24 hours Trek: Tamatave - Moramanga - Antananarivo - Tamatave

Last rotation I was supposed to for a visit to the mine site (y'all know I work for a mining and refinery company right?) but I didn't have time.

So this rotation worked out perfectly since my Canadian boss was here and wanted to go as well. Now I'd have a travelling partner (that I actually enjoy spending time with).



We started off the morning fairly early at the airport. Flying doesn't normally bother me, but I wasn't thrilled to be flying on this little plane...

(I actually got in trouble for taking this picture because its illegal in Madagascar to take any pictures in an airport...but...its totally legal to pee anywhere in the streets)

I tried to enjoy the scenery, but there was this protective film on the window that made it hard to see out. I was also reeeaaalllly tired, so I took advantage of the hour long flight and had an awesome nap.

Until we landed on the runway...which was just a field. New experience for me.

The drive to the mine took about 30 minutes or so and was uneventful. A few windy roads...and a few moments of car sickness...but nothing major.

There was actually quite a bit of interesting scenery and the mine is HUGE. Unfortunately...I can't post a lot of the pictures I took. Its company policy that taking pictures on the mine site is not allowed...so I was pushing my limits even taking these ones. But...here are a few:

Even at an ugly mine site, MG is still beautiful....

Look, an accountant that leaves the office!!

We had enough time to have a quick lemur tour, from this girl - called the "Lemur Lady". She has her PhD in Lemur Studies. She was really nice and knowledgeble....extremely passionate about her job...but I secretly think she wants to become a lemur.

There are approximately 200 biologists living on site studying the mine's effect on the local wildlife (and I don't mean the expats. We all know the mine's effect has turned them into a bunch of crazy party drunks....)

Our quick treck into the jungle:

Success! We quickly discovered a group of five lemurs. You'll just have to trust me that they are up there...ya just can't see them. (Guess that's when a better camera would come in handy. *hint hint Christmas/Birthday gift* cough)

After our quick lemur tour, we made the two hour drive to the capital Antananarivo (refered to as Tana for short).

There are NO pictures of the drive. I'm sure it was scenic and beautiful, blah blah blah...but I was tired - and even though the road was super windey - I passed out in the back seat. As I was half asleep, I could feel my body being thrown around in the back seat, but it was...pure bliss to finally pass out.

I slept most of the way and started to wake up as we approached Tana.

Now - its no secret - I'm not a big city girl....but this place was ridiculous. It drove me nuts. It was dirty, smelled horrible, was so polluted...I just hated the feel of the city...

Its only Its only a quick flight away and about 200km from Tamatave....but is SO MUCH DIFFERENT.

Yucky.

The plus side was that there was a Jumbo Score - which is like a REAL store. Kind of like a Walmart. I went in but was so overwhelmed with all of the choices of things to buy, I left with some makeup and bottled water. I know....how exciting...

As we approached our hotel...I was a bit skeptical, but it turned out to be very nice.

I even managed to find a few cute baskets in the hotel gift shop that I had been looking everywhere for. AND had a FABULOUS chocolate cake-like-thing for dessert.

The room (which unfortunately did not have a bathtub....I miss bathtubs!)

Wouldn't be my first choice for artwork to hang in a hotel....well, interesting, I guess.

Even with the wonderful chocolate dessert and shopping - I was in a pretty crappy mood - maintly due to being over-over-over-tired.

I HATED the city I was in and I just wanted to be home (and yes, I'm referring to Tamatave as home).

I wanted my comfortable bed back in camp....familiar surroundings...and with the stress of the week before and me being away from home...I was a bit of a mess. I made a few crying phone calls home and then tried (uncessfully) to sleep.

Unfortunately....I woke up looking as if I had cried myself to sleep. Thank goodness I had just bought some new makeup to help me look a little perkier.

The hotel was like...three minutes away from the airport, I boarded the plane, passed out, and woke up when we got here:

TAMATAVE AIRPORT!!!! Almost home!!! WOO HOO!!

I was so thrilled to be back in Tamatave. It can be a crazy place at times - traffic jams, bikes, pedestrians, crazy drivers, pousse-pousses all over the place, but I think its one of the happiest places on earth.

It has such a small town feel and surprisingly, I've started to feel like I fit in really well here. Or at least like I'm adjusting to life here. And with my lack of sleep and a bit of stressful week, I just wanted to come home and be somewhere I'm comfortable.

It TOTALLY blows my mind that I can say I feel comfortable and happy to come home to a city - on an island - in Africa - that probably couldn't be farther away from Edmonton, but its true.

Even in yesterday's uber-shit mood, I was so freaking glad to be back. Ahhh...clean skies, familiar sights, and friendly faces.