Bekopaka, Madagascar | 20 May, 2007 | $63.47 (hotel, guides, transport, & food on river trip) Our first day back on the road was a long one, bringing us to the ferry crossing at Bekopaka at dusk. Cars were loaded onto the barge in the water and we jumped onboard, dandling our feet over the…
Antsiraraka, Madagascar | 18 May, 2007 | $63.47 (hotel, guides, transport, & food on river trip) Once again, I woke up to little kids giggling outside my tent. Sunsets and sunrises were some of the most impressive I’ve ever seen here. After some more time in the canoe, our third day, we climbed atop the…
Tsiribihina River, Madagascar | 17 May, 2007 | $63.47 (hotel, guides, transport, & food on river trip) Our second full day on the river meant more wildlife spotting (including lemurs!) and lunch and swimming at a waterfall. I was traveling in the shoulder season so none of these spots were crowded and we didn’t see…
Tsiribihina River, Madagascar | 16 May, 2007 | $63.47 (hotel, guides, transport, & food on river trip) Two nights of our trip were spent camping on the banks of the Tsiribihina River. We cut it close and set up our tents at dusk both night, eating fish from the river by candlelight. Each morning we…
Miandrivazo, Madagascar | 15 May, 2007 | $63.47 (hotel, guides, transport, & food on river trip) Traveling alone ensures a bit of uncertainty when trying to book trips that you can’t afford to do alone. My hostel had a few French tourists looking to round out their group trip on the Ttsiribihina River. I was…
Aantananarivo, Madagascar | 14 May, 2007 | $8.16 Tana is a lovely town but I never intended to spend five days there. After my debit card was swiped in Jordan and flagged while I was in Ethiopia my bank finally cancelled it and sent me a new one… to my mom’s house in the U.S.…
Aantananarivo, Madagascar | 11 May, 2007 | $14.15 After my crazy overnight ride from Moyale to Nairobi, Kenya I was totally exhausted. I did not take a photo of the cage I slept in overnight for fear that the other, somewhat hostile, passengers would realize why I wouldn’t put my daypack (holding my laptop, hard…
Me-go Mix: Track 9 “Analakely” — Lola To download using Windows “right click” and save to disk. Mac users, you know what to do. The sprawling market at the end of Analakely Street in downtown Antananarivo Sometimes when you’re traveling in a country you hear a handful of popular songs over and over. Lola’s songs…
The email just came… my photo of a lemur in Isialo National Park in Madagascar will definitely be in Issue #4 of Everywhere Magazine! I haven’t seen a publication date for the issue yet (I’m guessing August/September) but you can catch a sneak peek or click through the whole issue here. My photo is toward…
After returning home last fall I spotted a new travel magazine at my local bookstore, Everywhere Magazine. It’s an interesting idea, using a website to gather content rather than relying on professional travel writers. It also gives regular travelers a chance to be published. I’ve been waiting for the perfect “theme” to come up and…
Me-go Mix: Track 6 “Manahirana” — Lola To download using Windows “right click” and save to disk. Mac users, you know what to do. The owner of the music store forced the employee to pose for this picture against his will. After I was finished everyone looked at the photo and made fun of him,…
I want to thank all of you who voted to send me to Martinique in February. Although the results have been delayed for some reason, I am fairly certain that I did not win. I had a solid, steady pace throughout the month only to be suddenly surpassed in the last two days by a…
After waking up at 3:30 this morning to make my flight from Tana I’ve arrived in Nairobi. Unfortunately, the visa I was given is only for two days. I asked for a 7-day transit visa so this may be some sort of ploy to get more money. Tomorrow I’ll have to go down to the…
I’ve arrived back in Tana and am feeling pretty good to be leaving. I liked Madagascar enough, it is very beautiful but not quite as “exotic” as I thought it would be. I’d be lying if I said all the French (language and tourists) didn’t sour my experience a bit. I do realize it’s totally…
Somehow I found a Tex-Mex place here in Tana. Last night I had something resembling a burrito. It was a little off but I appreciate the fact that they’re trying. In the end more disturbing than the watery guacamole was hearing myself say “l’addition, s’il vous plait” after eating Mexican. For lunch I refused to…
I’ve been in Antananarivo (hereby called “Tana”), Madagascar for a few days now. Coming in from the airport I was struck with the overwhelming character the town has compared to Addis Ababa or Nairobi. I can’t remember the last time I saw peaked roofs! The road into town reminded me of a mix between Africa,…
Well, folks it’s time. Tomorrow morning I fly to Madagascar. After some frantic emailing with Air Madagascar’s office in Nairobi I finally got a confirmed reservation when I checked my email in Moyale before crossing the border to Kenya. I spent the night on the Kenyan side and was ready to get to Nairobi the…