"Bush" Taxi

So, the “taxi brousse” system here in Madagascar is an experience no one should miss. In fact, I honestly don’t think you can be whole until you’ve experienced the “taxi brousse”….

The taxi brousse, or the “bush” taxi, or as I like to call it the “OMG-did-they-just-hand-me-a-wrench-to-roll-up –my-window” taxi, or the “no-sir-not-one-more-human-being-can-fit-in-this” taxi, or quite simply, the “taxi from hell” is a local transportation system set up in Madagascar. It consists of a VW-like van, crammed with at least 20 people inside (much akin to the packing of sardines), winding (and when I saying winding, I mean winding...straight roads are nonexistent in Madagascar, so you are up a creek if you are prone to car sickness) through the roads of Madagascar (and when I say roads, I mean pot-hole infested, hit-your-head-on-the-ceiling roads we would think of as “fire roads” in the mountains in the States), stopping at a minimum of every five minutes to pick up hitchers, drop off hitchers, take a pee break, pay a bribe at the police road stops, or just to stop for the sheer glory of stopping and taking as long as humanly possible to get to your destination. Fortunately, fare is cheap and it covers all bribery encountered along the way.

Naina (the infrastructure guy for ADRA’s SALOHI program) and I were afforded the opportunity of a lifetime to experience the “taxi brousse” when we needed to travel from Manajary (pronounced Man-AN-ZAR) back to the project headquarters in Ambositra (approximately 300 km away, a trip that should normally be around 5 hours). The driver who was supposed to take us got stuck out in the bush with another ADRA employee due to the heavy rainfall. So the taxi brousse was our only other option of transit.

So, we started our fantastic voyage Friday morning at 6:15 am when the taxi brousse picked us up at the hotel:


...and ended up at our destination well after 8:00 pm. Yes, it took over 13 hours, crammed in this ridiculous taxi, to get from Mananjary to Ambositra. I laughed, I cried, I almost died…it was an experience to never forget, and hopefully seldom repeat.

From now on, I promise to never make fun of John for asking our driver to stop a few times for crepes. And God love Madagascar, but I seriously hope one of ADRA’s drivers is available for all future trips to and from project sites…



The van was only halfway full here...not kidding.


Chicken anyone? One of our 5 bazillion stops along the way.


One of our final stops (besides my personal fav, the "pee" break 5 km before our final destination).