On Malagasy Time

We stayed overnight at the Ivato Hotel in Tana bc JillRae, Chesley, Dr Joel, and Maureen didn't fly out until this afternoon. We spent the morning at the Faza mall (white people mall) and then went to the Gastro for lunch. The Gastro is the big "fast food" restaurant in Madagascar that serves really good pizza! Normally I try to avoid eating American food while in other countries but this was an exception! So good and so interesting to try Madagascar's version of pizza... soft thin crusts, light sauce and lots of yummy cheese mixed with herbs!

We dropped JillRae and Chesley off at the airport for their safari in South Africa. Pizza ran a little late and we didn't think it was gonna be a problem to arrive 2.5hrs before takeoff but we ended up cutting it real close! Checking in the bags and people took over an hour and they finally got everything squared away 30min before having to board the plane! So we learned the 3hr buffer is a mandatory in 3rd/4th world countries! We're definitely going to miss JillRae these next couple weeks bc our dream team is now down to two! 

Our journey back to Antsirabe should've taken about 3hrs but a few unforeseen events transpired that drew out the journey to over 7hrs. About an hour into the trip, Pastor Honey had to pull the van off to the side of the road bc the engine was overheating. Turns out the electrical wire had shorted and we had no power in the car. This means no lights, no power steering or breaks, and no way to cool down the engine. We were about 15min outside a semi large town of Ambatolampy and therefore coasted into town as the sun was setting. We tried to find a mechanic but no one was open. 

While waiting for a solution, the town power went out and we were completely surrounded by darkness. The only concerning part about this was that our car had no lights and we were a sitting duck on the side of the road. Cars and trucks roared by causing our van to shake multiple times. Pastor Honey made some more phone calls and got in touch with his uncle-in-law who lives nearby. The uncle loaned us a small car to use to get to Antsirabe since it wasn't very safe to stay in this town. 

7 people with overnight bags + 1 small sedan makes for a tight squeeze for 2 more hours! Pastor Honey drove with Domoina and her mom in the front seat and Scarlet, Njiva, and I in the backseat with Meg laying horizontal across us. The car took a second to start and the dashboard didn't light up but it had 4 wheels and working exterior lights so we were good! We didn't know how much gas was in the car bc the dashboard didn't work so Pastor Honey went to find a gas station. The first one was closed bc there was no electricity in the town. The next one was in the process of pumping gas and therefore we couldn't fill. And the 3rd gas station we passed was about 20km away from Antsirabe so Pastor Honey didn't stop bc we were so close to home.... 

Well we made it to the Antsirabe city limit sign and then all of the sudden sputtered to a stop and we were stranded yet again! Fortunately we weren't in the bush anymore so it was a little safer but still not the ideal situation bc we were on the side of a dark road where trucks and vans were flying by. Dr Harison came to our rescue with gasoline and we filled up the car and made our way to the hospital! I've never been more happy to make it home than I am tonight!!!