Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and has a few hotels, but few people would stay intentionally. The bungalows of
Bricka
Cool
are perhaps the best of a poor lot.
However fruit, vegetables and friendly
hotelys
can be found in abundance, allowing
ample opportunity for refreshment before embarking on the final 104km to Toamasina
across an enormous, ageing (but sturdy) iron bridge over the Rianala River.
AMBILA-LEMAITSO
This quiet town, where you can happily get stuck for a day or so,
isstretchedalonganarrowstripoflandbetweentheseaandthePangalanesCanal.Situated
some 17km (by road) from Brickaville, it is most easily reached by train. From Ambila it
is a two- to three-hour walk north to Lake Ampitabe.
Where to stay and eat
Relais Malaky
56 720 22/260 13. Probably the best hotel, in a good situation close
to the station & overlooking the ocean. A range of bungalows & rooms, some en suite;
good food. Canoe rental. €€-€€€
Ambila Beach
About 3km from the station, overlooking the Pangalanes. Nice bunga-
lows, some with cooking facilities. Camping permitted. €€
Nirvana
m 033 14 763 55. Efficient, French-run hotel near the ferry point. €€
Tropicana
Basic wooden dbl & family bungalows near the station. €
MANGOSTEENS IN BRICKAVILLE
Derek Schuurman
Asateenager inthe 1970s,Iread inanencyclopedia that ofall the world'sknowned-
ible fruits, the one regarded as tastiest is the mangosteen (
Garcinia mangostana
). Of
Moluccan origin, mangosteen trees are strictly tropical. The outside of the edible fruit
- roughly the size of a small orange - is a deep reddish-purple when ripe. Its fragrant
white flesh, separated into segments, is quite sweet and creamy, slightly citrusy with
a touch ofpeach. InAsia, it is appropriately referred to as the 'queen offruits'. Queen
Victoria is said to have offered a cash reward to anyone who could deliver to her the
fabled fruit.
The problem for those of us living outside tropical countries is that obtaining fresh
mangosteens is virtually impossible: it is hardly ever sold fresh in western countries.
Importing them without fumigation or irradiation is illegal because of fears that they
may harbour the Asian fruit fly.
For the next 25 years, whenever I was in the tropics, I sometimes wondered about
whetherIwouldevergettoseeamangosteen.AndtheninlateNovember2006,while
driving from Andasibe to Manambato, we were stopped at a roadblock just outside
Brickaville. Some Betsimisaraka kids approached, offering small bagfuls of round,
