Saturday 19 September 2015

Overnighting in Mananara

When passengers want to go somewhere for 2-3 days I often fly them up and stay overnight to fly them back again. This halves the cost of getting them to and from their destination.

Last week two doctors, along with their son wanted to go to Mananara for two days of appointments in Mananara's medical dispensary. Often, in the harder-to-reach areas, the dispensary only opens when the doctor comes into town! Meanwhile, I was left with a day and a half in Mananara. Mananara is a town in the North of Madagascar, situated on the east coast. Half of the (roughly) 30,000 population are farmers, producing cloves, vanilla and coffee. Fishing is another common job for the people in Mananara. So what does the pilot do until its time to take the passengers back to Tana? This particular flight worked nicely because there were people in Mananara who needed to get to Mandritsara (a 30 minute flight) and others who wanted to come back, so the first morning was spent flying back and forth. For the flight back, the three passengers had been told that they would only be able to carry the bare minimum in terms of luggage as the Cessna 182 can only carry 220kg, which includes their bodyweight. They turned up with bags weighing 116 kg! Among their essentials were 15kg of rice, 8 kg tomatoes, bedding, and many hats - 'vondalana' (gifts for the people back home). Most of it got left behind!

James the Air Traffic Assistant
The air traffic assistant at Mananara in keen to practice his English whenever I arrive and as I was sticking around town he also took the opportunity to check out the aircraft (normally we drop off and collect with a short turnaround so there is no time for socialising). He also mentioned he attends an English class in town and took me along to meet them.

Mananara English class
Of course when the sun is shining and you're stuck in a seaside town it would be a crime not to visit the beach. This time it was a lovely experience, walking along the shore and listening to the waves. A far cry from the beach at Fort Dauphin, where I was constantly harassed by people trying to sell me something, steal something or inviting me to their house to ''show me a good time''! I also thought after a year in Madagascar it was about time I built a dolphin out of sand, which the local children loved.
Mananara Nord Beach
Dolphin in the sand
For the last 6 months I have been meaning to have my hair cut so while I had time to kill and was staying next door to Coffuire Ania, I thought "why not?". This hairdressing experience, in a small hut in Mananara, was somewhat different from a hair cut in the UK. There's a water shortage at this time of year so it was a dry cut only. It seems that brushing is not necessary here, you just pull at the part of the customer's hair that you need regardless of how much pain you are causing. Then they cut your hair without worrying too much about how straight it is or isn't!! Next time I'll go to the more sophisticated salon in Tana!

Not quite the same length either side!





Tuesday 1 September 2015

Home Assignment Week 4 and a half!

Saturday morning we didn't have any appointments planned so took the opportunity to spend a bit more time enjoying Dartmoor. We set out to explore Bellever, walking through the woods and then venturing across the stepping stones to sit on the uncrowded side of the river to enjoy stone throwing and running around the grass.
Newly acquired 'Leonard the Lion' got to see some Dartmoor ponies
Beautiful view at Bellever
Later in the afternoon we went to the Vicarage in Buckland Monachorum to enjoy a BBQ and catch up with friends from our home church, St Andrew's. It was lovely to see everyone again and Bethan enjoyed having so many people to sneakily ask for more ketchup and crisps while her parents were distracted!
BBQ at the Vicarage
The next morning was an early start, as we packed up our belongings in Princetown and drove down the road to Milton Combe, ready for the 9:15 service. Milton Combe is a small, friendly church so after I (Becki) had given a presentation (without the power point, video or even a microphone!) there was time for a Q&A session. This was a lovely part of the service because it allowed us to share about aspects of our work and life that we had not included in our presentation but that were interesting to the congregation.

At the end of the service Bethan was not very impressed when we informed her we were heading straight to church for service number 2! We arrived part way through the 10:30 service, just in time to give another presentation. Due to refurbishment work going on at the church, it was also without our powerpoint and video! Thankfully Bethan's Godparents were on hand to keep her entertained during this service as both of us did the presentation. It was wonderful to be worshipping again in our home church and have the opportunity to catch up with so many people who have followed us on our MAF journey over the years. The only downside was there was not enough time! Next year we will definitely spend longer in Buckland!

St Andrew's Church (from Pinterest)
After church we spent a lovely afternoon with our friends in Tavistock, visiting the Gruffalo's House (more traditionally known as the Pimple), enjoying the sunshine and company!

The Pimple
Playing catch with friends 

On Monday morning we went back to where we used to live, where Kate had kindly organised a picnic in the park to catch up with Bethan's friends and their parents! It was really nice to spend time with friends who we used to see at baby groups and play dates!

Some of Bethan's friends. These three all met when they were bumps!
How cute are these two?! 
Afterwards we went back to Kate & Grace's house so the girls could play together and make the most of the short time we had to see them. We also went for a short walk across the estate to show Bethan our old house and small park, which she has no recollection of!

We spent Tuesday morning relaxing on the farm owned by Philip and Antonia, who we had stayed with for two nights. The farm was paradise for Bethan as she got to feed the chickens, play with the cats, feed and cuddle the lambs, play on the slide and in the sand pit... oh and go for a ride on Violet! After lunch we drove to Matt's parents, which for Bethan at least would be the final bed she slept in before heading back to Madagascar.

Even an Exmoor pony seemed big when Bethan is riding it
Having fun with Grandpa

On Wednesday we relaxed! Matt and I took a back seat as Bethan demanded her Grandma's attention. She had a lovely time making things, baking cakes and fixing Grandpa's car. Meanwhile we caught up on emails, did some internet shopping and searched the house for the things we had left behind last year but now had room to take back to Madagascar.
Bethan has spent 12 months talking about fixing this car!
Early on Thursday we got up and ready for the 4 hour drive to Folkestone. After finding out Bethan did not need to attend a medical examination the next day, we decided it would be nicer for Bethan to spend the day (and night) in the sole care of her grandparents! We spent the day having meetings with HR, filling in forms, giving a presentation to the staff at MAF UK and popping in to say a quick hello at MAF International in Ashford. We then had a lovely, relaxing evening at Matt's aunt where I got a rare early night and Matt got a rare chance to watch his football team on TV!

Next morning we took the train into the big city for our blood tests and psychological assessments. Our journey back to Dorset should have been a quick 2 hour drive, but an accident on the M25, Friday traffic and a sunbather closing the M27 meant it was nearly double that. Yes you read that correctly, a sunbather on the motorway!

On Saturday we had a lazy start to the morning as Bethan was shattered from 2 days of wearing out her grandparents. Then we drove a couple of miles down the road to see some family friends that have known me since I was a baby! In the afternoon we then went to Matt's other Aunt's for her 60th birthday celebrations and a chance to see the whole of that side of the family (including relatives over from America).
Enjoying having second cousins to entertain her
Unfortunately the rain started just as we tried to take a family photo so the gazebo was needed!
Another Sunday, another church presentation! This time we left Bethan behind with her grandparents, so she didn't have to sit quietly in the pews again. Martock Christian Fellowship asked us to give a presentation before we left for Madagascar last year and have been in contact the whole time we have been away so it was really nice to meet the people we have been emailing for the last 12 months! It was also our longest service, with a children's talk, MAF presentation and personal testimony at various points in the service. We really enjoyed our time at Martock church and we were then invited by the mission team for a BBQ lunch.

Our last few days in England were spent preparing to return to Madagascar, with dentist appointments for all the family and an aviation medical for me. A bit of last minute shopping, a quick stop at Tesco to stock up on Cadbury's and a lot of packing. Thankfully we were quite organised, so with everything being ready on Tuesday evening, we took advantage of a break in the rain for a half hour walk/play at Moors Valley Park. Bethan met the Gruffalo and saw a steam train before a somewhat scary taxi ride to Heathrow.

Visiting the dentist