Starting the New Year in Madagascar

We got out about 12 noonish. Late. All the stores were closed. The balcony of the restaurant overlooks a big park. Each Sunday for the past three weeks, we've been coming back into town or out of town on Sundays, like Christmas (smile). So we were not able to walk down to see the amusements--It's really nice.

There were the Santas posing with brave little kids. The black man would put on his white Santa mask, his brown arms a mix match no one seemed to care about. There was a prop and one real Santa, the one we saw did a little dance while a mother gave her child a pep talk.

Most of the stores were closed, even vendors were absent; however, there were enough food vendors out, along with balloon salesmen and women. Parents were out with kids and as we stood on a corner behind the beach ball salesman we got some really nice photos.

TaSin is doing a series on dads and Madagasy men love their children and were out in large numbers. It was a mob of folks walking toward the park and away from the park.

When we got to the park, we looked at the games and rides from outside--there were just too many people. There was a train ride for families--it went in a circle. There was the ferris wheel, flying airplanes, an obstacle course for the bigger kids, a trampolin, plus slides and other climbing structures common to parks. There was even a huge inflated Snoopy.

Concessioners walked between the folks seated on the grass just enjoying the warm day--peanuts, salami which you could buy slices of, outside there were booths selling beer and other nonalcoholic drinks and Madagasy finger foods as well as meals.

The sky began to grow dark and we felt a bit of a drizzle and decided to head back to the hotel. We'd ordered stamps for friends, but decided to pick them up in the morning.

It didn't start raining until we'd been back for quite some time though. Dry is still better than soaking wet.

On our way down the hill, we stopped at the fancy bakery and TaSin had some rich pastry. She had a butter filled pasty and a pineapple filled one with whipped cream. This bakery is next door to the fancy hotel where the folks with lots of money stay (smile).

People smoke too much around here. The French, not the Madagasy. I haven't seen a Madagasy person smoking anything yet, just French people--men and women.

The sun is down, and there is the occasional lightning in the sky now.