An update from the reader who sent the longest and most impressive entry:
As an addendum to this week's VFYW, Madagascar and Antananarivo were hit by a CAT 4 cyclone last night. Early reports from friends say there was extensive wind damage and torrential rains with possible flooding in the low-lying areas. Very bad conditions from the east coast all the way to the capital and beyond. I'm going back as soon as possible because there are people there who need me.
By the way, as far as the contest results are concerned, French buildings count the second floor as the Première étage, so when I said the 3rd floor of the Colbert Hotel, it's really the Deuxième étage. So I think I nailed the window. However, playing is far more fun than winning and seeing my entry published is very cool.
Update from the reader who sent the contest photo:
There were indeed high winds and heavy rain resulting in low-level flooding yesterday, though driving around the city today, I saw no residual flooding, but there are still widespread power outages. All in all, the city has bounced back remarkably and it seemed the city was largely back in business. (That said, I do hope the reader's friends/family are safe. The coast was in much worse shape reportedly and I did not get out into the surrounding towns and can't comment on the situation outside the city.)
As for the contest, the umbrellas at the bottom of the photo are in the Hotel Colbert's restaurant, which is on Floor 0 (street level in the front of the hotel). The photo was taken in room 205, which is the room on the SE corner of the building, two floors above the restaurant.
From the winner of this week's contest, who has participated in 55 of the 89 contests and came close to winning several times:
I feel I've earned it now, although the guy who lived there and explained the different floor discrepancies about the hotel, etc. seemed just as deserving. If it's easy, pass on my regards to him for clarifying how that hotel was set up and having a great guess (I think we both chose the same window in our photos of the hotel, and I'd be surprised if it wasn't the one the photographer actually shot from – even though we couldn't figure out which floor to call it). I'm sure the other guesser will get other chances to win if he sticks with the contest.
By the way, my wife's response on hearing I had finally been deemed the winner was, "It doesn't really count unless you've been there." I detected just a little jealousy in the response and humbly disagree. But she is glad for me and says she'll recognize the win if we can take a trip to Madagascar within the next few years. That will be a tall order with kids in school and the usual constrained budget, but a challenge I'm happy to try. We've seen very little of Africa, and as several guessers said, Tana looks almost model-like and unreal, and the island's eco-tourism options are renowned.
The heat from my family to win is off now, but I will keep playing for the intrinsic rewards.
(Photo of the flooding in Antananarivo by Flickr user avylavitra)
The Dish 