Daily Archives: September 3, 2017

Sunday September 3, 2017 – Antananarivo

Had a good sleep and woke up at 7:00 am feeling pretty well rested. Relaxed a bit as I’m sure there won’t be very much sleeping in on this holiday. As I was finishing getting ready the power went out! Fortunately it was back on after a few minutes so it wasn’t too bad. Headed downstairs for some breakfast of a ham and cheese omelet, a fruit salad, which I will hopefully not regret eating later and some bread and cafe au lait. The restaurant looked nice and overlooked the city, which appears to be quite spread out. After breakfast we sat on the terrace, watching the people on the street below and enjoying the sun. It was a bit hazy but not too many clouds. Started to get warm when the breeze stopped so we decided to head to the shade but started talking to the couple sitting next to us, who were also on our tour. After a bit of a chat it was lunch time so we headed down to the restaurant. Tried the local beer and the gnocci with blue cheese sauce, which was subtle and tasty. After the food our waiter offered us free samples of the local flavour infused rum. I tried the coffee, which smelled of coffee but was pretty strong. Took a sip of the vanilla flavored but it was REALLY strong tasting and I almost gagged. Had another beer and relaxed in the restaurant for a bit before heading to the terrace to work on my blog. Managed to update the first blog relatively easy and it was nice and relaxing on the terrace under the tree. Noticed I was careless with my sunscreen application this morning as I have “roller” marks from the sunscreen stick I bought :(. The sun started going low around 4:45 or so and made for a nice golden glow on the terrace. Made a brief stop in the room and then headed down to dinner after it was dark around 5:30. Noticed the last bit of the sunset as we initially sat down and managed to get a nice picture with my phone. Started with a beer and then ordered the grilled zebu (cowish creature) with green peppercorn sauce and French fries. Saw 8 others from the group in the restaurant that got in this afternoon but haven’t officially met them yet. After dinner headed to the room to update the blog and get ready for bed. Have the official group meeting tomorrow at 8 am before our city tour and trip east. Feeling tired and hope to sleep well today. Was nice to relax before what will likely be a hectic tour!

September 1 and 2 – En route to Madagascar

Finally time for my trip to Madagascar!  Amazing how quickly time flies.  Spent a few hours this morning taking care of the final preparations – always seem to have a lot to accomplish at the last minute!  Got to the airport in plenty of time and even had a taxi driver that remembered taking me to the airport on one of my India trips! The security in the international area was greatly improved with a slick new efficient system and I was in and out within 2 minutes!  Had some time to relax in the lounge, which was not as nice as the Air Canada lounge but it was better than no lounge.  Boarded the plane and was disappointed that there was no pre-flight champagne in the Premium Economy cabin – a first world problem, I guess. Arrived in Paris on time and the connection to our next gate went smoothly.   Lucked out having the spa right next to our gate so we spent the layover getting the pedicures we didn’t have time for before our trip!   The flight was boarding just as we finished so we cruised right onto the plane.   Upgraded this leg to business and was glad I did as the cabin is nice and roomy and I got my pre-flight champagne ?. Another long flight (10.5 hours) with an arrival around 11 pm Madagascar time so I don’t want to sleep the whole flight.   Hope I get a bit of sleep though as I feel pretty groggy after the transatlantic flight.  Great safety video – very artisty and I loved the line about the seatbelt ” elegantly highlighting my waist while ensuring my safety”.  It is apparently, ” trendy here to have your devices set to airplane mode” ? Had some dinner, which included some tasty duck pate.  Fell asleep before the dessert came as the time was catching up with me.  look a bit of a map for a few hours and felt a bit better.  Wake up as we were flying over Ethiopia but it was cloudy and then dark so I couldn’t see anything.  We then flew right over Mount Kilimanjaro – too bad it was dark as it would have been neat to get a photo. Arrived in Antananarivo on time and made it through immigration relatively quickly.  Our baggage made it, which was good news and our driver was waiting for us. Stopped to change some money at this dodgy looking booth in the airport that our driver led us to. The exchange rate was 1 euro to 3,440 of the local currency.  Since the trip notes recommended changing all cash at the airport, I changed my €700, which resulted with me getting 2,408,000 in bills of 10,000 and less (>250 bills), which was two large stacks of 1, 000,000 and then a smaller bundle of the remainder – definitely too much to fit in my wallet!  Left the airport feeling like we were going to get robbed as people seemed to be staring.  Loaded our bags and us into the car and then the driver left and locked the door, leaving us in the dark parking lot. Was a bit worried but the driver finally returned and we late found out that he likely went to pay for the parking. Drove through the quiet streets and arrived at the hotel which required a short walk up a path in the dark.  Check in went smoothly and quickly and the rooms looked nice; however, the “jumbo”  mostly empty can of bug spray was a bit unnerving, particularly since it had a label with the room number and a date of August 20th on it! Since it was a long day and a half with not much sleep I had no problem falling asleep.