Just NB

I last left off here , on Part 1 of my Trip Parts 1 to 4 . Yes, it would have made sense post vacation posts in order, but I'm special sometimes and don't necessary pay attention to logic. After we left Camp Amoureux, we were cold and freezing. And tired. We drove for a couple of hours and then had the joy of hopping on one of Madagascar's lovely ferries! We had a few minutes to sit around and...take in the area (and smells) so of course I took random pictures of not much anything. Normally when I see little kids, I'm either prepared for them to a) begin screaming and crying, because they have never seen anything as big or as white as me; or b) ask for candy. Here? They want our empty water bottles to transport water, milk, or oil. I kind of had a "poverty is sad" moment here. The kids don't even ask for candy...the ask for empty plastic bottles. We weren't terribly fond of our transport, but things could have been A LOT worse. After...

" With most aid suspended, Madagascar is progressively sliding into greater fragility. So far, the Southern African Development Community's progress mediating in Madagascar has been painfully slow. And as the stalemate draws out, life in Madagascar, which is already one of the world's most impoverished states, continues to worsen. On Tuesday, the Southern African regional body (SADC) will release an update on exactly how far it's progressed in its mediation efforts in Madagascar. Last week's much-trumpeted round of talks in the Seychelles appeared to have gone well. Political foes - namely the interim president Andry Rajoelina and former leader Marc Ravalomanana - met face-to-face to iron out their differences and eke out a compromise to set the scene for elections. That one meeting was not sufficient to bridge the differences between the two parties, however. In a statement released afterward, the SADC said, "During the meeting, it was agreed that t...

So that meltdown I was talking about . It was just kinda stupid. Where to begin... Oh, I know! I DON'T LIKE HIKING . It's all great to get out, and walk and stuff, but it bores me to death. I love the things that I see while hiking, but I just think it's like...I don't know. Painful almost. (Which again makes my Mount Kenya adventure sound even more stupid). The Isalo hike sounded like fun. Okay, no, it did not sound like fun, but the things that we were going to see and do sounded like fun. The last hike we did was in Ranomafana Park and I wore long pants and my hiking shoes. I was super uncomfortable and hot. So for this hike, I decided to a skort (I hate that word) and what I refer to as my "grandma sandals". They are kind of like hiking sandals, that I bought last year when I was in Tofino , but look like something that a grandma would wear. The hike started off pretty early, so I made sure to drink enough coffee. Off we went. You can see the major...