Ocean Trip!!
Blog 4
The facts, mostly so I can organize my thoughts:
October 27 and 28, we drove from dawn until after dark each day until we finally arrived in Tulear.
From October 29 until November 2 we had classes at a research/teaching institute, I saw the ocean for the first time in a few months and then swam in it! We were taken out on pirogues to seaweed farms and sea cucumber farms and to snorkel in a coral reef, I got to practice my mangrove identification in a protected area. We got to explore the desert area around Tulear, and I’m glad I could appreciate the massive baobabs even those I was almost overwhelmingly hot.
On November 3rd was our free day and I had a takeover on the SIT Instagram, we had an afternoon at an incredible beach, met an amazing painter, and went souvenir shopping!
Back in the car on November 4th to Isalo, and on the 5th went on a breathtaking hike in the national park.
November 6 and 7 we drove back to Tana. Thankfully, it was fairly event-less.
I shall elaborate.
Antananarivo is basically in the middle of Madagascar, in the highlands that run down the middle of the country. The north of the country gets much more rain while the south barely gets any in parts, as a result has also been experiencing extreme famine in some places. Tulear is a city on the southwest coast, it’s fairly touristy and we did drive through the extreme desert to get to it. I’ve been really interested in marine science recently and have always loved large bodies of water, so I was beyond excited to be near the ocean again. That is important because I got really sick on the morning of our second day of driving, but the option was to wait at the hotel, go back to tana, then get on a taxi brusse (busses that drive long distances across the country) to get to Tulear a few days later. Absolutely not. I soldiered on.
I was not the only one sick that morning, so we got a very late start. This is important for what happens next and because it’s not safe to be driving at night (bandits). I somewhat remember how groggy I felt from the anesthetic after I had my appendix out, but that’s how I think I spent the majority of October 28th. If I had been able to be surprised, I would have been when I woke from my nap-daze around 10am because a truck had almost driven off a one-lane bridge in front of us, blocking our way and creating a large traffic jam and entertainment for everyone within walking distance. We learned the truck is full of cows, which will need to be removed in order for the truck back on the bridge (it only had one wheel off). I went to sleep on floor of the van without a care for the growing group of people who are stationed outside of our van door. I awoke when my friend decided to play the new Taylor Swift album to see if it’ll make the people watching us weirded out enough to leave us alone. It did not. In fact, those watching us shouted with glee and beckoned their pals over to join. Then, there were cows running past us and the gendarms waving their AKs at the driver (of the cow truck) who is also now running away. I went back to sleep and eventually we were on our way. I do wish I had felt better to fully appreciate the event but am also grateful I could have slept through it.
Before we left Tana, we were told to fill up any old plastic water bottles so we could give it to people on this trip. I didn’t fully understand when or how this was going to happen, but when I was feeling better and could stay awake later that day, the bus slowed down and my teacher handed a bottle out the window to someone walking along the road. Thus began a mass exodus of dozens of water bottles from the van from the two front windows to whoever was on the road. There were a few 11-year-old-ish boys at one point who hooped and hollered as we drove away. It killed me. We were told that usually those boys probably drink pond or puddle water. Closer to Tulear, I learned that in some villages the nearest water source is a 5km walk. Someone asked why people would live there, and the only thing our teacher could say was that their parents and ancestors did, so they decide they can too. But it has gotten significantly drier due to the climate crisis. We drove over a bridge a few times over an enormous riverbed that was completely dry and dusty. It looked like it was a massive river, hundreds of meters across, but now completely bare. I still don’t know what to think and whatever I write won’t do it justice, but it definitely hit hard.
On October 29 we had a little relaxing day, and we went to go snorkeling in a brackish pool which was much needed just to cool off in. I was ecstatic because it was my first time swimming and my first time seeing the ocean since I’ve been here so. We went on a little guided arboretum walk after lunch and I got mauled by some bugs, but it was lovely. Definitely a day we needed to get used to the heat. I’m not touching the tree in this photo because one of the plant species we had just learned about will make you blind if you touch it and then rub your eyes, and before we knew that one of my friends broke off a piece and started playing with it, so I was being extra cautious. Don’t worry though, there was a very well-placed faucet for him to rinse his hands in.
The 30th was perhaps the hottest day, we were fully in the desert, red sand and all. On our guided tour we often found ourselves barreling through the woods to find a specific bird (there is a birder in our group), but in the end it was cool because we got to see the Long-tailed Groundroller, it’s the only forest where it can be found. I do have appreciation for the birds, I was just really hot. We also saw lemurs in big enclosures to become habituated to normal lemur life because they’d been stealing too much food from humans, but I think it’s funny to think of them in time-out. We heard some bird of prey call and suddenly all of the lemurs were screaming their warning call, you could hear it go from one enclosure to another. It was very odd to walk into the desert forest and then see two massive enclosures with ring-tailed lemurs, they felt very out of place. However, I’m glad I got to see the species! We saw giant baobabs that were more than 750 years old! Baobabs have fruit in these pod-things that hang from the branches, and we learned early on that there are some communities that make baobab jam — I will be bringing home a lot. Also, baobab juice tastes a lot like apple juice. That afternoon I finally got to swim in the ocean, so all was right in the world.
On Halloween! We spent all day in a classroom learning. I’ll never complain about temperature regulation in my schools again (I know I lie). Truly, it was really cool to learn about the conservation that this institute does. They are partnered with other organizations and communities that run seaweed farms and sea cucumber farms. The seaweed is exported to be used mainly in beauty products, and it’s very much a woman-driven source of income, often because the men are fishing. The idea is that it provides an alternate (and more stable) source of income than fishing, and because overfishing is a big problem. The sea cucumbers are grown at this factory-like place, and sent to the villagers to be fattened up, and then exported, though I still don’t understand for what. We got to tour all of those on the 1st and 2nd, which means I got to sail in a pirogue (basically a dugout boat with a single outrigger), snorkel in coral reefs, and learn how to identify mangrove species. It was a wonderfully busy few days.
One night, some of us walked from our hotel to the ice cream place before dinner, and boy it was a ride. It was our first time walking anywhere since leaving Tana and I think we forgot how mentally taxing it is. We had one man count us (vazaha enina: six vazaha!), four guys reach out and grab us, get almost run over by pousse-pousses like a million times, and one time this guy called me Brazilian — as far as I understood — so that’s a new one. Sweaty, mad, and freaked out because it was unclear if someone was following us, ice cream was a welcome treat.
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On the other hand of the type of attention we get: when we went to the priogues we attracted a mass of children that only seemed to grow. I’m not the biggest fan of kids in general, and its tougher when they’re constantly touching me and laughing (at me?) in a language I don’t understand. When we arrived back from the seaweed farms, they followed us in a pack all the way back to the van — a solid 20-minute walk in the heat. It was harmless and I wasn’t particularly annoyed, but I do always wonder why everyone always seems to have so much free time that they can expend being entertained by us.
November 3rd was a free day, and we were ridiculously spoiled. We visited a local artist and I commissioned a little painting that he’ll sent to Tana later! We went to the tourist shops and I bought some pretty earrings, and then we spend the afternoon beach walking and swimming! I picked up so many shells that were so gorgeous I am still skeptical if they were planted or not. I told myself I could keep as many as I wanted because I was going to make them into jewelry for people, but we’ll see if that actually happens. We were totally spoiled, partly because the director was refunded after a debacle in Andasibe, and she told us this was the spa retreat before our independent projects, camping in the rainforest or trekking through the mangrove mud to photograph crabs (in my case). I did get a massage at one beach — on my own dime — but it was also very much a moment. Such luxury in contrast to what I know (can I really know? assume? observe) normal life is here.
On the 4th we drove a few hours to Isalo, which is home to the more popular national park, I think called Amber Mountain. We got to look at really big rocks, but no climbing! I picked up some rocks I felt particularly drawn to and it started to rain as we ran back to the car! We got to go for a hike in the park on the 5th, we saw sifaka lemurs play fighting with each other, we swam in two natural pools, saw more pretty birds, and looked at more cool rocks and bugs! It was easily one of my favorite days so far.
We went for another walk when we got back to the town and were followed by some little boys which was annoying, but when a dog came up to my friend and they could tell it bothered her, they grabbed the dog. When a little kid was yelling “vazaha” at us — which we ignored — their parent said something and instead they yelled hello, to which I said hello back, very pointedly. Then the kid started yelling “salama,” but I’ll take it.
I am always being reminded of how geographically diverse this country is, and I know that’s not news to anyone, diversity in all aspects being Madagascar’s thing, but it’s incredible. I think we all needed a change of scenery after being in the city for a while, and it showed when we went crazy for the rocks (lots of geology majors). We drove from the highlands into a rain forest and past baobabs in the dessert right up to the ocean! I love to talk about how geographically diverse Washington is and I’ll never stop thinking the pacific NW is the most gorgeous place on earth, but I am shocked time and time again by the landscapes here.
I was reminded on this trip again how lucky I feel to be a part of this group of people. Everyone is nerdy, for lack of a better word, about whatever it is they’re interested in, but they’re also so fun and it’s exciting to hear them talk about their interests and what drives them. I do really think everyone is cool and we’re a group of entertaining people, or I’m just super nerdy. Either way I’m happy.
I leave tomorrow to go do research up north for a month! I’ll be conducting a faunal biodiversity inventory survey in the mangrove forests near the town of Ambanja. I am, I think, more nervous for this than I have been for anything else maybe ever, and it has manifested in me being sedentary all day. I’ll have data but probably not consistent wifi access and I do have to be a bit stingy with it so I don’t run out, so I apologize if I don’t respond with any sort of urgency. I’m off to set up my automatic email response!
