Almost everybody travel to Madagascar on an agency-organized trip for 2 or max 3 weeks. They comfortably hire in their homeland an expensive tour operator responsible for:
- Local guides
- Private jeeps
- Top-notch hotel reservations
- Translators and interpreters
- Airport transfers and hotel pickups
- Security
- Travel planning
- Air-tickets and documents
- Various arrangements with local agencies and people.
They normally follow the classic “gringo-trail” across the main National Parks (Isalo, Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, Ranomafana National Park, etc.), the big cities and the fully-equipped beachfront resorts and hotels. They have nothing to worry about: a team of local guys (badly paid compared to the big travel agencies) are taking care of all details and formalities. Everything is planned and reserved in advance without any chance to stray off: they are generally allotted a specific amount of time and space to roam and relax around an assigned area. Perfect for a short, safe, fast and hassle-free holiday where you only desire to get spoilt.
The journey is thought to flow with little or no contact addressed to begging and bothersome regional street people always asking for money and charity to the easy-target vazahas (meaning “stranger” or “foreigner” and referring mostly to a white person. The Malagasy, especially the kids, love to greet foreigners with “Salut Vazaha!” or “Bonjour Vazaha!”). In few words, the simplest and most Western way. I call it the “disregarding bubble”, where you see places but not “real” people (at least, you do not interact alone with 50 or 70 local and pressing individuals on a daily basis :).
Only a tiny percentage of travellers, instead, decide to go alone in blind taking the full risk of the expedition on themselves. They especially flock towards Northern destinations such as Nosy Boraha (Sainte Marie), Nosy Be, Antsiranana (Diego Suarez), Mahajanga, Toamasina (Tamatave) and Sambava. There life is decent too. Paved or well-maintained roads, working and/or frequent transportation, widespread presence of foreigners, acceptable or luxury accommodation facilities and so on.
Another category is represented by independent travellers heading for the South (Fianarantsoa, Toliara, Manakara, Anakao, etc.) who are faced with more difficult conditions and situations. Roads start to get impoverished or unfit, transportation fragmentary, transfer time lengthy and unpredictable sometimes, hotels and services quite popular (with exceptions of course), people around poorer and poorer, etc. Still you may see some foreigners around.
And finally we have the extreme South (Vangaindrano, Amboananto, Taolagnaro-Fort Dauphin, Itampolo, Imanombo, Ambovombe, Faux Cap, Cap Sainte Marie, etc.) where in a couple of weeks there I could detect zero or very few vazahas (white people) myself. Roads are getting river beds; transportation is carried out in dribs and drabs through camion-brousses (shared lorries) looking like cattle trucks or taxi-brousses (shared minivans from the stone age or crumbling, overcrowded jeeps often out of order); transfers on these dirt roads might take even 36 hours for 200 km. Security is at stake too (banditry episodes are not infrequent here, especially at night). This is why vehicles here prefer to move in convoy during daytime and equipped with some rifles in the back. Besides that, weather on the East Coast is windy and rainy all the year around, which makes these wetlands a perfect spot for rice paddies and mosquitoes (a bit of Malaria and tropical diseases are present too).
Therefore, the main discriminating factors making a Madagascar trip easy / intermediate / difficult are:
- North / South / Extreme South.
- Tour / couple or friends together / alone.
- Budget (normally 1000 € for 1 month is a satisfactory all-included allowance, considering that the average local salary ranges between 50 and 150 €/month). For National Parks, however, expenditures might skyrocket up to 100 €/day (including transportation, guides, entrance fees, activities, etc.) + hotel and meals. Hence 1000 €/month are very tight in this case. In 32 days I could only afford myself one National Park (Ranomafana, 55,000 AR ∼ 11 €, without the compulsory guide) and one Natural Reserve (Nahampoana, 40,000 AR ∼ 8 EUR, guide included in the entrance ticket). If you are alone, on a shoestring and you wish to keep your budget lower than 35 €/day, then you will always find troubles with parks (guides are everywhere compulsory, entrance fees are paid per day, public transportation is non-existent, solo travellers to share costs with are rare birds, etc.).
- Trip duration (the longer, the easier it gets to face and dodge hindrances and delays). If you plan to move every 2 or 3 days, you always need to physically (no internet) go to the bus / taxi station at least 24 hours in advance to reserve (verbally) your seat. If anything meanwhile comes up, you need to postpone your transfer. 1 month to my understanding is the minimum amount for either the North or the South. For both between 2 and 3 months.
- Skin colour (white people are seen as walking ATMs and hence bothered more by beggars). At the same time, you enjoy some “gringo” privileges (attention, curiosity, trustworthiness, etc.).
- Private transportation (4×4 jeep usually or location) / taxi brousse (shared with locals) / camion brousse (shared with locals). For me always shared options.
- Language skills: Malagasy / French / English (hardly spoken outside the capital). French is fine but in the small villages not so common.
- Accommodation: Hostels / Regular doubles / Suites. Pay attention that most low-end hotels have NO Wifi, NO laundry services, NO restaurant, NO (hot) shower (only cold water buckets with plastic scoop). At least reception is open 24/7 : )
- Medically insured or not (me I took the risk here). Hospitals, by the way, are terrible in Madagascar, apart from few International clinics placed in the capital.
- Travel experience: Madagascar unquestionably requires a constant, groundbreaking quest for information (always conflicting among unreliable sources), planned organization, attention to detail and quick judgement of the ever-changing situation. In addition, you must develop a rapid adaptability to transportation inhuman conditions (sometimes never-ending), to low-hygiene-standards food and to ever-present troublemakers and freeloaders.
- Local life immersion: the more you get mixed with locals, the more it gets harder to handle situations. The more you are the only white seen in weeks or months, the more complex it becomes. Especially after people start to drink local toxic liquors 🙂
- Night-outs: the more you go out at night, the more it gets risky, above all in the capital Antananarivo (Tana). Sudden thefts, violent assaults, stray rabid dogs, cunning pickpockets (in bars and everywhere), seductive prostitutes at the counter, corrupted police and army (the passport scam and 100 more ways to worm you out some money), dodgy taxi, tuk-tuk and puce-puce (rickshaw) drivers. To sum up, a safe taxi, a valid passport and much attention are always due at night.
After this long introduction, you are probably now wondering whether Madagascar is the right place for you or not. It always depends. You should beforehand ask you some questions such as:
“How long are my vacations?”
OR
“Do I need relax, adventure or extreme adventure?”
OR
“Am I able to cope with widespread, impacting poverty and misery (third poorest country in the world, worse of Africa)?”
OR
“Am I patient and diplomatic in most cases?” and “…even with people not speaking my language or bothering me?”
OR
“Am I able to face discomfort, pain and quality deprivation?” and “Can I easily mix up with dirty and smelly African people?”
OR
“Am I fine with the hardly-spoken English or do I need more in-depth context knowledge to be at ease?” (I could speak French myself and even with that, I had rough times 🙂
Of course, these questions only apply to solo, long-term travellers particularly heading for the South on public transportation (road, no planes). For others, these doubts might still stand, but with much lesser impact.
After visiting 98 countries in approximately 15 years, I had personally never got even close before to the critic scenario perceived at every corner in Mada. It looked like you always had to be focusing on surrounding events 24/7. But to me, in the end, it was truly worth in order to:
- Understand Madagascar’s (bio)diversity.
- Taste the magic perfumes and flavours of Africa.
- Fathom what is the real poverty, hand-to-mouth existence, indigence, penury, beggary, pennilessness, neediness, mendicancy, pauperism, privation, hardship and financial distress.
- Improve my diplomatic and bargaining skills in all sort of business.
- See some unique animals in the world like the cute and harmless lemurs.
- Listen to hundreds of genuine (a bit repetitive, though:) local stories from peasants, fishermen, fishmongers, artisans, drivers and regular people from the always overcrowded streets.
- Really understand the superficial foolishness of our whining culture and society (Western world), prone to hysterical self-pity for basic shortages (wifi, washing machine, phone, hot water, high-quality food and services, private car, etc.) and mean indifference towards the real problems of “the others”. 1 month alone in Africa might change half-of-the-world’s perspective indeed.
So, after all this prolix preamble (sorry :), let’s tackle together the key tips to travel as a solo, independent adventurer in Madagascar for 1 month or more. Just be aware that these are personal hints just tried on me for little time. In short, my vivid and honest impressions as a long-standing solo traveller who has now visited 100 countries so far.
1) CHOOSE WELL YOUR ITINERARY BEFOREHAND
According to your trip duration, single the fittest path out. For more expert and patient travellers, the Extreme South could be a challenging but rewarding spot. Take into consideration, though, that in the Extreme South displacements of few hundred Km might take whole days : )
2) CHOOSE THE RIGHT SEASON
For instance, the East (North and South) is ravaged by rains all over the year. Be prepared to muddy roads and mosquitoes. The Central Part is quite high (between 1000 and 2000 meters). It is thus quite cold, especially on the high peaks like Andringitra massif. The Western Side is instead dry and hot between May and November. The North is fairly hot in summer and meek in winter. But the whole country’s high tourist season is from July to August, where most Westerns may travel for holidays. During these two months you need to be careful because some facilities may end up in sold out or overbooking. To be perfectly honest, I only booked my first two nights in the capital, since there, apparently, lodges are quite full in July and August. As for the rest of the country, I only showed up at the place after inquiring Lonely Planet, taxi or bus drivers, local passengers and people from the street.
3) CHOOSE THE RIGHT VISA
You may get your Visa (30, 60 or 90 days directly at the airport arrivals). Here is the correct link for further info.
You had better to bring some Euros or US Dollars with you as you won’t be able to withdraw any money from ATM nor change nor pay by card, as far as I know, of course. Furthermore, you have to exactly calculate the amount of days you require, as even 1 extra day is considered as a serious offense here. If you are not sure, pick up the higher tier, as I did myself. For 32 days (excluding flights), I was forcefully obliged to pick up the 60 days visa (40 €).
4) MOVE FROM ANTANANARIVO AIRPORT TO DOWNTOWN & VICEVERSA
It is about 17 km / 40 min to reach the capital city centre from the airport (Ivato International). Taxi drivers and middlemen will surely try to fool you as a white person. With calm and patience, I was eventually able to lower the taxi fare from initial 120,000 to 50,000 AR (approx. 10 €) for a night ride. Local prices range from 60,000 to 80,000 AR (confirmed by a hotel owner), according to how much the taxi is official. Black taxis are the deal here. Besides, fares vary according to your level of French (if you speak good French, they think you are French and, as a result, more knowledgeable about “colony affairs”). At night, regrettably, you are advised to catch a cab instead of walking 1 km in the darkness and grab a mystery urban bus heading for the centre. On the way back from Antananarivo (Tana) to the airport, the cheapest, quickest and most effective option is a moto-taxi locally priced between 30,000 and 35,000 AR (about 6 or 7 €). As for local transportation, I am not sure but it might be extremely lengthy, overcrowded and unpredictable. Take it in daytime, if you have plenty of time and acceptable belongings (you could be stolen 🙂
5) BRING ALWAYS YOUR PASSPORT AND TAKE A TAXI IN THE CAPITAL ANTANANARIVO
The passport (papiers in French) is the perfect excuse for bent soldiers and crooked policemen to put you under pressure and ask you for money (hefty sums). After 20 h, cabs are recommended for stretches above 1 km, especially in the main cities. Rides are quite inexpensive (for tourists). Fares must always be agreed before departure and be proportionate to distance and hour. Do not expect limousines : )
6) BUY A LOCAL SIM CARD (TELMA, ORANGE OR AIRTEL)
Unfortunately, this is quite an intricate topic. On top of that, Internet rates are fairly overpriced in comparison with Europe (roughly 1 GB traffic = 1 €). I was personally advised by a local lady to acquire a Telma card (puce in French) which cost me 61,000 AR for a 1 GB welcoming package plus limited calls and SMSs. Then you awkwardly have to address a recharge point available almost everywhere (little kiosks) with much complicated communication regarding available options (you have to compose instructions codes on your phone). At least coverage in the South was ok. Mada Sim Cards are essentials if you do not intend to lodge in fancy hotels. Otherwise, Wifi is never or poorly working.
7) BOOK ALL YOUR TRANSFERS IN ADVANCE (24 HOURS FOR LOCAL SERVICES, UP TO 72 HOURS FOR PREMIUM)
Only two van companies are up to the Western standards, Soatrans and Cotisse (as far as I know, again). Soatrans is more flexible and may also be booked within 24 hours in advance. Cotisse, instead, requires days but may be reserved online (with local payment systems unfortunately, soon PayPal or Visa hopefully) or via phone (you have to pay at the counter prior to departure though). They have their own tidy terminals, free toilets, French-spoken agents (maybe English too, who knows :), exact seat numbers, intermittent Wifi onboard (wow!!), limited amount of stops, new vehicles, departures on time, physical tickets, competent drivers, stereo and clean seats.
The opposite happens for the local services, absolutely unpredictable. They will cleverly squeeze you between an unknown number of local passengers (white people are almost never seen there, for a reason!). Departure and arrival times are smoky over a span of 3 or 4 hours. They only leave whenever each single centimetre inside is occupied and at least 3 meters of luggage are accrued on the rooftop. Conditions may vary a lot here (4×4 pre-war jeeps, animals-loaded minivans, hellish trucks, etc.), but the constant factor is always falsehood and inaccuracy. You never know and nobody never knows basically. The recurrent answer is: “We are in Madagascar” or “This is Madagascar, my friend”.
The issue with the good companies lies in the fact that they are only available in certain parts of the country or for specific, city-to-city itineraries. Otherwise it would be kids play. It occurred to me that I bumped into them only 3 or 4 times. As a matter of fact, in the Extreme South they are never operational. There, informal, awful services are thriving and mushrooming instead.
8) THE TRANSFER ITSELF
Once booked your vehicle, only little work has been completed. As mentioned earlier, it is impossible to even roughly estimate departure and arrival time. Passersby seem not have any notion of time or distance. It is hard to know where you will be seating and next to whom. People inside the cabin frequently cough and sputter for unrevealed reasons. You are often asked to wake up at ungodly predawn hours (2 or 3 or 4 am) to then discover at the terminal that a person or a chicken or a goat is still missing and being waited for. Sometimes petrol is fetched on site at the last minute, bottled inside worn-out plastic tanks (main cities have regular gas stations though). Luckily you are only charged the very same day after the trip is 99 % confirmed. But once it gets paid, no refunds or partial reimbursements are possible afterwards. No receipts nor tickets are issued either (apart from Soatrans and Cotisse).
For certain stretches (Fort Dauphin – Manakara, for example), besides visiting the taxi brousse station in advance and directly talking to the driver, you additionally need to call every 3 or 4 hours (remember to exchange phone contacts with the driver at the station) to ensure that the convoy is guaranteed for the following day. Totally stressful. Even the same day, in the morning, information keeps being chaotic and out of control. Needless to say that any previous arrangements are unfeasible. Once miraculously departed, hindrances, unexpected events and accidents will literally make your day : ) Ramassage (pickup) at the hotel is possible but never assured either.
Broken down motors, flat tires, infinite stops, hamlets tribal tolls, police and army bribes at the frequent checkpoints, villages humps, complicated loading and unloading, etc., form only the minimal list of possible occurrences. Meanwhile, you are brutally squeezed in rows holding the double of allowed passengers, to justify the petrol expenditures. It has to be said, to tell the truth, that drivers and the skilful versatile mechanics (always min 2 tireless youngsters for all purposes) are not taking the lion’s share here. The vehicle owner or the customary transport cooperative are the big fish in the play.
Breaks for toilet and eating are completely at the driver’s discretion (sometimes even every 6 or 8 hours), just for few, timed minutes. It seems to me that they can lose as much time as they want at any stage, but passengers are just puppets in their greedy hands. Last but not least, after an unspeakable ordeal of 20, 30 or 36 hours in the box, you are not given any moment to step out of the cabin and breathe out your suffering, that immediately unaware taxi, tuk-tuk and rickshaw drivers have already started to swarm about in a thick “money-needy” mob offering rides and unauthorizedly seizing your baggage in the meantime slowly (30 more minutes) untied and released from the rooftop bundle. The “rooftop bundle” could contain the local people’s belongings of a lifetime. They relish them as luxury goods. And they think, as the only white man onboard, that you might have something worth taking possession of. Final word: watch out your belongings.
9) ONLY CASH ACCEPTED
This point is crucial. ATMs are not a problem but only available at the airport and the main cities. Sometimes they charge you a couple of Euros (∼ 10,000 AR) for the service (BNI bank is the best in this regard, free of charge but with customary long queues outside).
Most of times a withdrawal limit is imposed by the bank too, generally 500,000 or 800,000 AR max (∼ 100 to 160 €). To escape this limit, multiple withdrawals are possible. I have even encountered ATMs with the scanty withdrawal limit of 100,000 (∼ 20 €). Consider, though, that the highest note in circulation corresponds to 4 € approx. (20,000 AR). All these remarks should already suggest you how cash is vital in this country. Digital payments are relegated to top-notch hotels (5 % commission applied usually), airport shops and international travel agencies. The rest is regulated by dirty, crumpled notes, which the local street people always talk about (matter of survival).
It goes without saying that dough must be stowed in a safe area and not shown to any passerby. It could indeed attract unwanted actions here. Even 10 € (50,000 AR) is really big deal. You cannot leave anything to chance in Madagascar. I mean it. As a consequence, you should be smart enough to know how much pocket money you need for the day or the night, so that you may hide the rest in your room. Typical from poor countries is also the fact that the change is continuously problematic for the indigenous dwellers. Try all the time to spare some little notes for small purchases.
10) BE LOW PROFILE
As outlined before, do not show off loaded wallets, watches, fancy mobile phones (Madagascans mostly have 1980-90’s GSM ones), valuables, branded clothing. Be as much local and everyday as possible. Any precious item could be interpreted as a sign of desired wealth by ill-intentioned, ever-present wrongdoers. Most of villagers walk barefoot with shabby, threadbare clothes passed from generation to generation. They literally live in the street (and they sleep there too often). They cherish even 0.10 € / USD. Sometimes they even stand in front of you for minutes or hours asking for a little tip or your dinner leftovers (gathered in a general tarpaulin bag). Everything is a big deal for them, regardless the entity. Stealthy pickpockets are lurking everywhere, even in night bars.
11) PICK UP YOUR NATIONAL PARKS
All parks are wonderful and alluring here. However, if you want to economically survive, you must single out one or two. They are all difficult to reach, roam inside and access to as a single person. Better to gather a group to share the compulsory guide’s costs, due per hour or day. Do not even try to go alone through the woods.
I tested on myself at Ranomafana National Park, near Fianarantsoa, with nasty consequences (I could eventually get away with the simple entrance fee but I spent 3 hours surrounded by threatening guides seemingly protecting with fierceness their feud or empire). Quite often parks are the only resource for natives and as such, constitute a real gold mine for them. Entering without a guide seems to be a sinful crime.
Generally the entrance fees range between 12 and 20 €/day. In addition, you must sum transportation, guides and food. If you are planning to spend several days trekking or hiking in the wild, then costs could truly skyrocket, even in a dirt cheap country like Madagascar. The reason lies in the fact you have to multiply all the costs per each day spent in the park. Plus, you will probably need accommodation or tent, a porter and more guides for the expedition. Honestly, being alone on a budget is terrible here. You are deprived of many opportunities. Most of tourists are generally focusing on the classic tour including Isalo National Park, Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park and Ranomafana National Park. I would perhaps recommend to single out one among these 3, with in all likelihood the latter the less visited. Then you have plenty of Natural Reserves which are smaller and cheaper, normally with guides included in the entrance tickets (e.g. Nahampoana, near Fort Dauphin – Taolagnaro, 40,000 AR ∼ 8 EUR). Night strolls (to spot nocturne animals) are possible too, at a higher price though. Sleeping in lodges within the parks could certainly turn out to be a fantastic experience as well, at a higher price though. Lemurs are decisively frequent a bit everywhere, even though out of the 12 available species here, only 2 or 3 are really common. Personally I could not spot lots of animals apart from those.
12) PICK UP YOUR BEACH
Without too many words, I would say that the right spot depends on your vocation and passions. Each seaside has its own advantages and disadvantages. You may catch sight of sea turtles in the Extreme South (in season), migrating whales and dolphins in the West (Belo Sur Mer, Tulear – Toliara, Morondava and Anakao), rare birds (I was in Nosy Ve protected island, close to Anakao once) almost everywhere. You may take delight in fishing (everywhere), surfing (South-East), windsurfing (South-East), snorkelling (great spots are near the Coral Reef stretching from Anakao to Itampolo), swimming, relishing white-sand atolls. Everything is available in Madagascar.
Needless to say that accommodation facilities are more “welcoming” in the North than in the South, more in the West than in the East. But tours and guided services are offered everywhere at very reasonable and similar prices. Fishermen and boatmen will stop you at any corner or beach to propose “unique” packages. They may prepare for you delicious lobsters or seafood for few Euros or Dollars. I would just advise to meet and discuss with several people before accepting. Even if you do not sign or pay anything in advance, they surprisingly always know where and how to find you, in case you do not show up later 🙂 Even a single customer represents an invaluable resource for the family of each inhabitant of any part of Madagascar. They will try to please and harass you in any possible way. Be careful. In the event you need a genuine local experience, just wander about the beach between 10 and 16 h, to book (at least three hours in advance) freshly fished lobsters, squids, octopuses, shrimps and so on. Prices and location (generally gloomy dives) are indeed popular.
13) ASK FOR PERMISSION BEFORE TAKING PHOTOS OR VIDEOS
Although in general no major issues were detected when pointing the phone to people, sometimes locals may feel uncomfortable if regarded like media by-products. In order to avoid unpleasant misunderstandings, courtesy is continuously recommended.
14) BUY SOUVENIRS IN THE MORE AUTHENTIC SOUTH OR EAST
For me the best deals and options were found far away from the “classic” Antananarivo or Antsirabe. Bargaining is widely accepted to a certain extent. Typical keepsakes are vanilla sticks, wooden products, assorted spices, local honey, zebu horns artefacts, natural fibres ornaments and knick-knacks, artisanal carpentry and embroidery.
15) MIND YOUR BELONGINGS EVERYWHERE
This is a general rule valid all over the world, I know. But here, it is crucial in all public spaces. Thieves are very skilful.
16) COVER YOUR LIMBS WITH LONG SLEEVES AND USE MOSQUITO REPELLENT AND SUNCREAM
Again, an overall postulate quite self-explanatory. Due to the geographical position, sun is burning from 10 am to 4 pm. Every bed, almost, is endowed with a mosquito net at least. Outside, use your common sense.
17) TRY TO BE DIPLOMATIC, PATIENT AND SMILING AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
Since you have no guide nor local friends, a multitude of beggars, troublemakers, profiteers, middlemen, drunkards and fixers will constantly bug you to get some pennies out of your pockets. Always remember you are the vazaha here (=white man). As such, try to avoid any foreseeable cultural clash or misunderstanding with grumpy or borderline individuals. Try to understand the place and people around you to the utmost of your capabilities. Remember you have everything to lose and nothing to gain with fights : )
18) BRING AN EXTERNAL BATTERY
Although a secondary trouble it might look like, bear in mind that electricity (as well as water supplies) may be cut any time here. Travelling times in the shared “cattle vehicles” might be extended for 1 or 2 days. Better to be prepared in advance!
19) DON’T GIVE YOUR HOTEL NAME TO SUSPICIOUS INDIVIDUALS
Again fairly self-explanatory. Community ties in Africa are much stronger than Europe or USA. People know each other very well, above all in the villages. Any occasion you are providing people to ask you for money or favors, you are exposing yourself to possible cash collections or imaginary debt recoveries, even made up out of nothing. Another risk concerns generic traffickers and cheating guides waiting for you outside without any notice : )
20) DO YOU OWN LAUNDRY
Already mentioned earlier, but quite impacting if you are not attending high-end hotels. In over one month I have never bumped into a single washing machine across the country. Reasons are purchasing cost, electricity bills, availability, water supply and culture. Organize yourself to keep your laundry up-to-date through periodic hangings and dryings in your room or nearby. It goes without saying that your clothes will end up stinking a bit of moisture and damp.
21) EXACTLY AGREE BEFOREHAND WHAT YOUR PRIVATE SERVICE INCLUDES
Crooks, swindlers and people not able to convey good communication are always promising things they cannot meet. Repeat tens of times with them what your tour or private service includes. Offer them only a small percentage of advance payment (always requested for gasoline or hazy bills). Otherwise you will be deeply disappointed. Cunningly and treacherously, guides and drivers try to raise prices and fees over and over again, even after a final agreement was made.
To summarize this verbose but essential overview, I may only advise aspiring travellers to Madagascar to enjoy this unexpectedly amazing country made of all features little known in the Western world. Be patient, calm and relaxed. Get as much information as possible. Inquire the most people you can with questions. Be prone to get mixed with humble locals. Be adventurous and leave the gringo trail. Be prepared to all kind of events and accidents. Don’t take anything for granted here. It is something you probably have never seen or tackled in your past 3 lives. The rest is pure magic.
