According to Google Maps, it is "only" 166 km and takes a bit over four hours to drive there. It took us all day. We had a large van with all 15 of us volunteers and three local staff plus all our luggage. We had a morning stop about half way to our lunch reservation, then a stop for lunch, and again half way from lunch to Antsirabe. The road was paved but had many large potholes and a lot of traffic - hence, the trip was more than eight hours.
In the morning, we stopped at a gas station with restrooms and a convenience store. We tried several different local snacks.
We had our lunch at La Pineta restaurant in Ambatolampy. We had pre-ordered our individual selections and the meals were brought out on plates where our name had been written in sauce - thus eliminating the language barrier. Malagasy is the native language and French is a second language due to the French Colonial period. English is a third language as many tourists are English speaking. The restaurant is in what appears to be a large farmhouse and we ate outside on the covered patio to the right of the building. There was a play area for kids, many beautiful flowers and chickens running around loose.
The restaurant had several informational posters in multiple languages.
In the afternoon, we stopped at a small town that had both gas stations and local family run shops and cafes. We finally arrived at Hotel Menabel in Antsirabe, our home for the next week. I was somewhat embarrassed that we were staying in a hotel with electricity, wifi, hot and cold running water, purified drinking water dispenser in the lobby, toilets, restaurant and bar, pool and sauna, laundry service and 24 hour security. The hotel is located in an upscale neighborhood as you can see the neighboring estates, all with security fences just like our hotel.
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