March 2nd to March 8th 2024
Wow what an incredible and amazing week!! It was the week that Sophie and Danny finally came to visit, and it did not disappoint. I was so excited for them to come that I got to the airport extra early at 11 o’clock at night. Their flight didn’t land until 11:30pm and then they had to go through customs, so it was a lot of suspense for me. I finally got to see them through the window of baggage claim, but then it was another 30 minutes as they waited for their bags. But it was all worth it, and I’m so glad that they were able to get to Madagascar safely.
We had a great week together with some fun adventures and some down time to hangout. Since we didn’t get to the hotel until 1am on Sunday, we slept in and then went to the airport again for our flight from the capital Tana to Majunga. Once we arrived in Majunga, we were able to watch a beautiful sunset with a rainbow and then I took them out for chicken sandwiches. It was a great start to our time in Majunga and we rested up because we had a busy next day.
On Monday, we rented 4-wheelers and went on an adventure to Sacred Lake. This was similar to what I did with my parents except for one thing, it had been raining a lot and the roads were terrible. We were on quads, and it was dirt/mud/completely water flooded roads that we had to travel on. Several times we went through big puddles and the quads died on us because all the water killed the electrical components. One time was really bad, Sophie and I got stuck in a big puddle and a couple Malagasy kids had to help me push the quad out. While the quads dying on us a few times was a little stressful, we had fun and were able to make it to Sacred Lake. At Sacred Lake we had a great tour and were able to see 2 lemur families. We even got to feed them, which was exciting too.
Afterwards, we continued on our quad adventure and went to Antsanitia Resort which was about another hour drive on the quads. The road was a little less flooded but my back brake broke part way through which added to the stress and adventure of navigating the muddy roads. At the resort we had a fun time swimming in the pool, and we also met with Chelsea, one of the Peace Corps Volunteers, whose site was nearby. We eventually had to leave because a storm started brewing and we wanted to get back before the rain hit. Well, we were unsuccessful and got hit by terrible rains and wind. Part way through it felt like we were driving through a lake because we couldn’t see any road for 300 meters, only water. Anyway, we got drenched, but we made it back to my apartment. It was definitely a memorable day.
On Tuesday, we had a chill day. Sophie went to get a massage with Natalie in the morning and I spent some time with Danny because he was feeling a little sick. The rest of the day we had more chill time and I took Sophie for a ride on my moped, while Danny took a little nap. It was fun showing her other parts of Majunga. Once we got back, we had dinner with Pastor Miguel, Natalie, and their two-year old Abi, which was really nice. We also went out for ice-cream after, which was a nice little treat. Wednesday was a little bit more adventurous again. We slept in a little, and then went around town and did some shopping. I took them to the main market, which was busy and overwhelming but cool. In the afternoon, we went to the American Corner to help with discussion groups. Since it was three of us, we each took our own group and talked with a group of 5 to 10 Malagasy people. I am really happy that they were able to do this because it is one thing to see Majunga and the city, but it gives you a different perspective to talk to the people that actually live here. I always learn a lot when I participate in the discussion groups, and I think they both did too.
Our authentic Malagasy day continued as we went out with a couple people from the American Corner after discussion groups. It was a Wednesday night so the bar that we went to wasn’t crowded, but we had a ton of fun with just us by ourselves. We played games, sang some karaoke, and did some dancing. It seems that almost all Malagasy people are really good at singing, so I shied away from singing, but Danny and Sophie were brave enough to try and sung Wonderwall. Anyway, we had a great day and a great night. It was definitely one that I think all of us will remember.
Thursday was our last full day in Majunga and I started to feel a little sad. Since we were out late the night before, we slept in and had a slow start to our day. Eventually we got going and went to the beach. The public schools were on break, so it was a little crowded, but we still had a good time and got to swim in the Indian ocean. In the evening, we watched one last sunset in Majunga and took some pictures in front of the Baobab tree before heading back home to start packing.
I knew that they didn’t leave until late Saturday, but it was still sad to see the trip coming to an end. That evening, we finished packing and ate dinner and then sat down to watch a movie. However, as soon as we started the movie the power went out. And it stayed out. For the entire night. It wasn’t the best last night in Majunga but we stayed up and played some games in order to tire ourselves out and prepare for our 16-hour bus ride the next day.
We woke up early on Friday at 4:30am and headed to the bus station to check in for our 16 hour bus ride. We were all a little nervous because even though I had already done it twice, it is still a long time to spend on the bus. At 6am we got on the bus, and it started off as poorly as possible. We had a monster baby on our bus that was screaming before the bus even started moving. In fact, the baby was screaming so much that it made itself start puking. The first hour was awful, but after that we settled in and were able to do the rest of the drive. We made it to Tana in a record 13 hours and headed to the hotel for some sleep. It was an amazing week and it made me so happy to have both Sophie and Danny here with me.