Day one - Antananarivo

Day one - Antananarivo

I am on a deck right outside of my hotel room.  In my room, great wifi, 5 feet on the other side of the wall, not so great.  But I would rather be outside than in my room so here we go. 

I set my alarm for 8am.  I guess I set it but did not turn it on.  So, I woke up at 10.  Breakfast was until 11am.  I got there at 10:45 as they were putting up the chairs.  Am I too late?  No, of course not madam, who we have to be nice to or we will get fired, just this way.   I was not the last one to arrive so guilt lessened. 

Remember when I bought that little madagascar book so I could use the little map insert.  I forgot the map insert.  I downloaded google map app and set out for Lake Anosy.  As I sit here on my deck, I can literally see it.  But this morning I was setting out blind.  As I was leaving I told the guy at the front desk where I was going and he sort of pointed me in the right direction and warned me to watch my phone.  The phone I had to have out to find my way.  

I found my way.  I think I missed one turn but when I tried to take the google route home, the street I missed was, how to put this..., not strolling dumb tourist friendly.  

I made it to the lake, walked to the jetty, peninsula, the thing that sticks out into the middle of the lake.  There is a lovely little park around that side of the lake.  $5000 to enter (about $1.50).  Worth it.  At least two new birds.  Probably as common as pigeons but I like to get off to a good 'lifer' start. 

Black Heron, in process of 'mantling'

Squacco Heron.  Handsome fellow.

The infamous stadium

I and all of my stuff made it back to the hotel safe and sound.  I met one of my tour people, Guiddo on the way in.  He is from Germany.    

Our group meets in two hours and the tour begins.

Later that day.  

I met my group.  One person dropped out which is good.  There are 15 on the tour.  I think four couples and the rest are single.  Five Americans; two couples (mom, day, daughter and her husband), one single guy from New Jersey.  Two from Germany;  one single woman, one single man.  Three from the UK, one couple and one single female.  A couple from Serbia (?) living in Amsterdam.  One single woman from Hong Kong living in Kenya.  And two single women from Canada (including yours truly).  If my math is wrong, I forgot someone.  

Our guide's name is Coco.  He is from south Madagascar.

Free Rum.  Choice of ginger, coffee or cinnamon.  I went with coffee.

I would 100% been sharing a room if I didn't pay for the single room.  One single woman is getting a free single room, you're welcome.  

Tomorrow we are flying out of Antananarivo around 7 pm to the coast.  In the day, we are taking a tour of some palace or castle or some such.  I am going because the group is going.  Bird park will have to wait.  

Early to bed tonight.  After I slept in so late today, I have to be prepared for an early morning tomorrow.  

 The next day (day two Antananarivo)

Company at the next table at breakfast. 

It is two days later but I cannot get wifi so I may not be able to update.  I'll give you this bot for now and will try to at least get blogger app to load on my computer so I can do some I posted updates . 

Gadammit... - (amended) - Yay!... (amended) - this trip just needs to start already!

August 20 (one month to go!)

'no problem'

Remember when I said in my last post that I was going to wait to book a single room so that it went on my next visa bill because I am travel-budgeting this trip on the fly.  Who could have guessed that might go wrong.  Everyone but me probably.  

I know, I know, this is 100% my own fault.  No more single rooms allotted for my trip... 

They let me pay for the single supplement and I MIGHT get my own room.  If I don't, I'll get a refund. They will let me know next week.  

Even if I don't get my own room, I'm sure it will be fine.  I will make best friends with whomever I am sharing with and that will be that.  

Ok, back to homework.  Bah! 

August 24

Update on the single room.  I got an email today saying "Good news".  They were able to get me into a single room.  Sorry, potential best friend.  Let's be honest, there was just as good of a chance that we would have been mortal enemies by the end.  I guess I will have to keep being nice to my Canadian best friends.  But I am going to suggest they better consider finding an apartment in a cool foreign location with a guest room if they want to compete.  

I got an email from Lakana Hotel, my non-refundable hotel in Nosy Bohara.  They weren't cancelling on me, miraculously.  They were letting me know they can't process my credit card from Madagascar so I will have to pay when I get there.  So, 'non-refundable' gets a bit more flexible...  I went back and read some more reviews.  I am still in.  

But some of the reviews were saying try to get the bungalow at the end of the pier for unobstructed views!  Good thinking!  I emailed them.  They said that it is 'free' (which confused me but I finally figured out they meant available) but it would be an extra $12 night.  Sure, why not.  I'm burning money anyway.  I emailed back!  Let's do it!  

Did I mention it will be the end of whale season so if they happen to be swimming by, I want an unobstructed view!  

Here are some pictures from Lakana Hotel's website: 

https://www.sainte-marie-hotel.com/en/sainte-marie-activities/sainte-marie-humpback-whales

Additional good news.  I am getting a backpay cheque before I leave so that should lessen a bit of the travel budget issues.  I might get back up to $0!  

August 26

I woke up this morning to the news talking about Madagascar.  That's unusual.  I perked up.  Is this going to affect my trip?  I immediately assumed some sort of political unrest.  But no, it was a stampede at a football stadium that resulted in at least 12 fatalities and many more injuries.  Tragic yes.  But it won't derail my trip.  I didn't even know they had such a skookum stadium in Antananarivo.  

At most, sentences like this  At least 15 people were killed in a similar incident during a music concert at the stadium in 2019, and in 2018 one person died and at least 37 were injured in a crush ahead of a qualifying football match for the African Cup of Nations might make me wary of attending an event at the stadium but it wasn't in my plans anyway.  So, I went back to sleep.  

Later while looking at BBC for information which took me to SKY news which lead me to The Independent which lead me to their article, Madagascar Travel Guide: Everything you need to know before you go.  Which lead me to this sentence: Since distances are considerable and many of Madagascar’s rural highways are in a lamentable condition, the best way to cover several regions is to hop around with Air Madagascar. Unfortunately, they’re notoriously unreliable, changing flight times and dates with minimal notice; prepare accordingly.

Excellent. I'm not sure how to prepare more accordingly other than to spend my days in Nosy Bohara looking for a job and an apartment.  

August 29

I have too much time on my hands and too much headspace to give to this trip.  I may have changed hotels again.  I am losing track.  I decided to stay in the hotel the tour starts at, the Belvedere, and I booked it as part of the tour.  It was only $6 more than Sole.  I figured if I found any of my tour mates at the airport, we could share a cab (or I can scam my way onto one of their 'airport transfers' which is considerably more than the estimated cost of a taxi - I wonder if this 'bracket' is long enough to be it's own sentence, outside of a bracket... nah)

It is clearly time to start packing so I have something else to concentrate on.  

Packing seems like it will be a new post so I will sign off on this one.  

A lemur for closure

A Red Ruffed Lemur

😐😐

New hut, new costs, new warnings, new people, new visa (who knew?)

August 2

I just wrote a post about the deadliest road from Nosy Bohara and how that show kind of freaked me out.  The next day, I got an email from the airline saying they have changed my flight to Nosy Bohara (just by a couple of hours).  And then an email from my hotel there saying they were cancelling my reservation.  It's a sign I said...  A sign to double down!  

I booked a new, better, even more picturesque hotel with a bungalow right over the water!  

Hotel Lakana, this one is on the west side of the island. And comes with breakfast and dinner.  Just to laugh further in the faces of the gods of bad decisions and fair warnings, this booking is non-refundable!  HA! I'll show you... 

August 4

Planning!  

August 6

BC Day long weekend but I forgot I signed up for a class so I am at my computer.  Since I'm here, procrastinating and not doing my homework, time for a bit of travel research.  

After the Morocco entry form debacle, I thought maybe I should actually look and see if Madagascar has some sort of entry visa.  I had already kind of looked but I realized I hadn't REALLY looked.  

Google Madagascar visa. First site is the Government of Canada's info on Madagascar.  The first info they give is travel advisories.  Risk level high.  This doesn't really surprise me.  The Government of Canada is a bit of an old granny with the advisories.  Robberies, murders, political unrest blah blah blah.  

This was a bit more surprising, although I don't know why.  Assaults on Nosy Bohara common enough to get a mention.  Avoid traveling this area alone. I'll stay in my twig hut, I'm sure it is secure.  

I did find out there is an election in November 2023.  I already knew that they are a bit, let's say precarious in their government, so I'm glad I'm not going to be there for that. 

Ok, enough of that nonsense.  Do I need a visa?

Apparently yes.  I can get it before I go or I can get it at the airport.  I do not like sending my passport to random "foreign representatives in Canada" so I'll get mine at the airport.  I can live with 'long delays'.  $27 CAD according to the website.  

But I can fill out the form now so I'll do that before I leave.  Do I really need a passport photo? I am guessing not, but do I want to spend $15 to be safe and/or to save time at the airport? Maybe.

Thinking about saving money.  I was half considering not paying for the single supplement and risking  not getting my room on the tour.  When I went to Morocco, there was only one other single woman and she paid the supplement.  So, I got my own room by default!  Score!

I opened this to discussion in the staff lunch room and got a unanimous and resounding "get your own room, how is this even a question...".  They are right of course, the lunch room counsel is always right. I am broke but not that broke.  

I found the 'chat' for my tour on my G Adventures app.  No one chats apparently, but it does show that there are 14 people on my tour so far, and it shows their names and when they got added.  Based on very suspect data (guessing gender by name, guessing single status by sign up date), I see at least four single women.  

Faith, Wilma, Bobbie & John.  Sabrina.  Joanne (the only one I can be sure of). Boyana & Dachaz.  Jenna & Haider (I've chatted with Jenna on FB and I think she is a single).  Guido.  Lynda.  Wayne & Aisling (just joined today).  Garry and Catherine joined but unjoined two days later. 

I called G and outright asked. Of course the nice CSW couldn't tell me but he did say 'if you want your own room, I would recommend you book one'.  It is less than $700.  When is the last date I can add this option (basically, can I get it onto my next visa bill - did I mention I have no travel budget for this trip!).  Mid-August.  Ok, it's in my calendar. 

Back to my regularly scheduled long weekend!  But first, a lemur: 

Indri