paved, at least in this area of town, and they have sidewalks. However, you still really have to watch where you’re walking. There are often large 2-3 inch holes in the sidewalk and the drop at times is 2-3’ down. There are almost always full of garbage, which might soften one’s fall but the landing still wouldn’t be very pleasant. They also have uneven sidewalks at times and broken sections and uneven stairs so it helps to keep your eye on where you’re going.

The town has many large modern buildings and 5-6 storeys are not unusual. My hotel has 6 storeys and is very nice inside. It’s a 3 star hotel. The room is small but very clean and comfortable and the bathroom is very new and modern. I even have phone, TV and air conditioning in my room, which is something I haven’t had for a while. Other hotels I’ve walked past in this area don’t look near as nice so I’m glad I’m where I am.

The train station is right outside my window. I wandered over there yesterday hoping to find some tourism info. Well, the building is large and European looking with a big clock tower but it is also all closed up. That might explain why I’ve not heard or seen a train since I arrived.

The street outside my window is Rue Rainibetsimisaraka and I’m glad I’m writing it and not pronouncing it. Other avenues nearby have names like Rainandriampandry and Rianampoinimerina so I think these folks could give the Welsh a run for the money on long names.

Anyway, the street outside my window is interesting. The first night when I looked out at about midnight there were people sleeping on the street and they had a small fire going between them. It also appeared they were selling something but I couldn’t see what and there was no one around to buy anything.

Every day the scene changes but there are always people selling things. Today I can see T-shirts, sports clothes, running shoes, baseball caps, sandals, fruit, something in white bottles, sunglasses, more clothes, pop, ice cream, food - hot and cold, bathroom scales – not for sale but for people to weigh themselves on and pay, watches, toys (model plains and trains), jewelry, flashlights, belts, purses, baskets, small wooden stringed musical instruments, cigarettes, lighters, etc. And that’s just what I can identify from my 4th floor window. To my left the vendors increase and eventually hit another market area I think.

Everything is just spread out on the sidewalk or hung on the fence or carried by the people selling it, and there are lots of people around buying. Some people only have 3-6 articles they are selling while others have lots. Some of the prices I’ve heard seem quite reasonable and some seem quite ridiculous. I assume bartering and exchange are expected. One guy wanted my boots today when I said I didn’t have any money with me. He wasn’t exactly selling shoes so I guess I was supposed to walk home barefoot or perhaps busy some shoes from a friend of his.

I am only on B&B here. Since I was right in town the logic was that I could eat in different restaurants each night. Well so far on my travels I haven’t seen many restaurants and any that I have seen I wouldn’t eat at. Now before you think I might starve, let me assure you that the restaurant in the hotel is very good. L’Avenue is a French restaurant with a very limited menu but it is safe.

There is food everywhere you go. I think the locals make the food at home and then take it to the streets to sell. I’ve seen chicken, beef, sandwiches, pastries, etc. but I don’t think I would eat any of them. The sandwiches are just sitting on a tray in the sun all day. They aren’t wrapped or cooled or anything. Some of the meat looks hot but it’s also just on a tray and the one fork, which seemed to be used by everyone down at the market, just didn’t seem too sanitary to me. I would be fine if they were just picking up the pieces of meat and putting them on an n individual plate but when the fork was going right into each mouth, I just wasn’t in a sharing mood. I think about the only things I could buy on the street would be well-sealed water, pop and candy.

I think I am now totally used to guys relieving themselves on the side of the road or behind buildings or wherever. It seems to be a very common practice in Africa. In fact George, my guide in Tanzania, seemed surprised when I even commented on it. His reply was simply, “don’t they do that every where?” I really don’t think he believed me that it was not common in Canada and might even get you arrested if the people around didn’t like it. Well, Mozambique has upped the anti a bit and I’ve actually seen a couple of squatters here, and keep in mind that I’ve only been in the city!

People also seem to cough a lot around here and never cover their mouths when they do. I know South Africa has a TB problem. I sure hope these folks don’t or it will be spreading rapidly. Luckily I haven’t noticed any problems around the hotel, which is where I’ll likely be spending most of my time and eating most of my meals.

Thursday, March 15th
Antananarivo, Madagascar

Boy, did I ever jinx myself with that first entry from Madagascar. This entry will be a very different one from the last but parts of it will seem like déjà vu from other previous entries.

On Monday morning I was up early to go on a tour with DoDo Travel to the King’s Palace at Ambohimanga in the morning and then a city tour in the afternoon. When they called at 9 a.m. to confirm, as opposed to already being at the hotel to pick me up) I knew something was wrong. They just wanted to make sure I was okay with paying double the stated rate since I was the only one booked for the day. I was definitely not okay with paying over $100 for a simple tour and lunch so told them to forget it.

The hotel staff was surprised they would ask double the amount since they wouldn’t have to pay double entrance fees at the Palace or pay for two lunches so one of the staff members started negotiations with the taxi drivers to get someone to drive me to the Palace and wait for me while I toured around. One agreed to a good price but my next problem was that I had none of their money. DoDo would take credit card payment but the taxi driver wouldn’t and neither would the Palace so I needed to get some cash.

So off I went to the nearby ATM machine but it wouldn’t take my bankcard. Not to worry because there is another one just 200 metres down the street according to the guard. (All banks or ATMs or currency exchange places seem to have guards in Africa!) After walking for a while and not finding the other ATM I went into the sister hotel of where I was staying to inquire. They assured me it was just down the street 500 metres. Since I’m sure I’d already come well over 200 meters, the first guard definitely wasn’t a good judge of distances! I eventually found the ATM and it also would not accept my card so I started back to the hotel hoping to maybe convince the taxi driver to trust me and drive me to yet another ATM to get him some money. This was not going to be an easy task since he didn’t speak any English. No one seemed to speak any English in Madagascar. The desk staff tried hard and occasionally got some parts right but it was definitely a struggle. Ah, but I digress.

In my rush to get back to the hotel and the poor taxi driver who was waiting for me, and I still don’t believe I’m having to say this but, I missed seeing one of those holes in the sidewalk that I was talking about earlier and I found myself on the ground. It was where 2 sidewalks were joining and they were only about 2” apart in their original levels. However, someone had taken the first tiles of the lower sidewalk out – probably to put in a proper slope or incline to join the two levels – but for now it was just a hole about 4” lower than the high sidewalk I was walking on and 2” lower than the lower sidewalk I was heading towards.

Now any normal person would just walk past this. They might stumble or even fall but they would catch themselves so it wouldn’t be a big problem. Well not me. I don’t stumble or fall forwards or backwards or sideways so I can catch myself. No, I just go straight down. Before I even know it’s happening I’m sitting on my feet on the sidewalk – or lack of sidewalk.

Some tiny old man offered his hands to help me up and I gratefully took them hoping that when I tried to stand I wouldn’t fall on top of him and squash him. Both feet hurt exactly where they hurt before. I made it up and over to the shop window and stopped for a few breaths and to assess the situation. I noted it was a bookstore. I made it to the next window not 6’ further and stopped again. It was the same store and I realized it was a Christian bookstore. I made it another few steps to the door and went in and flopped down in the nearest spot I saw, which happened to be their stool for getting books off the higher shelves. The shop was very busy but luckily no one needed the stool because I don’t think I could have moved.

I probably sat there for at least a half hour just trying to calm down, breath normally, stop sweating, sip some water and assess the situation. The nuns were all very patient and just ignored me. I think they probably thought I had just been out in the sun too long and would leave soon. Eventually I started trying to talk to them and one of them spoke broken English. We discussed where the doctors’ offices and hospitals were, where my hotel was, how I was going to get to any of these places and what help I needed. Eventually one of them helped me to their old beat up wreck of a car and drove me the two blocks back to my hotel – yes, just two blocks but I couldn’t have walked it.

The hotel folks helped me to my room and got me some ice and some more pillows to put under my feet and there I spent the rest of the day (Monday) while I tried to determine how bad the situation was. It was clear to me, being Dr. Brooks, that the left foot stress fracture was fractured once again. I could wiggle my toes and point and flex my foot but it was sore and swollen across the top of the foot and to the inside just as it had been before, and I was definitely not going to try standing on my toes anytime soon. Now you may be saying, “oh no,” but I was actually saying, “Okay, at least I know how to deal with this one because I’ve had this problem before.”

The right foot was a bit more questionable. Believe it or not it was my outer ankle again and it was swelled up and very tender to touch. Unlike last time; however, it hurt to stand on or walk on or bend in any way so I figured this was a d slightly different variation than before. I decided to just let it go for a while and see what happened.

Monday night I ordered room service for dinner and more ice for my feet. Tuesday morning I ordered room service for breakfast and more ice for my feet. And I really do have to add that ordering room service over the phone when no one speaks English and your French is really bad is indeed a challenge, especially when you also want some ice for your feet. That part really seemed to confuse them.

By Tuesday night I decided to try and go down for dinner. The swelling in both feet was down because they had been elevated for two days and been iced a lot of the time. The left foot was still swollen on the top and it was still warm, but I wasn’t surprised by that as I knew that lasted for months last time. The right ankle was looking better but was still sore and not wanting to bend. So I managed to get my boots on – a very slow painful process to say the least – and I walked down to dinner. Perhaps I should say that I shuffled off to dinner because I really was leery of actually moving either foot. When I got back and released them from the boots they were definitely more sore and swollen than before but after another few hours of being elevated they seemed to recover.

Wednesday I managed to go down for both breakfast and dinner and my shuffling was getting faster. It was obvious that I was not going to see a lot in Madagascar but I was still hopeful that the feet would be good enough to fly on Friday and that things would be better in Mauritius and Seychelles.

So how did I pass my time in Madagascar you might ask. Well, first of all I have to say that the bed was extremely comfortable so one could spend all day in it, not get stiff or sore, and still feel rested at the end of the day. I had a book that was really hard to get into so I tired reading that at times but generally it just put me to sleep. Then when I picked it up again I had to reread what I’d already read because it was so confusing. It was kind of like the never-ending story!

Then there was the TV. There were only about 10 stations and all but BBC News were in French. BBC reception was very poor so I really couldn’t hear any of what was said but I could read the screen as the headlines rolled by so I wasn’t totally out of touch with the world. There were 3-4 sports stations but the cricket and soccer didn’t interest me much. Most of the other French stations were impossible to follow. Movies are all dubbed in French so you can’t even hear the English. The Tom & Jerry cartoons were okay though. I could generally follow what was happening in them! And I also caught a couple of game shows. Their version of Wheel of Fortune was pretty easy to follow although the words were in French so I didn’t get many of them. I couldn’t even understand most of the categories! I did understand most of the questions and the multiple choice answers on the other game show that was sort of like Who Wants to be a Millionaire, so that was interesting and made me feel much better about my French.

A lot of the time I watched the clouds out of my window and they were pretty interesting. They have a brilliant blue sky and lots of clouds that fly by quickly. And they can be going in different directions too. They obviously have a lot of wind currents at different heights in the area. The clouds looked like rain several times but nothing developed until the last day.

I also went to the internet room a couple of times. Now there’s a real exercise in frustration. Not only do you have to wait for what seems like ages for anything to happen, but you also have to contend with a French keyboard. While we may use the “a” key a lot, they obviously use the “q” key a lot because the two are switched on the keyboard. The “w” and “z” are also switched, the “m” is moved somewhere else and strange new letters are added where you least expect them. It was like writing in a code but I was quite sure no one else would ever bother deciphering it so I had to fix it as I went, which took forever.

As a result of the strange keyboard, I ended up writing a lot of my blogs out long hand in hopes that the next few places had keyboards that were more familiar to me. So far Tanzania is all written up and I’ve now written all there is to say about Madagascar, which isn’t much. Egypt needs another day or two and it will probably also be completed. Maybe I just needed these foot injuries so I could get caught up with my writing.

Okay, back to the feet. You’re probably wondering why I didn’t go to a doctor or the hospital if I thought I’d broken or injured them again. Well, there were several reasons I could think of. One, I wasn’t sure I trusted the sanitary conditions in Madagascar so I was leery of their medical system. Two, likely no one was going to speak English and that presented a problem. Three, the most they could have done was put my foot or feet in a cast(s) or orthopaedic boot(s) and I really didn’t need that. I had my boots and they seemed to be working fine. I knew enough to stay off my feet and keep them elevated for the next while but when I had to move I could wear my boots so my feet and ankles were supported. The left one will no doubt take a long time again so I’m prepared for that. As for the right one, I planned to watch it and if it didn’t seem to be getting better I’d have it looked at later in another location where people speak English and the medical facilities are more acceptable. Heck, if I wait long enough I could be back in London visiting my friendly specialist there. He is at least already familiar with the situation.

As for the real sights of Madagascar, like all those cute little lemurs, other endemic plants and animals, and the King’s Palace, to name a few, I guess they’ll just have to wait for another visit. Boy, I wonder how many times I’ve said that on this journey. It may take me a long time to see all these places again.

That was the end but I have to add the following before I totally leave Madagascar behind. It was a later entry.

The ride to the airport was interesting. It was dark on the ride in so I really didn’t see much. This time the trip was in daylight so I could see the sights. Most of the area between Antananarivo and the airport is agricultural. There are many homes and small towns and villages all along the way but basically it is an agricultural area. And the main crop is rise. All of the fields as far as one can see from the elevated road, are covered in water and there are irrigation ditches and rivers crisscrossing in different areas. There are also little islands with 6-12 houses on them and some tented areas which are “government housing for the homeless, as opposed to campers” so the driver told me. The whole area was very green and picturesque even through the raindrops. It was quite a change from the rest of Madagascar I saw from my hotel room window in Tana, and made me realise again just how much I’d probably missed.