From road to river…

THE TSIRIBIHINA

We leave our bikes and climb aboard a 50’ double decker boat on the Tsiribihina River. We will spend 2 days and 2 nights on this open air river boat. We are delighted!

We exchange books and spend the afternoons reading, napping and sharing stories. We have plenty of good food: Sabina, the owner’s wife makes us a lentil coriander soup for dinner with banana flambé for dessert. After dinner the boat owner pulls out his guitar and the women join in singing. It is one of those magical moments when time stops.

They serve a local rum with slivered ginger which is delicious. The party moves off the boat and onto the beach where we have pulled over for the night. The crew makes a fire and continues with music and singing. I sneak off to get my sleeping bag and fall asleep next to the fire listing to the beautiful voices.

RIVER DAWN

The boat staff sets up a very clever portable bathroom: a box with a toilet seat over a hole dug into the sand. It has a three sided enclosure. Sitting on the toilet in the morning I get to watch the sunrise unfold. We pack up our gear and move downriver to a waterfall.

Rice is being planted next to the river. At times we see small villages where women are washing clothes. Children gather and we all wave. Sometimes the children dance antics to give us good laugh. There are skillfully made slim canoes constructed from a single tree. In one area, we see crocodiles that completely disappear as they slip into the water.

BEAUTIFUL WOMEN

We disembark in the afternoon and arrive in the town of Belo. Our assignment for the afternoon is to visit the market and find an unusual local food item to share with the group. I find apple banana, noni and a paste made from cassava leaves.

I also find a stall with the clay that women put on their faces. I go back to the hotel and find Dezi - he helps me by negotiating with the clay vendor who agrees to mix the clay and the tree bark into a paste for us and deliver it to the hotel later. We are going to be “Mansabay!” very beautiful, like the local women. It is so cool how it is acceptable to wear this clay covering in public. In addition to being a toner for the skin, I think it also provides sun protection. Feeling beautiful!