Friday, October 21: Ile Ste-Marie to Antananarivo
We were up pretty early today; just our usual response to having to fly anywhere on a schedule. And with Air Mad at the helm, you have to use the term "schedule" very loosely!
After the large amount of walking that we did yesterday, we planned on a relaxing day. So we had an early, but leisurely, breakfast.
The view of the swimming pool from our breakfast table was idyllic. It was tempting to just move over there and do nothing.
But of course we decided to be a little more active this morning. We don't rest well.
When we were finished with breakfast, we took the sea kayaks out for a bit, and took in some of the beautiful coastal views.
We could have paddled down to Ile aux Nattes easily, but we had seen enough yesterday. So we bobbed in the ocean and enjoyed the breeze.
Eventually we returned the kayaks and went back to the room to finish up packing. It was almost 11:00 by then so it was unfortunately time to check out. We had asked about keeping the rooms until we had to leave, but they said that the hotel was fully booked and we would have to be out by 11:00.
Once we stored our bags, we tried to pay the bar bill with a credit card, but their machine was having problems. So we kept the tab open for now. Since we had an open tab, we conveniently settled in at a bar table, and I grabbed a bottle of rosé from the wine cellar. We sipped our wine and enjoyed the nice view as we whiled away the last few hours of our stay here.
The others eventually joined us, and we moved over to a restaurant table for one last lunch meal. We shared a pizza and a seafood salad, along with the last of our rosé wine. The food was so fresh and delicious.
Followed by ice cream for dessert. Then we couldn't delay it any longer - it was time to head out to the airport!
The credit card reader was still not working, so we paid the bill with US$, though the exchange rate was not as good as it had been elsewhere. Instead of taking the zebu cart back to the airport, we let the zebu carry our suitcases while we walked, as it was only about a 5-minute trip.
Check in was relatively painless, and we were actually seated together this time. For an extra special treat, I didn’t have any extra screening through security. We boarded a little after 2:00, and took off at 2:30. A late flight that left early! The timing was perfect.
The flight was pretty smooth until the landing maneuvers at Antananarivo, but we touched down in good time and got all of our luggage. Our guides were waiting, and they had our bags for South Africa that we had left behind two weeks ago. Unlike last time, it was a very quick ride to the hotel which was situated on the main road between town and the airport, barely 5 minutes away.
We checked in to find that the rooms were pretty small and spartan, though the swimming pool looked nice.
However, if we thought that our room was tiny, one of the other couples seemed to have been placed in a broom closet. We knew that we were all supposed to get the same room type, and our itinerary said that the reservation was for an upgraded room. So we double checked, and we were all promptly moved to luxe rooms. They were much nicer!
We had planned on a relaxing afternoon swim at the hotel pool, but by the time we had repacked and moved rooms, sunset was approaching and without sunlight, there was a chill in the air. The rest of the group decided that we should go for a walk around the hotel, which was a bit of a waste, as there wasn’t much to look at and the neighborhood was sketchy.
We made it back in one piece and had time for a shower. Then we spent a few minutes reorganizing our packed bags, and headed over to the hotel restaurant early to grab a pitcher of South African rosé.
Dinner was very nice! The hotel restaurant has a French vibe, though the dishes were not strictly traditional French cuisine. We assembled at the bar and we shared a bottle of SA Semillon-Chardonnay for an aperitif.
We had a tomato mozzarella salad to start along with a Provencal rosé wine.
The main course was pork cooked until very tender, served in a mustard sauce with delicious pommes frites. A reserve Malbec from Argentina accompanied the main course very well.
Dessert was a double chocolate combination of mousse and cake. It was all very tasty, and a great last dinner in Madagascar.
Not much to do now but rest up and get ready for tomorrow. We will hang around the hotel tomorrow until our 12:45 pickup for our 3:00 flight to Joberg. The hotel has already said that we could keep the rooms until we leave, which is very convenient. And we know that it's a quick trip back to the airport, so no worries at all.
Even though the bed was one of the best ones we’d had in the last week, we didn’t sleep too soundly because of a fair amount of traffic noise throughout the night - it was so unusual! The AC temperature was again tricky to get right, and the comforter was extremely thick, so we were either sweating under the comforter, or freezing without it.
Oh well. There will be time to sleep at work when we eventually get home. It's been an amazing trip.
We were up pretty early today; just our usual response to having to fly anywhere on a schedule. And with Air Mad at the helm, you have to use the term "schedule" very loosely!
 |
| Infinity edge pool, Princesse Bora Lodge |
The view of the swimming pool from our breakfast table was idyllic. It was tempting to just move over there and do nothing.
But of course we decided to be a little more active this morning. We don't rest well.
 |
| Sea kayaking off the coast of Ile Ste-Marie |
When we were finished with breakfast, we took the sea kayaks out for a bit, and took in some of the beautiful coastal views.
We could have paddled down to Ile aux Nattes easily, but we had seen enough yesterday. So we bobbed in the ocean and enjoyed the breeze.
Eventually we returned the kayaks and went back to the room to finish up packing. It was almost 11:00 by then so it was unfortunately time to check out. We had asked about keeping the rooms until we had to leave, but they said that the hotel was fully booked and we would have to be out by 11:00.
Once we stored our bags, we tried to pay the bar bill with a credit card, but their machine was having problems. So we kept the tab open for now. Since we had an open tab, we conveniently settled in at a bar table, and I grabbed a bottle of rosé from the wine cellar. We sipped our wine and enjoyed the nice view as we whiled away the last few hours of our stay here.
The others eventually joined us, and we moved over to a restaurant table for one last lunch meal. We shared a pizza and a seafood salad, along with the last of our rosé wine. The food was so fresh and delicious.
Followed by ice cream for dessert. Then we couldn't delay it any longer - it was time to head out to the airport!
The credit card reader was still not working, so we paid the bill with US$, though the exchange rate was not as good as it had been elsewhere. Instead of taking the zebu cart back to the airport, we let the zebu carry our suitcases while we walked, as it was only about a 5-minute trip.
Check in was relatively painless, and we were actually seated together this time. For an extra special treat, I didn’t have any extra screening through security. We boarded a little after 2:00, and took off at 2:30. A late flight that left early! The timing was perfect.
The flight was pretty smooth until the landing maneuvers at Antananarivo, but we touched down in good time and got all of our luggage. Our guides were waiting, and they had our bags for South Africa that we had left behind two weeks ago. Unlike last time, it was a very quick ride to the hotel which was situated on the main road between town and the airport, barely 5 minutes away.
 |
| Relaix and Plateau, Antananarivo |
However, if we thought that our room was tiny, one of the other couples seemed to have been placed in a broom closet. We knew that we were all supposed to get the same room type, and our itinerary said that the reservation was for an upgraded room. So we double checked, and we were all promptly moved to luxe rooms. They were much nicer!
We had planned on a relaxing afternoon swim at the hotel pool, but by the time we had repacked and moved rooms, sunset was approaching and without sunlight, there was a chill in the air. The rest of the group decided that we should go for a walk around the hotel, which was a bit of a waste, as there wasn’t much to look at and the neighborhood was sketchy.
We made it back in one piece and had time for a shower. Then we spent a few minutes reorganizing our packed bags, and headed over to the hotel restaurant early to grab a pitcher of South African rosé.
Dinner was very nice! The hotel restaurant has a French vibe, though the dishes were not strictly traditional French cuisine. We assembled at the bar and we shared a bottle of SA Semillon-Chardonnay for an aperitif.We had a tomato mozzarella salad to start along with a Provencal rosé wine.
The main course was pork cooked until very tender, served in a mustard sauce with delicious pommes frites. A reserve Malbec from Argentina accompanied the main course very well.
Dessert was a double chocolate combination of mousse and cake. It was all very tasty, and a great last dinner in Madagascar.
Not much to do now but rest up and get ready for tomorrow. We will hang around the hotel tomorrow until our 12:45 pickup for our 3:00 flight to Joberg. The hotel has already said that we could keep the rooms until we leave, which is very convenient. And we know that it's a quick trip back to the airport, so no worries at all.
Even though the bed was one of the best ones we’d had in the last week, we didn’t sleep too soundly because of a fair amount of traffic noise throughout the night - it was so unusual! The AC temperature was again tricky to get right, and the comforter was extremely thick, so we were either sweating under the comforter, or freezing without it.
Oh well. There will be time to sleep at work when we eventually get home. It's been an amazing trip.
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