Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Getting Around in Antananarivo



To get around in Tana people use Taxis which typically are (really) ancient tan-colored Citroens 2CV or Renault "quatrelles". I have learned a thing or two about cars riding along in these venerable vehicles. For instance, there is a simple procedure to follow when you run out of gas trying to get up a hill: you take out the emergency plastic bottle filled with gasoline (the one you always keep safely tucked between the two front seats), pour some of it into the tank, open the hood, take a sip out of the bottle (yes, the one with the gasoline), detach some tubing from your engine, spit the gas into it and see the engine come alive again. It works every time, and its clinically proven to fight germs causing bad breath and the gum disease gingivitis.
Maybe I need to explain why running out of gas is such a frequent occurence. Gas is very expensive in Madagascar ($4/gallon). To put matters into perspective $4 is a full meal at a very fancy restaurant, or 40 loaves of bread. Imagine an $80/gallon world to give you a sense of what it would be like (if you have trouble using your imagination, just move to California and wait for a couple more years). This means that cabs only carry the absolute minimum amount of fuel (or less) and use a peculiar driving style, shutting off the engine any time the car has sufficient momentum or when gravity supports forward progress. For our geeky readers: image some type of pulse-width-modulated engine control scheme. This allowed us to see many innovative ignition switch variations, from the traditional (but sooo conventional) key to self-wired push button devices, to bare bone hotwiring. The latter is kind of tricky given the extensive sparking, especially if you just rinsed your mouth with 87 octane stuff.
PS: No meters in these things (are you kidding?). Note to future travellers, at the time of my writing rides within Tana are 3000ARY and 6000ARY to the outskirts. As a white boy, you will be quoted twice that amount, but we now consistently haggle it down to these numbers.

Monday, May 29, 2006

An Island off the island - Nosy Sakatia


I wanted to explore more of the region, so I hitched a ride on some guy's speedboat to a small island visible from our hotel. I decided to bushwhack my way up the hill, and by a stroke of luck found a trail after a little while. The trail connected microscopic little villages (2-5 huts each) lost in the middle of a really dense jungle. On the way up the hill, the landscape would constantly switch from a lush forest to lunar desolation (laterite erosion, I think). Check out the pix of the malagasy emblem (fan palm), and some weird jackfruit-type trees.

Out of Tana - Nosy Be


We left Tana to spend the weekend in Nosy Be, one of the hundreds of little tropical paradises you will find all over Madagascar. Nosy Be is an island off the northwestern coast, a short 1-hour flight away from bustling Antananarivo. We stayed at "Auberge Orangea" basically a few bungalows right on the beach. This is a very typical accomodation for tourists in the area, as pretty much the entire shore is owned by one of these small independent family operations, the owners of which are mostly foreign. Amenities are really basic, but prices are almost european (5Euro breakfast, the equivalent of a 3-course meal in Tana). We were just happy to get out of the Tana-scent (a delicate mix of gasoline and diesel fumes with powerful sewage accents) for a couple of days.
After swimming in the Mozambique channel, Alvin and I went for an exploratory walk in the area. Alvin wanted to blend in with the locals, so he decided to go barefoot neglecting the fact that he did not benefit from the thousands of years of genetic selection and grueling practice that keeps a smile on the face of local schoolgirls when they walk around barefoot on viciously sharp gravel roads heated by the scorching sun to the point you can fry an egg on them. Anyway, this was an opportunity to try ourselves at some local handicraft: download craft tutorial here (this one is worth it). I had a good laugh (notice I was the one wearing Tevas) and we also made some furry friends along the way. Good times...

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Madagascar Part 2 - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love CIPRO


After a couple of rough days I am back on my feet exploring Tana. We went to see the market (check out Alvin's coverage of a local riot) and marveled at the tasty delights only a local farmers market can bring, such as fly infested chicken intestins and mold-cured fish remains. This outing made us hungry, so we went to an indonesian restaurant for dinner.
I also saw my first lemur. I must say these things are really cute. They don't look like monkeys at all, more like a genetic screw up between a squirrel, a panda bear and a chimp. They are very loud and a lot of fun to watch.
We are flying to Nosy-Be this weekend to scientifically investigate whether the Malagasy beaches are truly up to their reputation. Hard work, but I feel we will be up to the task. Breaking news: I was able to upload a few pix so check it out.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Madagascar Part 1















After missing our connection in Paris-CDG we landed in Antananarivo (Tana if you are hip) on Monday at 4h50AM. This is one crazy place... On the day of our arrival we had an appointment with the minister of education and research. Because our luggage had been lost, we showed up in flip-flops and sweat pants at the ministry: "yo, we are from California and we are here to talk about biodiversity, dude-excellence" First impressions really do count! None of this crazy "computerized-tracking" of your bags around here. Instead, your request is entered in a nice large binder and you then conveniently show up for every flight landing in Tana and look for your luggage in the caroussel. It took us a mere 3 rides to the airport to find our bags (well, Shveta only got the contents of her bag as it had been compacted for easier transport, but I digress). After a new entry in the large binder, we were really looking forward to change clothes for the first time in 4 days.
On a less enjoyable note: after going out for dinner on our first day, I have spent the last 18 hours in my bed trying to hold some liquid in my body. Advice to future travelers: order your Zebu-filet "well done"...
I am hoping to get out of bed today, so look out for some cool critter pictures.
cedric
PS: my internet access is steam powered, so it may take a couple of days until I figure out how to upload more pix.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Grandma in California



Just after finals, we had my grandma over for a week. So I mostly wore my San Francisco tourguide hat for the last few days. Since she had planned to meet up with friends in Sacramento, it was a great excuse for a first high performance airplane experience to pick her up (I flew a 182TC, it's not a Malibu but it's still pretty sweet). The next blog will likely be from Madagascar, so stay tuned for those cool lemur pix.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

First solo

After 146 takeoffs (and landings... I heard it's good form to keep the number of landings equal to the number of takeoffs) it suddenly felt rather lonely in the cockpit. This is a short video of takeoff number 147. Exhilarating...

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

The Long Tail

We are now officially part of the long tail! From now on you can enjoy highly-targeted, ultra-relevant links on this page, courtesy of a premier internet company headquartered in mountain view, CA. Amazing what you can do these days from the comfort of your own home...

Monday, May 01, 2006

More Belgians in San Francisco


We had the great chance to welcome Laetitia, Audrey & Laurent in San Francisco just after our trip to Japan. It was great to have them here and we tried to impress them as much as possible with some of the great things California has to offer. Unfortunately, they only got to see a rainy California. Even worse, the sun came back just after Laetitia stepped into her plane back to Belgium. Maybe she was the one to blame ;-)
At least she can say she was there for the rain record in Northern California since 1904. So many things to do in California: they went to visit Alcatraz; discovered the steep streets of San Francisco; went biking on the Golden Gate; got a bay area tour in a small plane with Cedric the pilot, we showed them that one can eat well in California with multiple restaurants and a cheese & wine party at our place; we met Julie, Laetitia's friend who is doing her PostDoc in Berkeley; we initiated them to oysters bbq (everybody likes that, even those who dislike raw oysters); went camping in Point Reyes Park; went to Muir Woods with its giant sequoias; enjoyed Napa Valley under the rain; and finished the californian adventure for Laetitia with Mishapalooza and the mechanical bull. Laetitia is a real cowgirl now. Now it’s your turn to come see us ! For some pix, check: www.maureencedric.com/photos/LaetitiaAudreyLaurentSanFrancisco
Maureen