We arrived in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar at 6 a.m after 20 hours of flying from Washington, D.C. National Airport via Charles De Gaulle Airport, then Orly Airport, refueling in Djubuti, Egypt. From the capital's local airport without electricity, we drove through the mountainous city with rows of multi-colored, irregular shaped, pastel-colored corrugated tin roofs on the hillsides reflecting the light like a kaleidescope. On the side of main dirt roads, vendors were selling food and wares. Dilapidated old mansions from another era had the most beautiful patterned delicate white lace curtains over windows and occasionally doors blowing in the breeze. One of the country's exports is silk and the weaving of other fine cloths as shrouds for burying and reburying their dead ancestors is a major industry for the natives. The women wore 'lambas'(brightly colored and patterned cotton cloths) wrapped around their bodies in a most fetching manner and secured without a pin, button or snap. Often woman and children carried babies on their back wrapped in another cloth. The older children, even though barefoot and dirty, dressed in rags and mismatched patterns of Western clothes, looked cared for and happy playing in the dirt, food scraps or garbage piles. In view were the women washing, cooking, sewing, weaving or transporting fresh produce in baskets carried on their heads. Temperatures were in the 90's and very humid. Nevertheless, a lot of the natives wore wool hats and wool sweaters.