ellieltb
ellie la trobe-bateman Joined: December 4th 2007
Logged in: January 1st 2008
Logged in: January 1st 2008
Travel Blog Posts
Thursday 27th December Tana Airport 13:06 (UK), 16:06 (Madagascar) In approximately 54 minutes I will be heading down the runway and leaving this Fair Isle. A month has passed very quickly and I feel I have done a lot, seen a lot, learnt a lot, and changed a bit. You know, I think I have managed to slow down. Just a little bit, but I am fine with dead time now. There has to be some time in which nothing particular happens and in which you have time to be with your thoughts and yourself. I have never previously been content with this time. In Madagascar things move at such an unimaginably slow time that you have to quickly adapt to having this extra time in which you are waiting for something that allows the next ... read more
Sunday 23rd December La Refuge, Tulear 15:32 (UK), 18:32 (Madagascar) Taxi brousse versus 4x4?! Taxi brousse!! Some people may not relish the idea of a 16 - 24 hour ride in an oversized school bus, and to be honest I wasn’t particularly liking the thought, but after going through 4 x 4 ride to Andavadoaka from Tulear (7.5hrs) and then back (via a pirogue ride to Morombe (6 hours) and a 12 hour wait in Morombe) by taxi brousse (16 hours) I conclude that taxi brousses are the best. These long journeys are what travelling should be about. Yes, it took over 3 hours in travel time - but I got to see Madagascar in two alternative travel forms and visited another town on route. I am battered and bruised today from the ride, but the ... read more
Sunday 23rd December La Refuge, Tulear 14:34 (UK), 17:34 (Madagascar) I am going to write two entries today - one on my reflections of site and one on the most exciting 36 hour journey to Tulear from Andavadoaka. I am back in that town again - the town that some how sucks you and prevents you from leaving - but this time I have a flight to catch to Morondava, midway down the West coast - so this time only 38 hours here - Yay! My time on site has gone so quickly. It has been great to finally get to see the workings of BV and meet the staff, volunteers and local community that make BV what it is. There are so many aspects to think on and things I have learnt: Volunteers - they ... read more
Thursday 13th December 2007 Coco Beach, Andavadoaka 18:52 (UK), 21:52 (Madagascar) Firstly, I'd like to say hi to Fiona's dad if he is reading this. Thanks for listening in! Now for the update: After feeling like death for 2 days and having half a day completely in bed, with toilet dashes, I am better and feeling fantastic for it. Everything is great now. Once your world has been rendered insignificant due to some raging bacterial battle going on somewhere between your oesophagus and lower ileum, when it final appears again it looks amazing. I thought a walk would kill me off yesterday, but after 2 hour walk from camp to the only spot in a 40km radius with signal for mobile if started to feel remarkable better, and today have been very nearly normal. It is ... read more
Wednesday 12th December 2007 Andavadoaka 06:47 (UK) / 09:47 (Madagascar) Blue Ventures Research site Finally I have arrived and I feel awful. I think I must have picked up something up in Tulear and for the first time in all the travels I have done I have a traveller’s belly; nausea, fever with hot and cold, exhaustion and becoming friendly with the toilet that type of thing. So last night I gave in and succumbed to the antibiotics - then commenced an all night battle in my stomach, which was fun. I can’t wait to feel better and to enjoy eating again. I think I will need at least a day of rest, which is really difficult for me to do. So anyways, Garth and I arrived in Andavadoaka by 4x4 late Monday night, after 8 ... read more
Tuesday 18th December Coco Beach, Andavadoaka 18:26 (UK), 18:26 (Madagascar) Tonight was a really fantastic night at the BV camp. It is the penultimate night for the volunteers here in Andavadoaka and to see them all off the women’s association of Andavadoaka came to give us a farewell. There were at least 20 women there. It has been the first time that I have seen so many women of the village together. Normally it is the men that BV interacts with - fishermen etc. They sang and danced for us, spoke to us and then gave us a cake (with icing on - causing much excitement!) This expedition has been the first to invite the women’s association to sell products to our volunteers on a Sunday. In the farewell speech they thanked BV for the support ... read more
Monday 17th December Coco Beach, Andavadoaka 16:09 (UK), 19:09 (Madagascar) I really should change the clock on my computer but I quite like being reminded that I am 3 hours in front of all you UK people. So when I get up at 6am I know you are all safely wrapped up in bed, probably in 2 duvets now it us getter close to mid winter - the winter solstice nears - and I go off for an early morning snorkel in water no colder then 25ºC. Not that I am being too smug. And now I am winding down before party night whilst you are all in the twilight hour of 4 - 5pm. Thinking about it now I watch sunset at about the same time you do. Fantastic. It has been a week since ... read more
Numero huit Saturday 8th December 2007 Tulear - Chez Lala - still! 13:53 (UK) / 16:53 (Madagascar) A week has passed and I am still in Chez Lala. It has gone quite quickly really and I have had done a lot whilst here; meetings with ADES, with the IHSM, with BVCO past site coordinator, writing a new project proposal for the Morondava project, collecting money, spending money, trying to get some form of exercise, walking a lot, dodging lecherous men, arranging for transport, eating lychees, thinking about lychees and life (interchangeable really). On a side lecherous men note, I have decided that Saturdays are the worst as they al get drunk. Today 3 drunk men accosted men in the street, at separate occasions, one in the middle of the market, much to the amusement of the ... read more
Numero sept Thursday 6h December 2007 Tulear - Chez Lala - still! 17:00 (UK) / 20:00 (Madagascar) I thought today I would write about my reflections on Tulear. I have spent nearly a week here now and a lot of things have changed from 4 years ago. A lot of things still remain the same: 1. Walking in the street - I had completely forgotten about this but here it is so difficult to just walk down the street. It was the same before. As you walk along ‘Pus pus’ drivers come out of nowhere, people on bike hurtle towards you, men walk into you, small children come and grab your hand and ask for “Cadau! Cadau!”, chickens seem to come out of nowhere and cars seem to be indifferent to you. You really have to ... read more
Numero 6 Wednesday 5th December 2007 Tulear - Chez Lala 17:43 (UK) / 20:43 (Madagascar) Today has been a computer intense day; 8am until now (with Lychee breaks). Working in this heat my brain is feeling too exhausted to write much, my eyes feel slightly crossed - I hope they’re not. But anyways I thought I’d write about lychees today; I like them a lot and I’ve been thinking about them a bit- not the most commonly thought about fruit I bet, so I thought I’d give them a thought or two. I like lychees - now possibly more than grapes, apples and carrots! Anyone whom knows me knows this is really saying something. (The carrots are good here though) My favourite foods for a long time now have been trumped by this pink egg shelled ... read more
