Foreign Contaminants and Fresh Eyes

To start off, thank you so much to everyone who helped me with funding my project that I posted last month. I've received all the money necessary to complete the project, and will shortly begin the construction to help improve the elementary school. Look forward to pictures by next month's post.

I've been in Madagascar for over a year now. Somethings that I see on a common basis have by now become so normal to me that I can forget how odd they would appear to an outsider seeing them for the first time. I have thus tried to capture one of the phenomenon of this country; non-motor vehicle usage of the roadways.

 Here is a common site on bridges all over the country, an ox-cart taking up the one lane. They move reliably, but slowly and can cause some pretty fantastic bottlenecks. Especially since its already a natural point for bottlenecks with the road narrowing to one lane for almost all the bridges in the country.

 Even when they're not on a bridge they can still provide a fun driving obstacle. Here a farmer is transporting a few sacks of rice and a friend.

Of course the cows aren't always harnessed, and occasionally they like to cause a good old-fashioned road block. Here a herd of zebu cross the road at there own pace.

Also, not all carts are ox powered. This appears to be a furniture delivery in the capital city. Complete with a moving crew ready to spring into action on the couch.

All this road travel was due to a few special guests that I was taking around. Their fresh off the plane eyes helped me see things here in a bit of a new light. Here are some more highlights.

 We stopped by the Ankarana National Park. This is a sinkhole about 100 feet across and the same deep. In the rainy season three rivers converge on this point and create an eddy to an underground river. The water is then filtered out to the ocean via underground river.

The other amazing feature at Ankarana is the tsingy. The word comes from the Malagasy verb to walk on tiptoes because the tsingy are razor-sharp limestone formations. If you walk on them you need to be careful not to cut your feet. They were formed in the ocean, rose from the sea floor over time, and carved by erosion from acid rain. Local indigenous Malagasy tribes used to use them as a protected hiding spot from enemies.

We also got out to some islands like Nosy Tany Kely (Little Island) pictured above.

 We explored some of the urban ruins in Diego Suarez and saw some of the local graffiti artists' work.

A trip to the rooftop bar afforded a cool shot of the neighboring market building with outlying shanty shops finishing the look.

We even indulged in some beach glass hunting and had to stop after about 30 minutes of searching because we ran out of pocket space to carry it back!

A trip to the weaver's market was in order to look for some souvenirs and also check out the local handicrafts. Basket weaving is a widespread activity here and they can make some really nice and colorful designs.

A brief stop over at one of my favorite places in Diego, the mighty ficus tree. Such a beautiful, big tree and a wonderfully relaxing spot.

Eventually we made it down to the capital Antananarivo. We made a stop at the Rova (royal fort) and saw the Manjakamiadana (Queen's palace). The King's palace is the little building on the right. The Rova is the highest point in the capital and as such affords some stunning views of the city.

Here is the view to the east where you can see some rice fields. Rice is currently out of season so they are growing watercress and other similar vegetables. Antananarivo (or Tana for short) is a city of anywhere from 2-4 million people depending on whose estimates you like the best.

One of the other oddities my visitors noted was the brick kilns on the side of the road. Definitely a necessity for the architectural styles of the highlands where it can get fairly cold in the winter.

Now without further ado, I present to you my wonderful traveling companions and fresh eyes filled with wonder...

 My mom and dad! Sharing a beautiful view from the balcony of our hotel on Nosy Be.

 We made it out to the Emerald Sea near Diego and my dad caught a beautiful shot of my mom on a swing staying out of the sun and enjoying the beach.

We made it to one of my favorite places to eat, Kamar's Restaurant. We are having feliky mahogo (crushed cassava leaves with beef chunks) one of the national dishes of Madagascar and coconut beans with rice.

My parents also helped with this month's animal roundup too.

 Here's Mio, the cat who lives at the Peace Corps house in Diego. Mio loves scratches, chasing mice, and making new friends!

 We even got some lemurs to jump on us. Here's my dad in the process of being peed on by his new friend on Nosy Komba (Lemur Island).

My mom had better luck in the not-getting-peed-on department and got to make a new friend with this cute girl.

While we stopped in Ankarana we were visited by this ring-tailed mongoose. They often travel in pairs, but this day we just had a brush with the one out for a stroll.

Our driver pointed out a chameleon on the side of the road waiting for his picture to be taken. He seemed a little skittish so the driver got out, picked him up with a stick and posed him before the camera.

A stop in Lemurs' Park which rehabilitates lemurs that have been reclaimed from captivity provided us another up close view of some different species. Heres one looking to see if we have any bananas on us!

This bird decided to give us a flight show on Nosy Diego in the Emerald Sea. The winds were so strong that he couldn't make forward progress, but just sat there over top of us hovering for a few minutes before he turned off to go back to the mainland.

Our last faunal encounter was at our hotel in Tana where we met Coco the Parrot. Coco has a great personality and liked to sit in front of the specials menu and try his hand at writing just like he's seen all the other people do. Every so often he'd scrape his beak across the menu board to write in his own specials!

Unfortunately my parents couldn't stay forever, and so I bid them adieu and settled in to finish my last year so I can see them again! I can't thank them enough for their support and assistance in making my service here possible. Also, thanks to the both of them for the pictures because I decided to step out from behind the camera while they were here to enjoy their visit in person only. 

I know they had a great time, and I hope they can look back fondly on their time here in Madagascar for a long time to come. I love you mom and dad, and I'll see you in a year!

The Grandest of Vacances

What a great month with so many interesting and exciting things to report. I'll waste no time on introductions, but start first with the conclusion of my latest building project.

Here you can see that I have taught myself to sew. I'm not that great, but it works for what I need it to do, and that's the important part. This is my mosquito net after cutting it down to length and before I added the elastic band.

 Here's the finished product. My bed is now a complete and functional piece of furniture! The elastic makes getting in and out much easier and now I don't have to tuck in the net every night, just slip inside and go to sleep.

I also replaced my curtain that separates my kitchen and room. The previous one was eaten by a mouse, so I found a fabric store that has some really cool prints and got this one sewn to the shape and size that I need. It's a much heavier fabric, so hopefully it'll stand up a little better to the rodents.

 I wanted to be able to hang a heavier curtain, but still be able to remove it easily for cleaning, so I had to make a curtain rod. This was formerly a piece of the support for my mosquito net that I cut down, sanded, and made a notch in. The nail locks it in place, but with a firm push it pops open and the curtain can be removed for cleaning.

As it is probably evident from my many blog posts, I enjoy building and fixing things. The members of my community have noticed this too, and asked me to help them learn more woodworking skills. I took up that challenge and combined it with a project the community desperately needs done. The elementary school has very few functional desks and I, along with my community have banded together to fix this problem.

 The only issue that remains in our way is financial. Wood is cheap here, but not free, and we're asking for your help! Please consider donating to our cause through the Peace Corps' website located here: https://beta.peacecorps.gov/…/p…/community-woodworking-club/

All donations are tax deductible, will make you a better person, are guaranteed to make your dog love you, and will increase your IQ by at least seven points*.

*Not all claims verified by independent research.

Seriously though, it would mean a lot to me and my community to be able to complete this project and see the kids have a functional learning environment, not to mention the community members learning new skills which they can use to further develop projects on their own.

 Speaking of things at school, we have finished the school year! Here are most of the teachers at my middle school finishing up the grading process and preparing the report cards to go out. It's a tedious process to do it all by hand, but it makes you so happy when it's all done. I really enjoy working with this group of people, and I can't wait to start my second year with them.

 That being said, right now we are in the equivalent of summer break. However, this being the southern hemisphere, its winter, so here its called Grandes Vacance (Great Holiday). So far, it's living up to the title. I've moved to Diego Suarez for the time being to take up a new project. Above is the namesake park for the area of Diego that I'm living in, Place Kabary (Speech Square).

 I've really enjoyed getting to know the city better, and took this picture one cloudy morning walking down by the bay along the Rue de l'Abattoir (Slaughterhouse Road).

 My apartment is wonderful. Centrally located here in town just a stones throw from the Peace Corps office and all the other necessities. I have electricity, a fan (just out of the picture), a TV and DVD player, a mini fridge (also just out of picture), and a bathroom.

 Here is my shower, with hot and cold running water! Yes, that is a fishing rod in my shower, it needs to keep clean too you know! I don't have wifi at my apartment, but we all need to make some sacrifices for our service here.

 As for what I'm doing here, I'm working with the local office of Conservation International. CI is an American nonprofit that has worked in Madagascar for 25 years doing environmental conservation. My project is focusing on marine biodiversity in the areas around Diego. As such, I've been taking trips out to field sites in the area to meet local fishermen and interview them to get information.

 Here is a map of one of the areas I work in. In the upper left you can see a town called Ivovona where I have been a few times to gather information.

 This was taken on a walk into the foothills near Ivovona to inspect a new water pump that was having some issues. All those leaf-less trees are baobabs. A whole forest of them looking stately on the hillside.

 This sign is posted in the town of Ambavarano. It reminds the people of the town not to kill bats, lemurs, or mangroves. All are important and at least moderately endangered species here, and in the case of the lemurs, they only exist here, so very important not to kill.

 On another trip to Ivovona I met with some local kids who wanted an English lesson. Afterwards, they asked me take their picture, and true to Malagasy culture they either stood there and looked at me, or made nonsensical hand gestures.

 The kids in Ambodivahibe were more intent on playing with their newfound plastic balls. A truck with a few tourists rolled through town while I was visiting and threw out the balls to the kids standing by the road. These few took theirs out to the sandbar and had a blast running around and throwing them in the wind.

 Ambodivahibe is right on the water, and on my second visit I had some free time to get out and see what was out there. The green boat above was my transport, while the larger one in front was being prepped with nets to go out the next day.

 My wonderful Malagasy guide paddled me all over for about an hour and a half. On the way in the fisherman use poles in the shallow water because it's easier to fight the winds.

 I caught a fish! This is a Bluefin Jack, or a Batola Mizoza-bava in Malagasy. He fought hard like most Jack species in the US, but came in with a decidedly more tropical color scheme that any Jacks back home!

 He was a two footer, and weighed in at 2.9 kg or about 6.4 lbs. I also caught a handful of those little guys hanging out above him there called Amboabe (Big Dogs). My guide thought it was quite hysterical each time I pulled in a Big Dog and let me know by laughing quite heartily with each catch. I donated the fish to the community members who helped me out on my visit, and came away with some great pictures, so altogether a win.

 While we're on the topic of fish, might as well do the rest of the monthly animal report. Here are some of the fishermen in Ambavarano bringing home the Orita and Makoba (Octopi and Rays). The one on the left is weighing the catch while the two in the back get ready to put theirs on the scale next.

 This was the haul for one of the fishermen in Ivovona. He went out at night in about 150-200 meters of water and pulled up this Giant Grouper and a few Red Snapper. The grouper weighed in at 25 kg or 55 lbs.! Although these Grouper are capable of getting up to 400 kg, this fisherman was quite satisfied with his catch.

 Time for something a little more terrestrial. This chameleon was walking along the frame of a stand in my market one day when I glanced up and took this picture. Normally the color schemes are much more flamboyant here, so I was intrigued to see him in a more stealthy mode.

 This little lizard was living in the water pump that we went to check out in Ivovona. He was very relaxed and even let one of our team members pick him up for some photos!

 Lastly this month, a new friend! This cutie lives in Ivovona and likes to chew on shoelaces, fingers, and the neighborhood cats. She came right up and wasn't afraid of me at all, so now I have to give her ear scratchings each time I go to Ivovona which is quite alright by me!

To cap off my month, a last look at the ocean from Ambodivahibe. This is where I relaxed and cooled off after my fishing trip out on the reef. I've had an amazingly busy month, and I can't wait for the next one. I've got more exploring to do here in Diego, more trips out to the field sites, more life to be experienced! Hopefully you'll join me again in a month when I have even more awesome things to report.