Jan 22nd, 2010 at 10:30PM:
The boiling hot shower is streaked with trails of reddish-brown dirt that's been bonded to my skin for the past several days. I take a series deep breaths in the therapeutic warmth of the water, thankful to be back at the cozy, quiet, and hospitable Radama hotel.
The day's journey was a sudden reminder of just how dangerous a two-lane road winding through the hills of rural Madagascar can ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
eastofafrica posts
East of Africa: Departure
Jan 22nd, 2010 at 10:30PM:
The boiling hot shower is streaked with trails of reddish-brown dirt that's been bonded to my skin for the past several days. I take a series deep breaths in the therapeutic warmth of the water, thankful to be back at the cozy, quiet, and hospitable Radama hotel.
The day's journey was a sudden reminder of just how dangerous a two-lane road winding through the hills of rural Madagascar can ...East of Africa: Rural Madagascar (Video)
Jan 13th, 2010 at 12:30PM:
Now that you've seen scenes from the capital city, Antananarivo - here are some final shots from the rural towns of Antsirabe, Fianarantsoa, and Ilakaka. For more, catch all of the previous articles in the East of Africa series! ...
East of Africa: Scenes from Antananarivo (Video)
Jan 8th, 2010 at 9:00AM: As the East of Africa series wraps up, I want to bring you a small collection of video that I hope will bring the previous articles and audio clips to life. First up: faces and street scenes from the capital city, Antananarivo. Enjoy! ...
East of Africa: Sounds from the Red Island
Jan 5th, 2010 at 9:00AM: Belltowers can be heard from the top of a hillside on a warm Sunday morning in Antananarivo. After returning from Tuléar, I had a few remaining days in Antananarivo to explore the city and capture some additional photo and video. I've started getting in the habit of keeping an ear out for interesting sounds and pulling out my audio recorder to capture the moment. Below are a few ...East of Africa: Toliara (Tuléar)
Jan 2nd, 2010 at 8:30AM:
Our driver has a big smile on his face. He points ahead at the landscape which has become increasingly flat in the past hour or so. I follow his finger up to see the road dramatically disappearing into a vast, clear, blue horizon.
After two days and 1,000km, we've made it to Madagascar's southwestern coast - to the small, sleepy town of Toliara. ...East of Africa: Sapphire of Ilakaka
Dec 27th, 2009 at 9:00AM:
After hours of driving through untouched landscape, a speck of civilization appears on the horizon. It's a sizable town; modest in structure, but full of activity and commotion -even at a distance.
A patchwork of low-grade wooden structures stem from a single main road. Electrical wires criss cross each other in all directions, connecting small shanty homes with restaurants and makeshift ...East of Africa: the Road to Tuléar
Dec 22nd, 2009 at 1:00PM:
I sneak a glance at the side-view mirror to try and catch a reflection of my face; I'm trying hard to look at ease, but my tight grip on the door handle suggests otherwise. It certainly isn't the worst road I've been on in Africa, but it seems that our driver is intent on moving as fast as the laws of physics will allow; navigating hundreds of hairpin turns with haste so that we can get off the ...East of Africa: An island divided
Dec 14th, 2009 at 12:30PM:
We're at a small, roadside cafe - a room that consists of a few wooden planks slung together to form a humble dining area. Our server is a loud, jovial woman in her fifties and seems particularly excited to have a vazaa in her restaurant. She enthusiastically brings out six plates of over-saturated rice and sets them down on a cheap plastic tablecloth. I reach for the aluminum fork in front of ...East of Africa: ToughStuff (w/ video)
Dec 11th, 2009 at 9:00AM:
The idea for ToughStuff came to Adriaan on a trip to his home in the Netherlands, between stints of working with charities and NGO's in Africa for fifteen years.
He was in the garden, inspecting a cheap outdoor lamp that had solar panels built in to the top of the plastic. The light would automatically recharge a set of internal batteries during the day, and have enough power to stay ...East of Africa: City of the Thousand
Dec 7th, 2009 at 9:30AM:
In Antananarivo, the French colonial influence is everywhere: spired churches sit atop the city's prominent hills. Pretty jacaranda trees line Lake Anosy, which wraps around a war memorial statue in the center of the water.
A large defunct train station sits negelected at the end of a wide boulevard. The sign below the grand clock spells the city's old French name: "Tananarive". Horse-drawn ...East of Africa: Arrival
Dec 3rd, 2009 at 9:00AM:
Adriaan and I are barreling down a small cobblestone street in a dusty 4x4. Several people narrowly miss the car's bull bars as they dash across the road, yet hardly flinch when we brush past them. I look out into the mass of people; skin tones are a mix of brown and black. Moderately well dressed people walk next to beggars with torn shirts.
The market we're passing feels as crowded and ...Madagascar: East of Africa
Nov 30th, 2009 at 10:00AM:
I have this habit of never preparing adequately for trips. The tickets get booked, the bags get packed at the last moment, and I suddenly find myself about to touch down in a foreign place.
When I found out I was going to Madagascar for work, I did some brief Wikipedia and Wikitravel skimming: fourth largest island in the world...lots of plants and animals...used to be a French ...
