10. Market in Vohitsoaka village

Saturday 16.9. - We had a rest this day, we needed it badly not just because our health. My fingers were tore into rags, it was a final effect of very rough rock. The others had the similar problems. The first clouds appeared, not a little ones. The weather was colder and cool wind started to blow.

Now I would like to mention something about local vermin. Yesterday evening Ivanko – that is the smaller Ivan Kelly, lied on portal ledge, which was hanged on the central tree. Suddenly he screamed in panic, because a big spider was creeping around him. Calvin said that this specie is harmless. However, right beside he found such a big black one, which he killed in the moment. “This is dangerous!” During the day, a small scorpion traveled through camp. It is said that, those bigger ones are dangerous beasts, they do not kill, but it takes a while until you can stand on your feet again. Besides, lot of similar vermin alike ours is here. Everywhere are flies, zebu flies-similar to our gad-flies, vampire flies, malaria, I want to say mosquitoes and I found a tick in my body, too.

There is some hierarchy between our guides. Calvin is the leader. Jack is always silent, his job is to drive and Dula is a woman for everything. Calvin simply screams: Dula, when something needs to be done, repaired or carried out. Doul come and starts to work. He knows everything about everything.

The Saturday was full of experiences. We went with Simko and with natives to local flea market in Vohitsoaka village. This time we rather used car. By car, it took only 45 minutes in comparison with our walk that took 2 hours. We would be there sooner on bicycle that’s true. The ride in car could be called bounding. We breathed the tons of African dust.

The life in Vohitsoaka was rush. You have to see such a bazaar to understand. It was very colorful. There had to be all the natives from neighbor villages. The number of people here could be about 1000. They were selling everything. You would not believe, but some women had treadle sewing machines there and if you asked them, they sewed anything you wanted right before your eyes. We had to look very exotic, because during the walk in the village about 50 little kids followed us. We wanted to buy wood and big rolls. A little small girl gave us an offer that she will take us to a right place. Calvin talked to a native for a short time and for 5000 francs, he placed in front of us a big pile of wood. I said to Simko: “Rasťo lets take at least for 10 000, we can help them a little bit financially, if we can't other way.” Calvin was managing the whole transaction. You can see poverty here everywhere you look and we did not care if they gave us a little bit less as they should. The rolls we bought from such a small, maybe 6-year-old kid for 500 francs apiece. They looked the same as those in France and they tasted the same, too. We got everything and we can go home now.

Not to Europe, but to our camp. How fast you can forget about Slovakia. During our way back we were leaving behind us people, who were returning from the market and we were shouting akoriabe, azafady, misautra. Natives always stepped aside and answered friendly. These ordinary people are very friendly and it is exception to met somebody, who is peevish. They carry everything on their heads. One girl had in a basket ten cackling chickens. When they want to bend themselves they are still stretched out, the load is swaying from side to side, but I have not seen that something had fallen from their heads. Calvin taught me a new phrase during the ride back, ahona no fiteny izany that means “what does it mean, how do you say this?” I became a parrot that asked this phrase repeatedly at least 50 times a day. There was still something to ask about.

We came to base camp about 1 PM. We ate the spaghetti with cheese and garlic. Dula learned to cook this meal 2 years ago from Italian climbers who ate this specialty every day. Ivan Be was telling us his stories from years of study and we were having fun. I am not going to write about them I just say that we laughed on them more then 2 hours. We visited the chief of village whose name is Andriamasyho at the evening. It is small old man, more than 80. He was ill in the time we came here, so we visited him only now. We paid for hire and we gave him some medicaments according to Calvin’s advice. His residence was on the same level as dwelling houses of others. It was a clay building of area 4 x 5 meters with the straw roof.

Later that day about 19:00 witches from Camp Catta camp surprised us. Those girls were a wife of camp boss with waitress Estel, who looked like a goddess of sex. Ivan Be’s comment: “barrel from which stick tits.” They were inviting us on a punch and a dance to their house. The hormones were rebelling after a week and few liters of wine helped us to accept the invitation. Dula stayed guarding and rest of us jumped to Jacks car and we went to a party. Simko, a little bit tanked up did not saw the pavement before the entrance to camp and suddenly fell to ravine. He nearly broke his leg and party has not started yet. We sit ourselves comfortably and nothing happened for half an hour. The witches came not even to greet us. Calvin suggested going away, he went to say good-bye, but suddenly Estel ran out with 9 punches. In spite of that, most of us after a long thinking decided to go down. Only Ivan Be was in the mood and the second punch melted him absolutely. His co-climber Ivan Kelly decided to make him a dance lady. After the millions of ambiguous words, we left them there. Jack took us away, loaded Dula and they went back together. Probably they were missing a right party. I woke up at the midnight for a moment and I heard from a camp half a kilometer away music. It was still lightning there about 2 AM. Ivankos returned with the comment, that it was a hard work to run away from the crowd of girl fans. However, they did not take them sobered.