Monique and Alex to Africa April 2018: Chapter 6: Our last few days in Madagascar

Our last few days in Madagascar were fun as we had a relaxed schedule.

We went to the airport in Nossy Be 2 hours before our scheduled departure time for Tana as required by the airline only to find that the flight had not even left Tana. The airport is a rundown building built many moons ago. We checked in but did not go through security as the waiting room inside was a hot place. So we sat down on a small wall outside the building along with many other passengers waiting the departure. At one point, I noticed we were sitting outside the VIP lounge and that the door was open. So I went in and found an air-conditioned room and a very nice bathroom, which is always a luxury in such countries. We used the facilities and I sat down in one of the comfortable sofas. Monique preferred to stay outside as she really hates air conditioning. Shortly before the departure, we went through security.

We boarded our flight and arrived in Tana about an hour late. It was a good experience as usually flying Air Madagascar because not only did we arrive on the same day as scheduled but our two bags appeared intact on the belt. The airline has a horrible reputation as being overpriced and inefficient which is well deserved but they did us well, so we were happy. Henri Rabarijohn was waiting for us which was a relief as to reach his house requires more than just a GPS.

His house is located only 15 minutes from the airport which was a godsend for us as it can take more than 2 hours from most places in Tana to the airport. His house is located in the Talatamaty area on the edge of a large rice paddy. In fact, he built his house and another rental house while he was working with me on our Africa project for entrepreneurs. The land was owned by his parents and he grew up there in the family house which is next door to his house. I will add some pictures of his beautiful house. When he built the houses there were no other houses around. Now, to get to his house one needs to go through about a mile of road through a couple of villages and many other houses. The road is potholed, narrow and hardly fits two cars and it means working one's way around pedestrians, push carts, dogs, trucks and other cars. In Madagascar, many people use charcoal to cook their food.

We arrived at home and it was great to get back to our apartment. That evening at dinner with Corinne, we planned our activity of the next day. An early night was needed as it had been a long day.

The next morning, we headed out with Corinne with her driver to visit the large artisinal market on the dyke where we wanted to acquire a few things. The roads are full of pull carts carrying goods. These carts are moved by one or two men, many who are barefoot. They are carrying anything from bricks to sand and other goods. It is an indication of the poverty of this country where men are used to move carts and many of these men cannot even afford to by flip-flops for their feet.

Monique had seen some aquamarine stones and indicated that she would really like to get some jewelry with her birthday stone which is found locally. We got to the market and Corinne and Monique headed in one direction and I headed to a shop selling stones. I found one with some good looking aquamarine stones. I really did not know what to be looking for but I went into negotiations starting with 3 stones he wanted to sell me for lots of money. I found that this is a really expensive stone. I chose 1 stone and spent some time negotiating the price to about 1/3 of what he wanted which was more than I had expected. I really took a chance but I went with my gut trusting the seller. I then went and bought 2 nice wood carvings in Palisander and rosewood which will look great back home. They both weigh as much as lead so I am crossing my fingers that we get them home without having to pay overweight.

Monique added to her collection of salt and pepper holders of which I think she now has 8 or 10 as they are attractive. I imagine some of my readers will be given these as souvenirs when we get home.

We then went on into town to have lunch at the Paladios restaurant which Henri and Corinne had recently bought. It is a nice restaurant in a central downtown shopping center. It seats some 100 persons of which 50 seats are on a glass enclosed patio. They were lucky to find a partner who has lots of restaurant experience and who manages the restaurant. So far, the restaurant is doing well. We also met a Malgache lady who had migrated to Quebec many years before to become a Public accountant and who had recently returned to Tana with her husband. Henri has been charged by a large local bank, BNI, to set up a facility to assist local entrepreneurs and this lady will be working with him. I wish them success and I was proud to see that Henri was putting into practice much of the experience he had gathered while he and I worked together many years ago.

The final day in Tana was spent on our own. Corinne and Henri had previous engagements so they gave us her driver and SUV for the day. Monique and I wanted to make a last run at the artisan village and I wanted to find a jeweler who would mount the aquamarine stone I had bought for Monique. We were sent by Henri to his jeweler call Palo. It is located next door to the Colbert Hotel in the upper old city of Tana. We got to the store just 15 minutes before the store would close for lunch.

Now came the test of the stone I had bought the day before. I was nervous. The jeweler put the stone inside some sort of electronic magnifying machine and peered in. He looked up and said it was a beautiful stone. Wow! Monique asked how much such a stone would cost and the man made my day! He quoted a price 5 or 6 times what I had paid... We then asked whether he could put a gold mounting on the stone within the next 2 and half hours. He said: No problem. We agreed on a price which was 3 times what I paid for the stone! It is like buying paintings and then pay 5 times as much to have them framed.

Monique and I headed back to the Hotel Colbert for lunch at the Fougere restaurant. The hotel goes back to colonial times and remains the signature place in the old town. I stayed at the hotel 25 years ago on one of my visits. The Fougere restaurant is an island of peace and quiet within the chaos of Tana. The streets of Tana are narrow and are the same as 50 years, or even 100 years ago so that traffic just crawls all day. We had an enjoyable lunch catching up on our emails and news of the world. While awaiting for the jewelry store to reopen, we were approached on the street by a stone seller carrying a backpack of stones. I asked whether he had any aquamarine and he said yes. We went around the corner with him and I negotiated for 2 smaller stones which I will have mounted as earrings at one point. Monique had chosen them as they match the color of our original stone. Given my great experience in the field, I got the stones for a good price.

At one point this guy said he had to bring his wife to our spot on some steps. He asked we keep an eye on his backpack. He was gone for over 5 minutes and we were amazed that he would trust us with his whole collection of precious stones of which there were well over 1000 stones. Trust does strange things.

At 2.30, we picked up Monique's now mounted stone. It has a very nice gold mounting which brings out the brilliance of the stone. We then headed back home which took over an hour as once again traffic was bumper to bumper mainly due to some government official cars with sirens blocking traffic as happens too often in such countries. That evening we went back into town for a final dinner with Henri and Corrine at the oldest restaurant in Tana called, La Varangue. Good food and environment but service was terrible.

The next morning, Henri and I jumped into to his 1955 Citroen sedan to go to a local duck liver pate factory to get a can of this delicious food which I will bring home. Henri had rebuilt this old car and drives it only occasionally with pride. We got a lot of waves and smiles as we drove through local villages.

At noon, we headed to the airport in his big Toyota to catch our flight to Addis. We were met by Henri's agent who ushered us through the formalities which are slow as there are only 2 security machines to process passengers. Our Ethiopian flight left on time for the 4 hour flight. We again had our front row seats with lots of leg room which was nice except we had some screaming kid across the aisle. Amazing that a kid can scream for several hours.

On arriving in Addis, we headed to the immigration line and found that we were the only ones there as everybody else on our flight of 250 persons were transiting to other destinations. I had never seen such a quiet airport at 7 pm when we arrived. It is an indication of the success of Ethiopian Airlines which now serves some 55 cities in Africa and an other 40 international destinations. They use the most modern equipment, flying 777 s
and 787 s.

While awaiting our bus to our Harmony Hotel, we were taken care of by a young Ethiopian called Abex who offered to be our guide tomorrow. For today we are taking it easy as it is rainy. We will visit a close-by Coptic church and head to the Sherameta market this afternoon.Cheers.