City Tour on Cycle-Pousse

Tamatave City Tour on Cycle-Pousse

April 30, 2011

Rick in a cycle pousse to start the City of Tamatave (where we live) tour

We met at Alliance Francois,-this is where some attend to learn the French language.

They gave us a tour of the building.  

This is the old school room.  It's still has the desks as they were years ago.  There was no air conditioning, so the tour guide said it got so hot in there it was hard for the children to learn.

Currently there is the English alphabet hanging on the wall.  Malagasy children are encouraged to learn English, even though the official language is French.

The blackboard at front where the teacher sits.  The desks aren't very comfortable.  The children start school at 7:30 in the morning.  They break for lunch at 11:30 am and return at 2:30 pm until 5:00 pm.  They take a 3 hour lunch, as most of the children have a long way to walk home,  and once the eat their lunch, they take a nap, so they need a 3 hour lunch break.

Then we were off to tour the historical sites.  There were 7 cycle-pousses on this tour, and this is a view from my cycle pousse going down the road.  This is a typical road, and it makes it very tricky for the cycle pousse drivers.  They have to not only watch out for pedestrians, vehicles, and animals,but the holes in the road as well.  There are big grates in the street for the sewer, and sometimes the tires get stuck in the grate.  (not fun trying to get the wheels out!)

Some local children on the way.  They love having their picture taken.  The little boy in the green shorts was scared of us vazas (white/foreigners).  They are scared of us, as we look different with our light skin colour.  Once we take their picture, we show it to them, and they laugh and smile.

This was a Nunnery.  This mother was weaving for baskets, mats and all sorts of items to sell.  Her little boy wasn't sure of us.  They take their items to the market to sell, which helps them run the Nunnery.

This is a shrine just outside the building.  It gives the information when it was built and a little history about it.

These ladies were sitting on the side of the street.  The lady in the middle is making a pesto.  The lady with the round basket is separating rice.  Everything is done by hand in Madagascar, no automation.  This keeps employment.

The tree is around 200 years old.   The boys are swinging from the roots which hang from the top.  Once the roots grow down to the ground, they re-root themselves with another tree.  This park which was started by the Chinese immigrants is over 200 years old, and is considered sacred.

Lights have been hung so at night people can play  botchy ball

These beautiful trees are huge, and it's very pretty to walk through the park.

Across the road is an abandon building.  It was a bank back in the day.  It would be lovely to restore as the intricate railings and details are gorgeous, but apparently the structure isn't fixable, and is very costly.

At the cross road of the park, in the middle of the road is a hole that is approximately 2' x 2' and 6' deep. You need to be very careful when walking or driving at night.  Deb and I in front of us, (me- white shirt and Deb-pink shirt)

Back on the cycle pousse to tour more...

Kevin by the shrine outside the church

Inside one of the local churches.  This is a Catholic Church.  

 About 45% of the Malagasy are Christian,  divided almost evenly between Catholics and Protestants.  

8-12% of the population are Muslin.  The rest of the country's population practices Traditional religions/beliefs.

Another historical park.  Funds aren't allocated for parks, so most of them aren't kept up, but they still are recognized, and respected.

Part of the tour we went on foot.  Good thing we look down one in  a while, another hole in the sidewalk...

Visited one  of the homes that was owned by a Governor.  It's currently being restored, and overlooks the port.  Beautiful view.

The tour was around 3 hours long, and covered a lot of ground.  The day ended with ice-cream and a lovely lunch with Kevin and Deb.