Thursdays at camp have been special because we take hikes to remote locations to have a night hike. We also get to sleep away from camp.
Truth being told, the details are always a little scarce and volunteers can be seen scrambling to find and pack required gear or money that has been announced at the last minute.
Thursday’s hike was to the Baobab tree. Details about sleeping arrangements mostly came from rumours and volunteers that had previously taken the trip. We surmised that there was a “big tent” and a house. Just before leaving the inevitable announcement came - “make sure you have a sleeping mat because there’s not enough room in the house.” Picture rats scurrying.
Fast forward a few hours. After the night hike was over the information about rooms in the house was still not clear. A few of us started claiming areas in the tent and 2 or three headed to the porch of the house. Gayle, whose sleeping mat was not holding air, was angling for a bed in the house. I had a mat so found a spot in the tent and got ready for the night.
Just as I was coming out to brush my teeth, Gayle found me to say that she had negotiated a deal with Fedy, one of our guides, to get a double bed in the house. Just 5000 Ariary! ($1.50) She didn’t have too much trouble convincing me to join her.
I hastily packed up my bed, passing my mat to Fion and moved into the bedroom. As I was leaving the tent, I overheard Malagasy Paul, our other guide, trying to rent the same bedroom to Martha. I resisted the urge to interfere and slid quietly into the bedroom.
The “bed” was a thin mattress on the floor with empty beer bottles, pots, pans, buckets and tools in the room. The floor had a hole directly to the outside near Gayle’s head. It smelled. There was a light on all night. Oh well, what can you expect for $1.50?
Moments after settling in, Fedy came to ask for payment. I produced a 20000 note and he gave me back only 10000. The number of people in the bed and therefore,the price, had doubled!
Somehow, $3.00 didn’t seem overpriced, though as we learned that Tim paid $1.50 to sleep on couch cushions on the floor and Mattia paid $1.50 to share a bed with 2 boys (one of whom fell out - onto Tim).
Seriously, you can’t make a story like this up!