The journey started in Fianarantsoa which had been our base since the fire. After breakfast we said an emotional farewell to the final Malagasy guides and chefs who were still with us. This included Fidelis who had lead the fire fighting up on the mountain and who was central to saving our lives.

The first part of the journey was in 4x4s. We were going to be spending a lot of time in vehicles over the next two days and so important that we used the time productively…to get our blogs together, sort our thoughts or to soak in the culture and scenery….but instead we played Keith Lemon’s Don’t Show Keith Your Teeth game. For those unfamiliar you go through the alphabet on a chosen theme but have to put your lips over your teeth for the whole game. If you show your teeth or get a wrong or repeat answer you’re out. Not sure Dr Will got the rules. When we were on an animal themed round he had to name an animal starting with P and went for…Paracetamol. What do they teach in medical school these days! Later we shifted to more comfortable minibuses and things shifted from Keiths to sleeps as we both dozed on and off during the trip.

The wet season was starting and the weather was definitely taking a turn for the worse. The glorious sunshine of the day before had turned to rain.

We drove through past endless rice fields and through many small villages. The landscape was more green than the orange of Antananarivo. It was fascinating to see the local way of life. Whilst people can buy hand crafted clothing, many prefer cheaper western clothing which is sold second hand on the street. There were many Hotely signs (local cheap restaurant not hotel-ish places) and stalls selling mobile phone top ups or lighters.

There were also butchers that at first seemed very odd. They were essentially wooden kiosks with meat on a wooden counter with people behind brushing the air (usually unsuccessfully) to keep the flies off.

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We found out that hardly anyone in Madagascar uses refrigeration and so the meat is fresh and bought to be used that day. Only the big restaurants or hotels really use fridges.

We stopped for lunch and for many of us it was the first time we had had phone signal or Wi-fi since the fire. Straight after it had happened we had been desperate to call home but now a few days on our feelings were more mixed as we were unsure of what to say especially as we were safe and didn’t want to worry anyone unnecessarily.

The night was spent in Ambositra at L’Artisan hotel where we had had lunch at a week earlier and watched traditional dancing. After a few THB beers we decided to leave the group for an early night. Some of the group had planned to go searching for local bars but had been told by the hotel staff that they couldn’t go out of the hotel complex because of ‘gangsters’. So ended up being an early night for all.

The next morning we had some breakfast and then headed into Ambositra (the gangsters must have been sleeping) for some shopping time. There were many shops selling local handmade products particularly wooden items and Marqueterie. There were some amazing globes and world maps all made from intricate hand carved pieces of different coloured woods assembled like a jigsaw. Amazing but too large to carry back home!

A group of western tourists attracted a lot of attention and groups of locals followed the group around trying to sell scarves or rickshaw rides. One of our group Nicky attracted a lot of attention and acquired a fan club as they attempted to haggle calling him back by name every time he walked away. Nicky also negotiated a rickshaw ride but with the rickshaw driver as passenger!

After another long drive we stopped for lunch…and it was pizza!!!! You would think it had been years since we had last seen a pizza given the excitement in the room.

We stopped a few times to see other local crafts including watching miniature bicycles being made from recycled objects (wheel rims from old Coke cans soldered over a candle, tyres from thin plastic tubing). We saw objects (including teaspoons) being made from zebu horn and intricate embroidery of lemurs and Malagasy life.

We arrived into Antsirabe and headed out for our celebration meal. For the rest of the group this was their last night as the following evening they would head to the airport to catch their plane home.

The meal included an award ceremony where a few of the group were picked out for fun achievements over the trip. Nik was awarded the ‘Strong as a Zebu’ award for powering on even when she was completely wiped with illness.

Nik in true die hard fancy dress style had come prepared with a ‘WaterAid-blue’ wig which was soon passed amongst the group. I think Fano suited it the most…less Mr T and more Pokemon.

The sensible ones (including Nik)  went to bed….others went to a local club. Memories are a bit blurred but managed to pick up a (still) lingering leg injury attempting to limbo and recreate the King of the World Titanic pose (although not at the same time)!

Fun night!