Madagascar 2017: 3 - Tsiribiniha River

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

This morning we woke up at 4:30 AM to no water, so washed with bottled water - then the electricity went off. The room was extremely hot, but outside the cool of the morning air was wonderful. Breakfast consisted of not very fresh buns with a bit of margarine and jam, plus strong tea. We didn't eat much.

The 4 X 4 Anthony arranged didn't show up, so he negotiated for a crew cab diesel truck of indeterminate age. It had no window, door handles, window winders, padding inside the doors and the dashboard had deteriorated to the point where the indent served as a good place to store bottled water and a variety of other items.

I backed across the rear seat before Marilynn squeezed in. I put my leg over hers and rested it against the hole where the window was. Our supplies, suitcases, cook and paddlers were all in the back. Once settle we rattled and clanked along, first on pavement then on single lane dirt track. Shortly before arriving at the river we made a stop in a good sized village to purchase water and other supplies. There were a number of vans from other companies whose guests were buying from the small shops. I had no hat, and couldn't find one. My plan was to have purchased one along with sun block but due to sick time lost we didn't make.

The main form of transport is the ox cart. They have the right of way on the dirt tracks we were moving along towards the river. We passed one flat cart with two oxen being driven by a child of about 4 years old standing on the cart.

Moored at the embarkation point were a number of launches with sun lounges, tables and chairs set up for their arriving passengers. Soon our transport for the next few days came paddling to the bank. We will be travelling in two dug out canoes, each with a paddler. Our cook and Anthony shared one, along with our supplies. Marilynn and I had the other. The canoes are made from mango trees, hollowed out and seasoned by various immersions in the water, a process that takes about a year.

The canoes are a little wider than the width of my hips, but had been arranged with foam pads bending from the bottom of the canoe up against our suitcases, making a more comfortable seat. Our legs could stretch out in front, or bend over a cross support in front of us. It was perfect for my long legs.

There was a fair bit of traffic on the river – mostly canoes with seemly tireless paddlers. The odd powered boat would pass, making a terrible racket. The standard motor system is a huge old diesel with with a big flywheel connected with a wide belt drive to a propeller device hung over the stern. After they passed we were quite glad for our propulsion system, where the only sound is that of a paddle.

As we went along it turned out our paddlers were also cooks. They each had a hibachi with charcoal and cooking pots in which they prepared a meal of rice, vegetables and meat. Our live chickens, which each canoe carries, lived to see see another day. I chose not to eat, having not done anything to work up an appetite and not being keen on eating laying down, but Marilynn said it was delicious.

An unfortunate experience occurred when Marilynn requested a pee stop, but was told it would be another 4 hours. Anthony's only suggestion was that she not eat. When we eventually did stop it was at a place that sold food to river travellers, and not only had people around, but was dead flat with not even a shrub in site for miles. She was in agony, so we walked a log way from the others and she hid behind me as best she could. It was later explained that we didn't stop on that stretch of river due to reports of armed bandits, and they didn't tell us in case we panicked! Later there were apologies all around.

I opened a bottle of hot red wine and spent the rest of the afternoon drinking it, passing it to a couple of other canoe travellers for a quick swig. Our stopping point for the night was a flat stretch of sand near a waterfall, but we didn't go to due to the hoards of people dropped off by the big motor launches – they stayed only a short time.. There was only one other couple staying the night. Marilynn and I each had our own tent.

Dinner was good, after which I retired to my tent, where I had one of the worst nights ever. The mattress was the boat cushion we sat on all day, the tent was stifling hot but couldn't be opened due to malarial mosquitoes, so I lay on the mattress in bathing suit and T-shirt. The person in the next tent was a world class snorer, not letting up all night. The final sleep preventative was swarms of tiny ants - they didn't bite, just tickled.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

This morning started very well. Marilynn and I were up at dawn, having not slept all night, so decided to walk to the falls. Fat Daniel was also up, so I asked him if the trail was OK for bare fee, and he said yes, so away we went. When we reached the creek from the falls and crossed a wooden bridge the trail was jumbled sharp rocks that definitely required shoes.

Making the best of things, near the bridge was a small pool deep enough to lay in, and although the bottom was slimy, it was possible to lay in the cool, clear water and revel in the twin feelings of clean and cool without disturbing the bottom. Marilynn noticed the trees were full of lemurs, leaping from tree to tree - amazing to watch. There had been nothing in the way of wildlife so far, and here is what we had come to see right above us.

After breakfast and packing up camp we climbed into the canoes for an expected 10 hours of paddling. We started the canoe part of the trip on flat plains, then wound through high hills, and were now back in flat-lands. The river is shallow in most parts, but so wide it looks like a lake. Our paddlers were continually having to jump off their perch at the back of the canoe to push it over sandbars, or to resort to using long poles to move us forward; They certainly earned more than their pay, yet they were always cheerful and anxious to please.

I have been living and sleeping in a bathing suit and T shirt, so when we stopped for lunch it was easy to slip into the river and lay immersed for as long as possible. Lunch was noodles and a bit of sardine. All meals need to be cooked, as cold food would spoil. There is no electricity in this area, including in villages, so no ice.

Although the very hot clear weather continued, this afternoon a strong headwind got up, with fierce gusts. Umbrellas, which we use for shade, had to be put away and our poor paddlers had a real struggle making headway into the whitecaps on the river. As we entered another range of hills in the late afternoon a halt was called as the paddlers were worn out. Dinner was prepared while we waited to see what the weather would do – making it to our last destination was in question. As usual children came from all around to look at us – it seems we are still a novelty. This group was different from most, as the children were very strongly under the control of an unsmiling woman who stood guard over them from a position on the bank. She didn't move until we left.

After dark when the wind dropped we headed onward. It was magical. The not quite half moon turned the river from a muddy expanse into a mass of sparking diamonds, and an electrical storm on the horizon provided continual fireworks. The night sounds of the jungle birds added the final touch to this fantasy scenario.

After another hour and a half we reached a sandy area with an easy landing, where the crew immediately went to work setting up camp. The tour ended for the chickens, who became the main course along with chips for dinner. Everyone was dead tired, so soon all were in their tents. My ants had not made the trip, so even I managed a few hours sleep, although this is being written laying on my back on my hard bit of rubber listening to the snores of others. I'll not pretend I'm not looking forward to luxuries such as sheets, pillows, a mattress, a cold drink, something to sit on while eating, a toilet and so on.

Tomorrow we will change the canoe for a 4 X 4.