Next day I went to the taxi-brousse station. I was there at 6 am, which was the departure time printed on my minibus ticket to Antananarivo. The bicycle and the panniers were strapped to the roof. After waiting for the vehicle to fill up with passengers, we eventually set off at 8 am. It took us 21 hours to cover 900 km!!! Furthermore, it got cold at night, and I was wearing summer clothes. My foreseeing Malagasy travel companions had warm blankets, but I was trembling with cold, trying to curl up (although it wasn't easy on narrow seats) and sleep through that nightmare.

In the capital of Madagascar I caught a taxi. Despite the need to haggle, I preferred to pay FMG 15000 rather than stray somewhere in the tangle of the city's streets. The driver took me to the Oblates, where I could tidy myself up and prepare the bike for the flight. In the evening friar Roman gave me a lift to the airport, and thanks to him the check-in and passport control went smoothly – God, thank you for such people! I wouldn't have managed by myself. First I needed to wait in a line and pay the departure tax. Then there was another line in front of the entrance. In the meantime, someone had to keep an eye on the bike. Afterwards – the check-in queue, but I also needed to buy a cardboard box for the bicycle (the only way to carry it on board) and pack the bike in it. Phew…

The flight to Paris lasted 10.5 hours, after which I waited another 5 hours for the 2 hour flight to Warsaw. My dear Lucyna barely recognised me at the airport – sunken cheeks (well, I lost a few kilos), bloodshot eyes and apathy. The previous two days had been tough indeed.

That was the end of my expedition to Madagascar, but by no means the end of my troubles relating to it. Two weeks after returning home, I experienced a strange fever that would come back every other day. This symptom was accompanied by heavy sweating and a rash. Luckily, Poznań has a clinic specialising in the treatment of tropical and parasitic diseases. I stayed there for observation, and after a week doctors diagnosed Strongyloidiasis. I must have caught it when walking barefoot on a beach - this small parasite penetrates the skin. After another two weeks, the unwanted souvenir from the Red Island was finally eliminated. Without mercy.