All language subtitles for The Misadventures of Romesh s04e03 Madagascar

I've been travelling through East
Africa, visiting countries with a bad

reputation, to see if we should give
them another go.

So far, I've seen the delights of Uganda
and Rwanda.

Now, after an exploding volcano and a
civil war wrecked my original plans,

moved on to Madagascar.

Would I find an island full of talking
lions and dancing lemurs?

Find out on this thrilling episode of
The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan.

In a language they couldn't even begin
to understand, I'd bid farewell to the

gorillas of Rwanda.

Boarding a plane to Madagascar, a former
French colony that constitutes the

fourth largest island on Earth.

We are in Madagascar. I'm very, very
excited.

I've watched the film, thought the first
two were great, I thought the third one

was slightly lacking, if I'm being
honest with you.

A group of animals leave New York Zoo
and they end up in Madagascar.

And Madagascar literally symbolises the
middle of nowhere. So I wasn't expecting

this. It would have been a very
different film if you saw the group of

wandering through this town.

List five things about Madagascar that
you know.

Madagascar 1, 2 and 3.

An island.

And Liberated Sardine.

I'm just looking forward to finding out
what this place is about.

My guide for the week would be Bic.

a diving instructor from the south of
the island.

Vic.

Hey, mate.

How you doing, brother?

Nice to meet you, finally.

How are you? Nice to meet you, too. I'm
good, I'm good, I'm good. Yeah, welcome

to Madagascar. I can't believe I'm here.
I know nothing about Madagascar. That's

the reason I've come.

Yeah, okay. To find out all about it.
Our life here is, we say, Mura Mura.

Mura mura. Mura mura. It means
everything is like slowly, slowly.

Okay? Okay.

Now you're talking my language.

Are you hungry?

Yeah, always hungry.

Okay, so we get the taxi.

Let's get this one.

We go to another.

Okay.

Hello.

Very cozy.

Our taxi is a bit, you know.

Big told me we would be spending time
seeing the cultural and natural delights

the country has to offer.

Venturing up and down the west coast of
the island, experiencing Madagascar's

unique vistas, flora, and fauna.

But we would start with a lunchtime trip
to the biggest market on the island,

located in the chaotic capital,
Antanananananananaviro.

Yeah, so we're gonna get some puke.

They don't fill it straight into the
car.

Well, the taxi are filling on the
jerrycan.

So taxi drivers are driving around with
a can full of fuel at all times?

All the time. So as soon as they have a
client, they get the money, hide the

fuel, and then they all off they go. See
now?

Like most of them full.

We've got two full cans of fuel in the
car.

It's going to be a spare one.

And he's filling it here?

Yeah. So he just puts a straw in the can
and then that's it?

That's it, yeah. I can't believe it.

I hope our driver's a non -smoker.

Vic told me that the capital, known
locally by the much more manageable

is home to over three million
inhabitants, a unique melting pot of

colonial, Indian and African influences.

He took me along to the local market to
sample the delicious local cuisine.

Okay. This is the final soup.

It's a really good soup. Okay. But
fortunately, you are vegan, so... So, is

a delicacy, then?

What do you mean?

I think, like, it's a speciality dish.

Yes. This one is very special, yeah.
This is amazing. Everybody has stopped

a bowl. Yeah. So, what is this soup?
What is that meat?

Basically, the soup, it's made of, like,
you know, the... You know, the dish.

And it's very famous, and only here you
can... That's... You're going to find

that. Is it dick soup?

Yeah, the dick of the zebu.

What's a zebu?

Zebu is a cow, like a type of cow. Oh,
like a cow, okay.

Is it dick soup?

It is.

So they chop like a piece of it like
that. That's a slice of penis.

It is. How big is a zebu's dick?

It's about like a meter and a half long.

You know, it's a big animal.

You know, it's like 500 kilograms of
animal.

So that's slightly smaller than an
average dude. Yeah.

What's the reason for eating dick?

Well, basically the zebu dicks give you
strength.

Yeah.

Okay.

Very good.

Is it only zebu dick in this soup?

And I mix it up with some vegetable.

This is dick and two veg? Yes.

And how does the dick taste?

It tastes like a very soft meat, you
know? This is a weird question, but does

taste dicky? Are you aware of the dick?
I think... I wear off the dick.

How often do you have this?

Because I'm going to be honest with you,
part of me thinks that you've tried

this to try it, but it's not a regular
thing for you. Do you have this all the

time? No, I don't think so.

But nice?

Yeah.

I think you're not used to eating dick
either, are you?

Okay, are we good?

Very good.

We can't have any more. Don't make him
have any more.

With Bix suitably stuffed, we ease back
into the taxi for a drive up to the

rover. The old palace once home to the
island's notorious Mad Queen.

Look at this view.

Yeah, it's really high up.

That's the lake.

So this is the wall for the Mad Queen
Palace.

Queen Ranavaluna I ruled the kingdom of
Madagascar from this palace from 1828 to

1861, a time during which she earned a
reputation for unsurpassed cruelty.

Having succeeded her husband Radama, she
marked her coronation by bathing in a

vat of bull's blood and quickly set
about trying to eliminate all foreign

influence on the island.

Her 33 -year reign saw her slaughter
Christians in their thousands and

repel European colonial advances, with
enemies infamously taken to this spot

high above the city and thrown from the
cliff to their death.

She's quite tough, eh?

She was trying to get rid of all of the
outside influences, colonialism, etc.

Exactly. And if you didn't agree, then
you go over the top here?

Yeah, over the top here, or burn with
the hot oil or hot water. She killed

like, 2 .5 million people.

The most murderous woman in history.

Anyone, like, not following her, she
just cut the head and killed it.

Quite for long.

You didn't bring me up here for any
other reason. You're not going to throw

off, eh?

Of course not.

That's her, but not me.

You see how beautiful the place is.

36 years after Rana Valluna's death, the
French finally established a colony

here and ruled until an independent
republic was established in the late

A legacy that can still be felt today
throughout the country.

My first thoughts of Hanna are that it's
sort of got that kind of Catholic kind

of energy that you sort of both expect
and slightly enjoy, I guess. It's like

every crossing of the road is a brush
with death.

You're much closer to other people than
you feel comfortable with.

Stuff like that. I like it. It's good.

The taxi, to be in such a tiny car with
an open can of petrol in it, it's

incredible. I can't believe we got
signed off for us to do. What you do is,

get the can, there's a hole in the top,
you pop it in like a straw and the car

drinks from it like it's a milkshake.

I don't understand how it's safe.

But you know what? It was an experience
and I am high as a kite.

Big plan was for us to travel through
the island's western region, venturing

towards the coast to catch up with the
Vezu fisherman tribe.

As I would find out, Madagascar is vast
and largely impenetrable. I was told the

journey would take a gruelling two days
by car on notoriously bad roads, just to

travel roughly the distance from London
to Manchester.

So we, um, yeah.

Okay, so we're going to singing.

Where are you going to see the spiky
stone? Where are you going to see all of

the lemurs and stuff? So it's more on
the west side. So around like where I am

from, by the sea.

You prefer it there?

Oh, yeah, because there is my
environment.

There is, you know, my home, actually.

Do you feel the most comfortable in the
water?

My tribe are visual.

We live and depending on the sea for
entire our life.

I've been living in Italy, in Bologna.
Bologna is like in the central, no sea

and stuff.

I don't feel that I belong in there. Not
at all. No.

So I decided to go back home. I felt
that my ancestors are calling me,

you know, because we are from the sea.
Yeah. I belong to the sea.

There I am.

It's amazing.

Sort of how I feel about County Mall in
Crawley.

Look at that, man.

Look at this.

This is the singing.

That's the singing?

Yeah, look by your window.

Look at that.

Oh, wow.

It's amazing, isn't it?

I can tell you're excited, aren't you?

Oh, man, I love it.

I'm going back home, baby.

I'm going home.

This is a proper dirt landing strip.

Yeah.

Now I feel like we're on an adventure.

It is an adventure.

Welcome to Stingy, brother.

Thanks, class.

Oh, man.

Woohoo! Thank you so much. So stunning!

Bix said that the west of the country is
arguably Madagascar's wildest... and

most fascinating region.

Despite its proximity to the mainland,
humans only settled here around 2 ,000

years ago.

Madagascar grew in isolation, an African
Galapagos, where 95 % of the species

are endemic.

We'd be spending the afternoon climbing
through one of its most spectacular

landscapes, the Grand Thingy, an area of
bizarre needle -like rocks formed

millions of years ago.

So they hike well past from here.

How difficult is it?

But like, I don't know, 45 -year -old
Asian man with poor coordination, only

functioning eye.

Not really difficult, but we need our
attention.

Okay.

All right, buddy?

Me? Yeah. I'm all good.

Good.

It's a lot of up and down, isn't there?

I already absolutely smashed my step
camera when we started.

Beautiful bird.

Do you want to know what thingies mean?

So basically thing is mean like you were
walking on your tiptoe. Yeah, I think

walking on tiptoes is fucking impossible
to me.

Yeah,

we have to clip on. Clip on?

Yeah. Yes, baby. I was looking forward
to the clip on bit.

Yeah, man.

Watch out your head.

Be careful, be careful, be careful.

I'm sleeping here now. Oh, thanks.
You're so big. You're so lovely, man.

Thanks, bro.

Don't feel dizzy.

Better be a hell of a fucking view.

How's it going?

Every time you think you've done the
worst of it, there's another more shit

scary thing.

The great thing is, they're both
naturals.

So, I suspect this is going to end with
them carrying my body back down.

I appreciate that some viewers will be
interested in how the thingy was formed,

while others couldn't give a shit.

For the latter group, I invite you now
to mute this section.

and enjoy the wondrous sight of an
overweight man slowly wiping himself

rock face.

For the curious of you still with us,
the thingy was formed some 200 million

years ago when layers of calcite
accumulated at the bottom of a Jurassic

forming a thick limestone bed.

Later tectonic movement pushed the
limestone up, while the sea level fell,

leaving the rocks exposed to the
elements, while groundwater carved large

below the surface.

Eventually... Underground cave feelings
gave way, forming these razor -sharp

rock towers.

I've realised I've got no real way of
inviting the people back who muted that

section, but they're all ignorant
pricks, so, you know, who cares?

Oh, shit!

Sorry.

OK,

you're good.

Oh, Vic, you did me before you, man.

We saw you were safe.

Don't look down, look up.

Don't look down, look up. Let the
strength save you.

I feel like Indiana Jones.

Indian Jones.

Okay, just hold it there.

Great, let's get you back over the other
side.

I'm going to follow that on a box mark
and go, fuck yourself, mate.

We scrambled down the thingy as quickly
as we could, needing to get back to our

hotel before darkness.

And I'm genuinely not exaggerating here,
in order to avoid the bandits on the

road home, who might attack the vehicle.

But despite the unseen dangers, I was
starting to love the country.

Um, Bic is a different person in the
countryside than he is in the city, OK?

When we were on the plane going over the
singies, he started going, yeah, baby,

welcome, singy time.

Like, his energy has changed. He whipped
up those rocks.

He's a different dude.

He's very, very enthusiastic about
everything, seemingly irrelevant of

it deserves it or not. And on paper, I
should hate him, but I've got to be

honest with you, I find it quite
endearing.

We are the perfect odd couple, actually.

I think we'd do well in a little sitcom
about us having to live together and

just deal with each other's foibles.

I'm trying to think of the backstory.

Bic arrives from Madagascar.

He's looking for somewhere to stay.

I take pity on him, I take him in.

I've got a wife and kids.

Bic's living in the spare room.

I find him really annoying, but my wife
and children find him absolutely

adorable. He's like a second parent, a
third parent to my kids.

And we get into all sorts of scrapes,
and hilarity ensues.

Bic and Rom on BBC One.

The next day, we prepared to travel the
short hop down to Belo Serebehina.

The 41 -mile journey along the RN8
National Road would take a mere seven

Along roads apparently so treacherous
that we require a specialist driver, KD.

Driving onto this ferry would make me
shit my clothes.

It's a very, very basic one.

This one is a piece of cake compared to
the second ferry. Compared to the second

one, really?

Oh man.

Great work, man.

Great work.

Really proud of you. Good job.

I've never done anything like this, man.

I mean, I've been on a ferry before, but
I've never been on a ferry like that

before.

Oh, whoa.

You can drive through this? Yeah.

The National Road.

Wow.

This is incredible.

Amazing, isn't it?

I cannot believe it.

We're driving through a lake.

Yeah.

I can't believe this drive. I cannot
believe it.

Vic told me that outside the capital,
the country is incredibly sparse and

extremely poor.

80 % of people here live below the
poverty line, a basic existence that has

scarcely changed in thousands of years.

Not helped, of course, by these roads.

Can you explain to me what the road
situation is? What's the deal?

The road, they should be maintained by
the government, but they are not.

And they are taking one ariari per litre
for the road tax, yeah.

Madagascar's corruption problem is well
documented and doesn't just extend to

the road.

The battle to control the supply of its
famous vanilla, the country's biggest

export, had led to a vanilla war and
mass deforestation. Just one example of

what should have been a boon to the
country resulting in yet more chaos.

So where is the money going then?

If I knew it, I would already take it.

We don't know where that money is going.
Is that a problem all over the country?

Everywhere. Right.

This is a national road actually.

This is a national road.

You have to really want to visit
somebody to go on this road.

Yeah.

Our journey finally bottomed out at the
town of Belothirabahina, which had the

feel of a gold rush town, without any
gold and without anyone in a particular

rush.

Travelling on these roads? Yeah.

I feel like I've got like a core
workout.

My spine is basically approaching sort
of powder state.

Well, hopefully we can have like a good
treat on this restaurant.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

Welcome to Majiboo.

Wow. Yeah.

Very nice, isn't it?

Ooh.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. It's lovely.

It's good.

How's the zebu?

It's more than your mouth, man.

Are you enjoying it? I love it.

I did not expect to be eating a meal
like this.

It's a little tucked away.

You wouldn't expect to find a restaurant
serving this type of food here, would

you? I know what you mean, yeah.

This is a unique restaurant.

I can't even imagine how this has
happened, but I'm glad it did.

According to Bic, and I've got no reason
to disbelieve him, Mad Zebu was created

to service those tourists who managed to
brave the roads long enough to get

here. A fine dining experience in the
middle of nowhere.

Madagascar still has only just over 300
,000 visitors a year, around a third of

the tourists that say Uganda receives.

The majority of those going to plush
international resorts in the north.

I was faintly furious that this option
had been withheld from me until now, but

the food was amazing, so I let it go.

Thank you very much. Really good.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Should we have kept the fork and knife?

How

come

you decided to put such a...

a fancy restaurant in this location i

mean

it's amazing to find this restaurant
here it's like a little hidden

treasure do you find like people travel
from all around to come and eat here

Thank you so much for having us.

How's the flavour? Very nice, yeah.

So the taste of the coconut is heavy or
is it... Not heavy, very light.

It dances on the palate.

Nice one.

Are restaurants a big thing here?

No, it's a new thing.

It's not our culture.

So rather just the family cook it and
then we enjoy it together.

Okay, that's nice.

Did you ask for the napkin flower?

No.

I know, it's a bit romantic.

It's very romantic.

I feel like...

Either you're going to split up with me
or you're going to propose.

I love you so much, Rom.

Oh, I love you too, mate.

We left Mads Ivo and

boarded a ferry.

By this point, we'd been on the road so
long I'd given up caring about things

like itineraries, scheduled stop -offs
at must -see sites and basic comforts.

How long on the road this morning?

We're on the road for like four hours.
We're on the road actually for nearly

six. Oh, okay. We're on the road for six
hours.

Okay, listen.

You ask the question. If you know the
answer, why are you fucking asking me?

We're on the road for about...

I feel a little bit battered, to be
honest with you. But in terms of

this feels like an adventure.

It's a proper adventure.

For example, you may be wondering why
this ferry is moving the speed that it

It's because there's a snake in one of
the engines. It sounds like a terrible

sequence of a Samuel L. Jackson film.

A snake in one engine of the ferry.

It's a much lower budget.

But I think it's got legs.

It hasn't, actually. It's a snake.

So, yeah, we're running on a single
engine because the snake's in the

I'm tired of this snake in this goddamn
single engine at this ferry.

I guess the word about the snake in the
engine is carried across to the banks.

He wants to dance off.

I think he liked it.

We carried on down what we were still
optimistically calling the road.

The idea from here was to see some more
of the country's unique endemic

wildlife, taking in the iconic baobab
trees, before spending some time with

Bic's own tribe of seafaring Malagasy,
the Vezu.

Next up, though, it was at last time for
an audience with the island's famous

lemurs. Welcome.

Rom. Nova.

Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, too.

Before we go, I go to see the lemurs.
Just five minutes, you stay here.

What are you going to do?

I can tell you, it is a secret for me. A
secret?

Yeah.

What do you think he's doing?

I don't know. No idea.

We were met by a man called Nobo, who is
the lemur whisperer.

And he said, wait here, I'm going to go
get them together.

And then just ran around the woods a
lot.

And after about five minutes, he said,
OK, they're here.

Oh, my God.

Like, he said that he couldn't tell us
his secret technique, but I think his

secret technique was to go in there and
go, could all the lemurs gather round

over there, please?

Oh, man.

It honestly felt like we were in some
sort of Lima court case.

This is amazing.

It is!

I did not anticipate being this close to
them.

Oh, man.

I love the way they move.

I thought it was going to be more of a
challenge than that.

They were, like, super tame.

It wouldn't surprise me if, like, they
were trained or something. They were

so...

Calm around us.

How come their tails are so long?

The tail is the balance for jumping.
Yeah, feels like an obvious question in

hindsight.

Do they have any predators?

Yeah, fusa.

Fusa? Yeah.

Do you have any fusas around here?

The fusas are around in the forest.
Really? Yeah.

Do people ever come and take them or
anything like that?

To eat.

To eat? Yeah.

People eat them. Do you?

But that's illegal, right?

Yeah.

Are they protected?

Yeah. They're protected, but people
still eat them? Yeah.

The thing is, when he said, some people
eat them, in my head, I just straight

away imagined somebody removing a cloche
and it's just lying there with one of

those berries in its mouth.

That's all I could think about.

Have you watched the film Madagascar?

No. In...

the film madagascar the lemurs are a big
part of that film and then they all

dance to this song and everybody well
everybody over the world has gone crazy

for that it's a big film not no he never
heard it i was amazed that somebody

from madagascar who looks after lemurs
hasn't seen the film madagascar that

heavily features lemurs have you seen
the film madagascar no do you know that

lemurs feature heavily no he's got no
idea imagine that just want to get a

through this lemur

It looks like I've just photoshopped my
head in the corner of a lemur.

I love lemurs.

I'm not ashamed to say that.

I'm like Dr. Dolittle.

I just think there's something about
them, the way they move. They're

I mean, they're up there with my
favourite animals, I think.

They're so cute.

King Julian.

Walk over there and back here like a
lemur does.

Oh yeah, I'm literally a dancing monkey,
am I?

We reluctantly bade farewell to the
lovely lemurs and headed off into the

seemingly endless Madagascan abyss.

Bit tell me that locals in these rural
areas are incredibly superstitious.

A belief system built on a strict
observance of taboos, known locally as

You know you're telling me about these
taboos.

Do you have a lot of them in Malagasy
culture?

It's everywhere in Madagascar.

Really? Is it called taboo?

Yeah, Fadi.

That's what you call it. Yeah, Fadi.

Where does it originate from?

Our ancestors, since the beginning.

Yeah. Yeah.

So what are the examples of Fadi then?

Like some sacred...

Place. Yeah.

You cannot point a finger. You have to
do this. Or you put your finger like

this. That way.

Go ahead.

That way you can do.

We also have like bad party.

Like on the southeast, for example.

Yeah. There's a tribe.

It's funny to have twins.

It's funny to have twins.

Yeah.

So if you get twins.

You have to bring the babies in front of
the ranch where you keep the Cebu. You

open the door, you let out the Cebu.

Then the Cebu will step on the one who
should not leave.

If both die, it means that both should
not leave.

That's what they do there.

What? Yeah.

Does that still happen today?

Yeah, it's still happening, but now
there's an NGO who is trying to fight

against that.

So they are like trying to get the
second children that the parents do not

Yeah.

Although there are attempts to eradicate
some aspects of Sadi, others remain

strong.

Bic explained that according to local
police, the souls of the dead are housed

within sacred baobab trees.

Traditionally, holy people are able to
speak with these ancestors, and Bic

offered to take me to a ceremony.

where the village shaman would attempt
to make contact.

What's the bag for?

What exactly is going to happen now?

What is happening now is that they are
going to ask for attendance for the

spirit. He will become something else.

Like someone else speak.

So is he going to take the spirit in him
now?

In his body.

So we don't know what spirit is going to
arrive?

We don't know. We have to wait who is
coming. But they will tell who is here.

What is the knife for?

This knife is protecting him.

Because sometimes some other ancestors
are evil to come.

Oh, I see. So in case a bad ancestor
comes.

I said to Bic, what's the knife for? And
he said it's just to protect him from

an evil spirit.

But as far as I can tell, the spirit is
inside you. So what do you do?

I think I'm going to dance. Maybe they
will come.

You're going to dance? I'm going to
dance.

Bic, for some reason, decided that the
spirit might come out more easily if he

got up and started dancing.

I don't know why he thought it was going
to work.

It sort of worked a little bit by the
tree.

What I didn't expect to see or hear was
the

sound of a Bluetooth speaker connecting.

So they're going to play some music?
They're going to play some music.

Are they trying to find the right song
now?

It turns out the clapping didn't work,
and so we had to find... Well, they went

through a load of different Malagasy
tunes to try and see what song would

out the spirit.

How do they know which one to choose?

It's quite a difficult job, that,
because you don't know which spirit's

And even if you did know which spirit
was coming, you don't know what music

like. So they were kind of skipping
through trying to find the type of music

that the spirit might enjoy.

Meanwhile, the shaman who was going to
be chanting the spirit just sort of

sparked up a cigarette.

It sounded like the Bluetooth
disconnected.

Disconnected too.

What can you do? Sometimes spirits turn
up, sometimes they don't. Thank you so

much. I think the fact that a spirit
didn't enter that shaman gives it more

credibility. Because to my mind, think
about any kind of medium in the UK. If

you tell them the BBC are coming to do a
documentary, bells and whistles.

Do you know what I mean?

Really,

if this was fake...

He'd be suddenly making all these
noises, dancing, and we'd be like, oh,

this is like the maddest spirit we've
ever seen in our lives. We've never had

spirit like this one. Get your camera on
this. And then we'd leave just feeling

like we really got a show.

But, turns out, the spirit didn't feel
like it.

Just wasn't going to happen today.

Thank you.

It's not his fault.

He was sat there. Everyone was gathered
round.

He had a crowd.

The spirit didn't turn up. Everyone
fired out. He's on his own. That's show

business.

The ancestors were not coming, so
instead we headed off to a nearby beauty

Madagascar's most iconic vista.

Oh wow, it's beautiful, eh?

Is this created or did this just happen?
It's happened.

It's already... This just happened like
this?

No one planted those. They were already
there.

Oh, really? Yeah.

The Avenue of the Bay of Buds is a group
of endemic trees, many of which are

well over 2 ,500 years old.

Although they now tower over the
surrounding scrub, the trees would have

stood amid a thick forest.

Gradually, as humans cleared the area
for agriculture, the trees became

isolated, the last remnants of an
ancient, eradicated landscape.

So how old do you reckon these are? This
is definitely like a thousand years.

This one?

Yes. How do you know?

Because they grow like very slow.

What is this one here?

That's a tiny one. That's a baby.

All right, let me have a guess. I reckon
that one, two years.

No.

What? This is not two years. I would say
50.

50 years?

Yeah. This one?

I'm not sure. This one here. It takes 50
years. That's older than me.

Okay, let me guess. This one, 150 years.

This one is like getting a much...
That's what I think.

No, I'm agreeing with you. I know.

Yeah, so how old do you think?

150?

Yeah, I'll say that.

Yeah.

They grow so slow.

This is going to be my new show,
Bayababager.

When you look like this, it looks
incredible.

I just can't get used to how mad these
trees look.

Now they're looking dead, but they are
not. They are alive.

You love these trees, don't you?

I love them.

It's good, man.

Are you 100?

Yeah.

You got it, bro.

You got it.

Although the Madagascar beliefs remain
rooted in the past, BIC told me that its

people are facing unprecedented
challenges.

In 2021, the southern agricultural
region of Madagascar was devastated by

worst drought in 40 years.

Crops failed and more than a million
people were forced into food hardship.

The effects of what has been called the
world's first climate -induced famine

are still being felt today.

We pulled over in what would have been
until recently a thriving, dense forest.

Now a scorched, barren patch of
scrubland.

How bad was the famine? Were there
people that lost their lives as a

Yeah, it's quite bad when it happened.

So was the country in basically a state
of emergency at that stage?

Yes. More than half of the people
immigrated.

From where?

From south to go to the north.

Right. Because on the north side, it's
more green.

Do they believe that what they're
experiencing is a result of climate

a result of what's happened to the
environment?

Yeah, the people believe in that because
it's really obvious there's not much

rain. Yeah.

Yeah, and in the olden days, like when I
was a kid, we still have lots of rain,

right? And then during the rain season,
like where I am from, we can plant

during the rain season. And the dry
season, we can go for fishing.

So that means all year round we can eat
or we can have food.

Everybody moves to these different areas
during the famine.

Yeah. What happens to those areas?

The Chinese buy, you know, the peanuts.

Yeah. Really valuable things to grow in
the peanuts. You have to clear the area.

The Baobab is a very old tree.

The bulb has been sacrificed. You have
to cut it to clear those forests.

And then the people can plant.

It's only a couple of years, one to two
to three years, you can grow on that

land you've been clearing.

So that means we have to clear more to
plant more.

So it's not a situation where you just
clear some land and then that's where

grow peanuts forever?

No.

Not forever.

Did people begin to move back south or
did they stay where they are?

They don't come back. They don't come
back? There's no point to go back and

stuff. If they come back and what they
do, there's no rain.

So it's been a permanent change?

It's not returned to normal?

It's getting worse, actually.

As a proud Malagasy, what do you feel
about the future of the country?

I mean, how worried are you?

Really worried.

Those things I've seen now, maybe my
grandchildren won't see it no more.

We're talking about, you know, the
Baobab has been a captain. And, you

day my grandchildren may be seen only
one or two species remain.

Or the lemur is gone.

Because we have the pressure for the
nature.

We're relying on the nature to survive,
to live.

My epic odyssey across Africa was almost
at an end. I'd been on the road for

three weeks.

Three weeks living alongside a film crew
had begun to feel like family. Although

the sort of family who are really
annoying and you just want to get away

Exactly like my real family.

We arrived at the remote fishing village
of Belosur Mare to spend some time on

the ocean.

Beaches really are Madagascar's
drawcard. There are 3 ,000 miles of

perfect beaches here.

And Bik wanted to take me to see how his
own people live off them.

Nice to be back in the sea.

It gives me, like, energy.

This is some of the reef fish that you
get here.

Sardines.

All of the people here are migrating
from my place down south.

So basically, they just make a house
like this.

So all of these people have moved here,
have they? Yeah.

Because... It's easy to fish here?

Yes.

So straight away, do you feel like
mentally you're calmer when you're by

water, yeah?

That's how I am. If there's something
that stresses me, as soon as my head is

under water, I'm so calm. And when I
come up, I forget those things. I seem

fresh again here, is that?

Really? Yeah. When my wife is stressed,
she likes to dunk my head under water.

It calms her down.

Where I am from, it's a village called
Lambuara. And then we have this special

bay called Bay of the Assassins. And
when I was born, my parents took the

belly button.

The cord? Yes, take that.

And then we put inside the belly button
here. And then we have to take where we

are from.

And then my belly button is thrown
there.

My brother's belly button is throwing
there. My mom's belly button is throwing

there. Where are my aclanis?

So they're just loads and loads of belly
buttons out in the water in the sea?

Yes. This is how we learn to sail a
pirogue. Oh, with the little toy ones,

Yeah, we make it.

They don't know how to make a
PlayStation.

Oh, man.

Vic wanted to take me out on the sea in
a pirogue for the afternoon to show me

how the Veslu tribe have sailed here for
hundreds of years.

migrating up and down the coast, often
living on the water for months at a

Little bit this side. Okay.

Following this?

It's incredibly complicated.

Yeah, I'm following, I'm following. It's
very complicated.

My biggest fear currently is if he says,
no, you set up that pirogue over there.

Woo -hoo!

How are you?

Woo -hoo!

You love this pic, don't you? Oh, yeah.

I love it.

How

do

you feel?

It's great.

Love it.

So these perogues. Yes.

Is it just generation after generation
passed down how to make these, right?

Yeah. This is a culture.

Yeah, because it looks so like,
obviously it's homemade.

Yeah. Then the idea that you're going to
do a homemade boat seems so crazy, but

it's like, it works beautifully.

I know.

So far, I mean, we haven't got back to
shore yet.

You want to go a little bit faster?

Yeah, go for it. All right.

How's that?

That's so good, man.

Do you know what's fun, Vic? It's seeing
how much you love it, man.

Thank you, man.

How about yourself?

Oh, it's good. It's so good.

So what age were you when you started
being in boats like this?

I grew up with my grandfather every
holiday.

Well,

you hold each other's head?

Yeah. So how long do you think you can
hold your breath underwater for?

Two to three minutes?

Yeah. There you go.

I can do that.

Well, I've got to then prove it.

So, what's going on so far then?

Well, Bic's kind of in his element when
it comes to this kind of thing. And he's

been showing me how to sail the Faroe.
At one point he said to me, do you want

to help?

And I said, yeah. And I thought, okay,
cool. He's trusting me. So, can you move

up the other end? Because there's too
much weight down this side.

So, basically, what I've done is I've
been ballast.

One minute?

That was one minute?

Yep.

So, like...

Yeah, it's been fun.

It's been like a good time.

At what point do we go down and like
check that he's okay?

I think he's been such a great guide and
like showing me around the country and

everything. Oh, he's up.

Yes.

That is big, isn't it? Yes.

How long was that?

One minute.

58. One minute 58.

Two minutes. We'll round it up.
Congratulations, brother.

Great stuff.

You want to try?

No. I want to see how you do it.

All right. I'm just going to do one
minute 59 and come back up.

We've got to get back to shore.

How long have you been down there?

Me? How long have you been down? Oh,
fuck it up.

I panicked and I hit my head on the
bottom of the boat!

Are you okay?

I'm fine, I'm fine.

That was horrible.

I started shitting myself as soon as I
went under the water. That is horrific.

And then I thought, I'm never going to
get back up again.

And then I hit my head just under there.

How long did I do?

Ten seconds.

Good, then.

Good, then.

Although many of the people that were
staying in Bello Sommel were nomadic

there is a permanent community here.

Families of boat builders who still
construct schooner ships in the way the

French taught their ancestors 200 years
before.

As luck would have it, They were
launching a vessel that afternoon and

Bic and me along to help. I'd say as
luck would have it, we'd actually beg

to hold off until the afternoon so we
could film it for our finale.

But everything else is real.

What is this? We're going thinner?

This is like launching the boat in the
water. So it's a big ceremony for the

vessel. So every time they build a boat,
there's a party?

Yes.

They're going to launch the boat. I
mean, we have to help too.

We have to?

We have been invited.

Okay. So what do we do? Do we push?

We push or pull.

And then it's long rope over there.
Okay. Whatever you prefer. No, you tell

I think we prefer to be on the front.
Okay. So we can pull it and it's more

space. Okay. Let's go a little bit
further so not close to the boat.

Because it's your first time.

Oh, yeah. Because some people fell down
and they get an injury from it. Are you

serious? Yeah, I'm really serious.

Right here. Okay, this is go. Oh my god.

Stop, stop.

Stop, stop.

Now we stop.

So Rob, what's going on? Well, we pulled
it and we pulled it the wrong way. We

got straight in it.

I say we, I'm doing very little.

Now we go back this way.

It's gone out of control.

It's out of control.

We're done, we're done, we're done.

I'm officially announcing my retirement
from the boat pulling industry.

What happened then? Because one second
you're like just pulling, it's like

really hard. Everybody goes pull and
then it just starts moving so quick.

I'm just going to get crushed between
these two boats. So that was fun, I

survived. I really hope they get it
launched.

But I'm declaring my involvement over.
So all good.

The entire week, Bic has been absolutely
incredible.

He is such a staunch advocate of
Madagascar as a place and of the people.

Today, to be honest with you, I've
really seen what Bic is about. You know,

tribe are all about the water.

But he is properly of the sea. I mean,
it genuinely feels like you're knocking

about with Aquaman.

It honestly does.

Coming to Madagascar has been a proper
misadventure in every sense of the word.

It's a country that I didn't know
anything about, I had no preconceptions

apart from the animated films, two of
which weren't set in Madagascar at all.

But it has been a proper adventure.

I mean, you really do feel like you are
in a country that is just its own kind

of ecosystem in every single way. It's
got natural wildlife that only exists on

this island. It's got cultural...

that only exist on this island. It's an
amazing place.

If you're looking for something that
really feels like you are going on an

adventure, Madagascar has got it.

When we finished the Rwanda trip, I said
that that was kind of like entry -level

Africa. If you were nervous about or
unsure about going to a place like that,

Rwanda was the place to go.

Madagascar is the place to come when
you've really got a taste for it.

The more kind of hardened traveller, I
think.

It's like Rwanda's the gateway.

Madagascar's like when you say, I fancy
something a bit stronger.

The roads are difficult. You'll see a
lot of poverty. People are struggling

here.

You'll be asked for money a lot.

But I think it's as remarkable as Rwanda
and Uganda for completely different

reasons. It's an incredible place.

We've been on the road doing three
countries in succession.

And to be honest with you, it felt like
a once -in -a -lifetime trip.

I feel like being out here for the
amount of time that we have done has

feel properly immersive.

Every single day has been an amazing
experience.

I've seen elephants, seen lions, gone
whitewater rafting, hung out with

gorillas, saw some incredible
waterfalls, been on rock formations

that don't exist anywhere else in the
world.

I mean, it has genuinely been.

day after day, a series of unbelievable
experiences, and I feel very lucky to

have taken part in it.

You know, some people get the travel bug
when they go travelling in a gap year.

Some people go to a country they weren't
expecting to go to just for a roll of

the dice, and they get the travel bug
that way. I got the travel bug by doing

series of travel shows on the BBC.

And, you know, we all have our roots,
and this has been mine.

So where are you going next year?

Disney World.

Oh, I've got kids, haven't I?

You can watch all of his misadventures
on BBC iPlayer.

While telling the story of America's so
-called miracle painkiller, Michael

Keaton stars in Dope Sick, press red for
iPlayer.

Next year, I know what you're thinking.
What's going to happen in the final

episode of Inside Number Nine? Well, I
would tell you, but I've signed this.

Bye now.