Floating by Crocodiles & Boas on a Slow Milky Brown River - Madagascar

 Travel is not reward for working, it’s education for living.

Anthony Bourdain

Our first night camping by the Tsiribihina River
After a day of floating down its slow moving waters
The cover on the top was taken down - high winds being forecasted
As you come aboard, above your head reads TONGA SOA meaning WELCOME

The Tsiribihina, like many other rivers, is part of the lifeblood of this island.  With roads so diminished by storms and lack of decent infrastructure, it is nearly the only way to travel in certain parts of the island.  I spend 2.5 days going down about 75 miles (120km) of very slow moving river as it was very low before the beginning of the rainy season.  We spent the nights camped along the river's edges.

Sharing the road with zebu pulled carts

Two little girls playing Jacks with pebbles

Zebus drinking in the Tsiribihina River
These carts either have wood, metal or rubber tire wheels

Other barges waiting for passengers

The crew
Captain (L), cook, mechanic, pilot, all around helper

This kid was given a bag of pens as we were leaving
He is swimming back to land, hand held up high, to keep his loot dry

Carrying heavy bags of local products on the Tsiribihina River
Probably rice, their main food staple
See how close to the waterline the top of this dugout canoe is

Woman fishing for shrimp or tilapia
Tsiribihina River

Same woman watching us go by

Kids left on their own while parents fish or work the land
These kids are usually in charge of keeping an eye on the cattle (zebus, sheep, etc.)

Boys being boys even in crocodile infested water
Showing off their swimming and jumping in the water skills

Blue rope through the nostrils to lead this zebu
Next to cornfield along the river

Some reeds waiting to be picked up 
Used for home or fence building

Sometimes the current pushed the barge too close to the shore
Needing a push away from the edge once in a while

Running to another barge to pickup charcoal for cooking

Coming back with a large bag of charcoal
Charcoal making is depleting Madagascar forests at an alarming rate

The river is very low at this time of the year (pre monsoon season)
Our captain and crew had to push the boat free from being high centered on a sandbar
It took about 2.5 hours but through it all they kept smiling

The kitchen where all the magic happened
We had delicious, albeit simple, local food

Bringing their zebus to drink in the Tsiribihina River

More often than not, kids would dance, call out, or wave at us enthusiastically
While we meandered down 75 miles (120km) of the river

Above a steep eroded riverbank - kids waving at us

Crew always taking off their shoes at the bow
Some stashing cigarettes in them

They use T shape metal posts to tie the boat down when we stop
One at the bow, one at the stern

Our pilot often used his feet to guide the barge
The motor is from an old threshing machine

Rudder and propeller out of the water when not traveling
The long black belt is also detached and hung up

Our boat's name Tselatra means Lightning (for how fast it claims to go...)
The plank to get on/off the boat

A small Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)
The name Tsiribihina River means: 'Where one does not dive'
Due to the number of crocodiles infesting the river

Common Brown Lemurs (Eulemur Fulvus)
Unlike most other lemurs, males and females cohabitate
Their diet consists of fruits, flowers and leaves

Common Brown Lemur mom with baby
Gestation is about 125 days, baby weaned at about 7 months
Most babies are born between September and November

Common Brown Lemur watching some of us
Their home range is between 1.75 to 2.5 acres 
They live in groups that have no noticeable hierarchy

Anosinampela Waterfall, a short stop along the Tsiribihina River
Nice clear water

Below the waterfall, a nice pool to swim in
Anosinampela means Island of Women

Before we left our first riverside campsite
We could see young kids, wrapped in blankets on a cold morning, playing in the sand

Village of Begidro where they used to grow tobacco for France
I read that it has between 6,000 and 10,000 inhabitants
Hard to know the true population

Zebu pulled cart waiting in the main courtyard near the market

Making mofo gasy (rice cakes) outside not far from the market
Sometimes only sweetened rice flour, sometimes with coconut added
Delicious breakfast staple

Huge pile of tobacco that has been sitting here since 2020
The European market has completely tanked

Close up of tobacco slowly turning to dust from long exposure to the elements

Example of muddy street in Begidro
Zebu pulled carts are everywhere

We stopped at a small village for some groceries
Our captain with a live chicken for that night's dinner

Ground boa (Acrantophis madagascariensis) seen at eye level while we float downriver
A bit hard to distinguish from the background but about 6-7 feet long
Endemic to Madagascar

Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)
The name Tsiribihina River means: 'Where one does not dive'
Due to the number of crocodiles infesting the river

Even kids are extremely well versed in using dugout canoes

Some type of six-legged red bug in dry leaves
I spent hours trying to identify it without luck

Crossing the river with zebus
Photo taken after the zebus panicked for a while and kept going in a circle
Rather than moving forward

First time seeing Madagascar baobabs

The way they travel vs ours
Four of us had a crew of five, one guide, one apprentice, and one guest aboard
Eight of us vs over 75 and counting

Small tobacco farm - with some corn drying in the background
They dig a hole for each plant 
The soil here is very poor and water needs to be use sparingly

The river is so shallow, they have to use very long shafts 

They can easily and quickly pick up the propeller out of the water
When it gets really shallow

Beautiful sunset - our second night of camping along the Tsiribihina River
Our four tents neatly lined up

A close up of the flower the captain brought me
It is a type of hibiscus but I couldn't identify it
There are too many look-alike

Getting wood for tonight's campfire

Waiting for the local barge to pick them up

Floating by a small ferry

The people of Madagascar are considered some of the friendliest in the world
You see them say hello to everyone, everywhere

Buvette (Bar)
C'est Bon Gargotte (It's Good Cheap Eatery)

National Road #8 - yes - one of the main roads on the west side of this country

One of the two vehicles used on this trip
Still on National Road #8

Malagasy Kingfisher (Corythornis vintsioides)
Very quick

Small portion of a typical local village

Traditional Malagasy one room house
Made mainly of reeds or daub with roofs of rice straw or palm leaves

Small Malagasy village

Ready to drive over the two movable metal ramps connecting us to the ferry

What is left after the ferry leaves the shore
The two small black dots in the sand on the left are solar radios

Waiting for the next vehicles
These ferries typically carry three vehicles

The striking Madagascar Bee Eater (Merops Superciliosus)
As its name implies - feeds on bees and other insects
Agile and acrobatic - beautiful to watch along the river
While in midair, they quickly remove the stinger of the bees before eating them!