Dicing With Death: Madagascar: The Conquest of the Red Island

The national route 5a in Madagascar could barely qualify as a ‘road’. A certain portion of it, linking Ambilobe in the north-west to Vohemar in the north-east, is nicknamed ‘the road from hell’. During January and February, in monsoon season, it is barely passable. The road becomes a dangerous assault course and though it can be covered in two or three days, it can sometimes take more than 15. Ditches and mud puddles cover its surface – at some points, the road is too narrow even for two lorries to pass each other. That’s just one of the reasons why buses avoid this route. The problem is, it’s the only way to get to the Vanilla Coast, on the edge of the Indian Ocean…

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