Hotel Mahatazana Antananarivo

... Madagascar on Sunday lunchtime having changed flights in Paris and Mauritius. I was met by my guide Claude and driver Haingu and we set off eastward for the four hour drive to our first stop, Andasibe. Admittedly the road shown is not the main highway, but it still took 4 hours to cover the 80 miles as the road twists and turns so much. Only a few major routes have sealed surfaces - the rest are an ...

... afternoon. And, we just had 2 cyclones pass through....one from the Mozambique channel side and one from the Indian Ocean. Always interesting here! Thank you again for all the cards, packages, gifts, etc. And- Girls' Camp 2009 is coming in April, so if you'd like to donate-PLEASE LET ME KNOW! We'd love any help we can get-monetary or otherwise! Much love and God bless, Amy :)

... to a city open air produce market. Lisa (the vegetarian) quickly bailed out of the market after the first butcher stall. I have to say I have never seen so many flies in one place before (and I've been to a lot of these markets....). I asked Babba if he knew of a place where I could get a haircut and since this was his home town he took me to a good place where the locals go. Got a ...

... Meer starten wir eine Whale watching Tour von der Hafenstadt Ambodifotatra. Ueber 2 Stunden folgen wir einem Southern Right Whale in sicherem Abstand: es ist eine Walmutter mit ihrem Baby. Unser italienischer Kapitaen ist begeistert und faehrt mit einem Beiboot dicht an die beiden heran, geht ins Wasser und schnorchelt kurze Zeit mit den imposanten Tieren bis diese abtauchen. Nach einem Lunch am Strand fahren wir weiter aufs Meer ...

Happy 2008 to All! I made it back safe and sound (after an 18 hours flight) to Madagascar after an amazing Christmas with the fam. I got to see some many friends and family, but my sincerest apologies to those who I missed! It was a crazy and hectic 2 weeks. I was truly blessed to be able to have gone home. Thanks again to all that made it happen! Things are going very well here. School started on Jan. 7th and has been in full swing. Both the students AND ...

... a few messages en route. Liv and I then went for a wander around the area. Some great views out over the city from the tops of the hills. Also some nice shopping, both for ourselves and presents for family and friends. Quite a few of the crafts on sale were similar to what is available in Mozambique, but ...

... it before I got here and it took a while to hit. I couldn't leave Sunday, though. It wasn't a big deal, but whenever you travel here, people are always asking you to take packages or pick them up. I had already dropped off a 30 pound cooler to relatives of my friend in Antalaha. Sunday morning the same relatives dropped off another cooler filled with something really smelly. I hadn't talked to the doctor yet so I thought I still might be ...

... sweaty by the time I arrived at the check-in count**. The check-in happend without incident and I was ready for my flight to Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. This would be my first visit to this large island off the coast of South Africa. I had been corresponding with some people th**e for ov** a year. How they found us an int**esting story. Our deacon in Togo, Mr. Fiaboé works for ASECNA, the pan-African civil aviation ...

... Not a wasp, but a bee! At least I know it's dead now, ha! Wed 25th Oct - Goodbye/AIDS assembly at school this morning - all of the kids lined up on the yard, with me on the balcony with some teachers, and one girl from 3e giving a short speech thanking me and wishing me a safe journey. Felt awful with the bit "even though you could not do what you intended" referring to to my curtailment, and then they gave me some presents, which ...

... tired to really notice that much about the city as we wend our way from Ivato to our hotel in the centre - all I remember is seeing lots of rice fields and lots of rubbish. Tana has some nice features, but overall, it's not a very pleasant place to spend much time. Nevertheless, it's a whole new country and continent for me, so I drink in the sights of the long, wide Avenue d ...