Back to Tana

The bus ride from Mahambo to Antananarivo was long, and I have very long legs to be in those little seats. It was a lot of coughing children and there mothers. It was very cute to see all of the fathers leaning in the window to sat goodbye to their wives and children...the kids cried and cried and the mothers laughed and laughed. Often times, the kids will also cry if they see me. White people or "Vahazas" as they call us here, are a strange sight for the kids here. In some villages, they have never even seen them. After traveling all night and having a sore ass, we drove into a little gated compound. I thought it was just another one of those stops for the driver to get out and have a cigarette or bowl of soup. So I stayed in the bus for 2 hours trying to sleep. Finally, I got out and asked the driver when we continue on to Antanarivo. He looked a little confused, and his friend came over. After a little while, I learned that we were already in Tana!!! There is this very team like spirit on the bus rides though, and I believe every single male in Madagascar smokes cigarettes. It seems every bus has a mix of some great American Pop love ballads. They love Chicago, Celine Dion, and I have to say, I have been singing along. When you arrive at the bus staion by taxi, there are men that come running up to the car. It is a bit frightening at first. I now know how the Beatles felt when they got in and out of taxis. But instead of screaming teenage girls, its screaming 40-year old drunks with no teeth or shoes. The buses stop frequently at police check points, and a lot of these dudes look rough. There was a coup here in Madagascar about 5 monthes ago, and the new president (a 35 year old ex-disc jockey) is trying to get them on track. He is actually very well liked, and seemd bright and courageous to stand up to a long history of corruption. He is still trying to gain allies in the West as the US and Europe do not recognize him as the official presdident because he was not democratically elected. The president they ousted ran out the back door of the palace and caught a flight to Maputo, Mozambique.
There is a lot of cultural taboos in Madagascar. They follow an Indonesian tradion for many centuries. When a person dies, they bury them. SEven years later, they dig them up and wrap clothes around the bones. This is done in conjunction with having a grandiose party in which every person the dead guy knew is invited. It is apparently in order to help the person ring in the new life. Very expensive, and its a no wonder they remain one of the poorest countries in the world. they also have a tradition in the south that when you die, your village has to eat all of your zebu (the horned cattle here). Then the horns arre hung from your grave. This is to show the wealth you had...If you had 1,000 cattle, thats a lot of steak! You also never point at a tombstone...
The firsttime back in Tana was more pleasant than the arrival. You can understand a country's cities more by spending some time in the country. Walking around on Sunday was very comforting. I passed a big chubby black man who had his beard died bright yellow for some religious reason perhaps???? He just looked at me and started to laugh in a deep rich voice. I then passed a man selling scorpion bites on the street. Out of curiousity, I had to stop...only 20,000 ariary (10 bucks) to get bit by a scorpion! The man was saying that it is a way to know Madagascar. He was very nice, and I am sure it would have been a great experience, but I thought I would choose a differnt way to know Madagascar...what can I say, those things are scarey looking! We did go for a nice long walk through the city, as he showed me a market where I could find some old LPs...boy it is quite a hunt searching for them in Africa.