So after a 9 hour flight to Kenya followed by a 3 hour flight to Madagascar I finally arrived in the capital Antananarivo on Sunday! The weather has been boiling since I got here and considering it's rainy season it has only rained 3 or 4 times so I'm getting to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!
I spent 2 days in the capital, exploring and endlessly searching for a shop to buy a sim card in (apparently you need a passport over here to get a sim card!?), I was accosted by women selling postcards and vanilla who didn't really seem to care that I had no need for either... Took a taxi up to the top of one of the hills to have a look at the old kings and queens' palace where two nice guides showed me round in english (which was a relief considering I've now realised how bad my French is!) and taught me what Antananarivo means- something about a thousand people?
The next day was spent getting up at 5 to head down to the taxi-brousse station to start the 400km journey to Fianarantsoa (where I'll be spending the next 3 months)- a taxi-brousse is like a minibus and they're what everyone uses to get around here. We set off squashed into the minibus at 7am and arrived in Fianar at 5.30pm! The journey was made up of winding along mountain roads through beautiful scenery (mountains and valleys full of rice paddies), having no feeling in my legs, the woman in front of me throwing up every now and then, a slight break down about halfway through- we stood at the edge of the road for about 20 mins while the minivan was erupting steam then hopped back in and carried on, and the driver playing a mix of 90s power ballads, spice girls and gangnam style for the entire journey!
Sam from Feedback Madagascar came and met me at the taxi-brousse station and after dropping my bags off at my new house, I spent the night at hers for much needed food and sleep!
Have spent today exploring Fianar and food shopping while settling into my new home!
I'm absolutely loving it here and so excited to start working and see more!
Hi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like an exciting and eventful journey, and The Spice Girls sound track is quite appropriate for Madagascar.
This afternoon we have our first meeting with students looking for 2014 placements, and we'll show them your blog.
Looking forward to the next instalment.
Have a good time.
Evelyn