Back in the UK
Sorry for the long delay with the update. I tried to add an entry when I was back in Tulear at the end of the expedition on 21st December but... after two hours of wasted time on a painfully slow internet connection I had to give up!While travelling and moving around we never got a chance to ever see a computer (and I didn't miss it).
So today I am back in the UK. IN fact it's only been a few hours, time to have a nice looong shower after almost 24hrs between flights and airports and relax, go quickly through a mountain of mail (by the way thank you all for the lovely Xmas cards).
I haven't even un-packed. I just can't face that yet. I am going to pick up Simon in South Ealing at around 8pm as he is arriving on a different flight after having xssed the Alps 3 times in his return journey. I will be doing a list of food to buy in a moment (I am so hungry, Madagascar is 3 hours ahead from here so normally this is dinner time!!) and I will go for my first supermarket run after 2 months living in very basic conditions and sorrounded by poverty... I think I'll have to take it easy around those isles.
Funny thing: the last few weeks in Andavadoaka there was not a day that would go by without mentioning food because we were so bored by the repetition in our diet by now after two weeks travelling around and over-eating Zebu I kind of crave for simple and healthy food..something like a nice veggie soup! Let's see what happens though when I get to the supermarket later. Today while trying to kill my 6-hour transit in Paris Charles De Gaulles I must have been back and forth to the cheese and meats delicacy duty free shop 4 or 5 times wondering if I should fall to temptation: I didn't. 250g of camembert at 4.50 EUR after getting off an Air Madagascar flight seemed so extortionate!! and that was the cheapest :)
OK let's give you an idea of the prices in the more expensive part of Madagascar: Antananarivo, the capital. Well on our very last day we decided to treat ourselves to a lovely lunch so we went to a restaurant in Tana called 'Rossini' or something like that. That is supposed to be the poshest restaurant in Tana (therefore according to Simon, in Madagascar) and 3 people (we decided to also treat our lovely chaffeur - that's how they called our driver over there - for lunch), so a meal for 3 people consisting on a posh main each (we skipped the starter as it was lunch ;)), pudding, wine and water cost 77000 Ariary that translates to roughly 30 EUR which is the most we have spent on a meal during the whole stay!!! A lot more!
Let's say that we have had filling meals for 8000 for the two of us in total. I just need to recover and get used to the crazy London prices. Or better I just have to get a job first!! :)
Anyway. This is just a quick note to say that I am back (and Simon will be shortly).
We had a fantastic time and I will add some additional notes to tell you a bit about my last weeks of my adventures, links to photos (as soon as I sort them out) and some additional comments.
Just stay posted.
Until then.. veloma and HAPPY NEW YEAR!.
Ciao
Ros.
posted by Ros @ Thursday, January 04, 2007
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