Day 4 - Antsirabe

Constant movement of people. Two lane roads with barely enough room for cats b let alone the constant stream of people. The driver, Flavian locks the doors. Butchers, cell phone time, bicycle repair, maintenance crews, bakery, cheese store, coffee counter, fruit store, biscuit shop, lubricant store, car repair, car seat repair.
Passed many houses that appeared to have been made with red clay. Rice fields. Fields of strawberries. . Nicola bought a basket of sisal from a road side stall. She paid 5000 ariary or about two dollars Canadian.

Stopped at a recycling aluminum factory that uses dirt molds to make pots and tourist souvenir items. Don't know how the men don't get burned swinging around red hot pots full of molten aluminum. My camera covered in silver dust when we left.

Passed grave sites which or driver called family home. Doesn't take much looking to see that family homes are everywhere.

Passed stands with instruments like the drum, banjo, violin that he says are used for celebrations such as circumcision which every male Malagasy must go through from the ages 3 to 5. The grandfather must eat the fore skin.

Passed some stands selling wooden toy trucks. Quite realistic looking and beautifully painted
As we climb higher we pas landscape that is densely terraced.

Granite rocks have been pulled from the river for decoration in the garden. In between rice crops they grow carrots and potatoes, cabbage and lettuce which were all beautifully put on display at the side of the road.
Pine and eucalyptus have been planted for the purposes of reforestation. Nicola says that some of the people had cut into the pines and collecting the sap at the base of the tree.

Through the morning we kept climbing higher and with the climb an ever increasing density of pine.
Passed children filling portholes with red clay, one with cap in hand expecting a tip in return for their hard work. Our driver didn't oblige. The portholes began appearing with ever increasing seriousness and frequency.
Many cars were stopped along the road by the police and army but never us. Our driver said they were looking for papers.

Hotel has a courtyard with a pool and garden. It's a great sanctuary from the hustle and bustle and harassment of the city.

Flavian took us to a place that sold precious and semi precious stones. Nicola would like to replace the stone in her engagement ring but this was not the place to do it. We eventually bought a couple of gifts for the girls.
Fabian dropped us of on Independence Avenue next to the statue in commemoration of the 18 tribes. We were immediate assaulted by young women with babies asking for money to feed them. It was so overpowering that we made a retreat into the most modern looking grocery store we've yet seen in this country. Nicola says that it's part of a South African chain. Inside we searched out flavored rums for which this country is supposed to be known for. We eventually bought a sofa drink and ventured back into the unknowns.

Eventually the young women left us alone and we were able to do some souvenir shipping and go for a beer in a cafe recommended by the book. It was completely empty. In fact we only see fellow tourists and travellers in the hotels and high end restaurants which is where we saw them again tonight at the coulour café. However not a single other English speaker.

Nicola was as sick as a dog and ordered only the soup which I ate instead If my salad because, watching her brought back recollections of the big salad in Nepal that gave me dysentery.

She had a terrible night.