Tana

We arrived yesterday to Antananarivo, the capital. Tana for short.  To be honest it was stressful. Niel and his friend, Werner, who we stayed with in Joburg after Vic Falls, spoiled us by being amazing hosts. We toured Joburg, wined and dined. And found a strange salon where you put your feet in a little aquarium with tiny fish that eat the dead skin right off your feet! We stuck our hands in and all the fish started nibbling.  It was creepy.

The absense of any English and unmarked streets make it hard to get around in Tana.  Working on some French now after getting lost last night. But we have a rough comfortability with it now.

Tana is very hilly; there are tortuous stairs everywhere. People line all streets selling anything and everything, including foods from citrus fruits to fish and live crabs.  Many men seem to sell handmade rubber stamps.  Kids have bombarded us to feel our pockets and unzip bags.   But we were prepared for that.  Haggling prices for cabs adds to the stress, but we are learning what things should cost.

Today we have wandered the city. It radiates an old world, French colonial charm with two-story buildings and guesthouses with faded colors and open, wooden shutters lining narrow, winding, cobblestone streets.  There are lots of old, cream-colored taxis and pedestrians (dodging taxis) in the streets.

Tomorrow we head south into the highlands.