Now that's a warm welcome

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43 hours after leaving our apartment, we walked into Tana-Jacaranda Hotel. The good news, we made it. The bad news, our bikes didn't. Not quite sure where they are, but hopeful they'll be catching up with us soon. We had a lovely lay over in Dublin, took the bus into town, walked around a bit, and had a Guinness and some pub food before heading back to the airport. We landed on the day of the pride parade, so the city was draped in rainbow flags and the streets were full of colorful (literally) folks.

We continued our journey via Addis Ababa, and eventually boarded our flight and took off for Antananarivo. Upon arrival, we endured the 2 hour process of getting our visa stamps and waiting to pass through the one and only customs clerk for foreigners. Then we waited, waited, waited and waited some more for our bikes to arrive. No bikes. We asked people, still no bikes. We looked around, still no bikes. Finally we completed the lost baggage claim form and headed out, a bit bummed, but still excited that we had finally arrived in Madagascar.

We met up with our driver (arranged in advance to fit our large bike boxes), and hit the road to the city. We found out that the following day would be Independence Day, and the streets were packed with people getting ready to celebrate. When we reached the area near our hotel, the sun was setting, and the streets were crowded with people walking with lanterns and colored lights to the edge of the lake. After checking in, we ordered some food and beer and then enjoyed our meal, taking breaks every couple minutes to go out to the balcony and watch the fireworks display over the lake. What an amazing first night!

Stay tuned for the next post to see if we have found our bicycles...

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