Our training couple left on July 9 and we spent our first nervous days alone and planning for the wheelchair project. Cal drove for the first time on July 11 (he did a pretty good job!) and we left on our 7 hour trip the next morning at 7am! The night before we had to miss movie night at Pres. Adams home because we were still trying to write up the English lesson for our substitute teachers, gather all the money we needed to take to Toamasina and pack! Bishop Olivier came with us and it was wonderful to know that we had someone who could speak the language and who knew the way:) The GPS has really been a life saver for us! We are still lost a lot, but we always get home...eventually. The trip was pretty uneventful until we got there and couldn't find the hotel - Olivier saved the day! On the way it would rain, then be sunny, then pour, then be sunny! We were climbing up and up and my pictures cannot begin to show the beauty of the mountains! Everything was so lush and green and beautiful! We went through many small villages. The people just lived along the road a little back. They were often walking to the next, larger village, to go to market. We passed many trucks - Toamasina is the largest port in Madagascar so goods are shipped in to the port and then trucked out to all over the country! We enjoyed the ride, but I have to admit that it felt good to arrive and get out of the car!
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| Cal getting the car loaded and ready for our trip! We had many things that the Richards had purchased for the trip that had to be transported to Toamasina! |
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| I love how beautiful the fields are in the countryside! |
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| One of many huge trucks we passed. And in front of us was a cart being pulled by a man. They need to be in the road, but they don't travel fast and between trying wait for the trucks to move so you can finally pass the cart, the 220 mile trip takes 7 hours!! The 9 mile trip to our airport takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours! We have learned to slow down our pace a bit around here! When we go out to lunch or dinner, you can plan on it taking 1-3 hours! |
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| The weather changed constantly during the 7 hours...rainy |
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| ...then sunny |
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| One of the little villages. Children playing on the porch. |
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| WE arrived and straight ahead is the Indian Ocean! |
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| You can see the Port in the distance. |
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Another view of the ocean and the port and the carnival!
It was a great adventure to get to Toamasina and now the work was about to begin!! |
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