day one

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We arrived safely in Tana Madagascar yesterday afternoon. What a trip it has been already - after over 24 hrs of flight time we were a bit jet lagged to say the least. In Tana we made it through customs only to be immediately bombarded by taxi drivers and tourist operators. After finding our airport shuttle was not there we found a new taxi - he put a little bit of gas in the car and we were off. So it is true that the scariest part of a new country is usually the traffic - but there always seems to be a mutual understanding between the drivers, and although it is chaotic there is no yelling or cursing (so far). Outside the city is beautiful with rice fields and grazing cattle, people walking inbetween the fields with baskets on their heads - it is a very east asian feel. There seems to be a lot of construction in the area and many men were doing road work in flip-flops. Everyone seemed to be out and about - the sidewalks filled with vendors.
About ten minutes later the hailstorm began - hail the size of marbles does not make the driving easier. with a window open to defrost the car I was being pelted by the large ice balls. We thought it might let up in a little while - but oh no this was the forecast according to our driver. Oh- so this isnt the dry season huh? perfect😊 We tried to ask in broken french if this was the forecast for all of November - oh yes he said with a smile. So we may be headed over to the dry east side earlier than we thought😊 BUT today it has not rained so we have our hope up about the weather. Last night we stayed in a nice hotel for about $20 and immediately passed out to catch up on our sleep. Today we have been exploring Tana- Lots of traffic, persistant beggars, slum babies and old french buildings. Colin says it is lawless and wild! We are definitely the minority and we are quickly trying to learn as much french and malagasy as possible- in general the people have been very nice and helpful despite our lack of local knowledge.
Tomorrow we plan to take a bus south to Antsirabe. Until next time- VELOMA (goodbye in malagasy)

btw this is a french keyboard so there may be many mispellings-

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Comments

[Craig]

gentlemen, start your engines
Great you made it 1/2 way around the world. Now go out there and make wonderful memories. Enjoy it all!

[MOM Janie]

Great to hear you are on a good start to your adventure. Have been reading a bit and it looks like a fascinating place. Put a new pulmonary valve in a 19 yr old today. Just a tiny groin incision. She won't have to have major open heart. Very cool. Love you guys.