Madagascar: Lemurs, Lizards and Zebu

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Madagascar, sometimes referred to as the “8^th continent”, was Liam’s country choice for our around the world journey.  It’s not an easy place to get to, even from the Africa mainland, but we decided to go for it since we were “close” and the unique ecosystems are quickly transforming into farms and factories.  Madagascar is a big country, a little more than 2 times the size of Colorado.  In our 12 days we saw just a small portion—we flew down to the South West coast and worked our way back up to the capital, Antanavarivo  (“Tana”) in the central of the country—the “RN7” route, named for the national road we primarily followed.  The country was incredible and worth the effort to get to.  The people are very friendly even when we could not speak the main languages of Malagasy and French.  Also a welcome surprise was the food was delicious.  It is the first country we have seen baguettes of French bread sold in baskets on the side of the road. 

   

Ifaty beach dug out canoes

We were fortunate to discover that our in-country flight to the coast switched from 1pm to 7am the day before with no notice from Air Madagascar (the only option for in country flights) -- whose workers have been on strike so flights are sporadic and reservations only confirmed once you’ve arrived at your destination.  Once we arrived, we rode in a pickup truck through the desert on a bumpy sand road (30km = 1.5 hours) to Ifaty beach past mangroves, baobab trees, and octopus shaped succulents over 5m high.  The beachside location was idyllic-- Liam described the setting as a “VIP hotel picture”—we walked through swarms of butterflies to get the aquamarine ocean with sand littered with beautiful shells.  People that live in the village nearby fish out of dugout canoes propelled by colorful patchwork sails. We enjoyed a few days swimming and playing in the sand, collecting shells (most of Liam’s included live hermit crabs, much to Jim’s surprise when he was the repository for Liam’s overflowing handfuls).

Next we headed inland to Isalo National Park - a desert landscape whose silhouette looks like the American Southwest but on closer inspections looks like a Dr. Seuss book-- green lichen covered cliffs and strangely shaped plants with nasty spikes and beautiful flowers.  We went for a hike with a local guide who pointed out almost impossible to see stick bugs and medicinal plants that do everything from removing warts, to healing wounds, to being used like glue.  The cliff face was dotted with Salklalva tombs, marked with Zebu horns (cattle with humps on their backs and big horns) and rock cairns. We also got our first look at ring-tailed lemurs, who gracefully bounce from tree to tree and make sounds like a mix between doves and cats. They are charming. 

Next we headed off the highway on an exciting dirt road to remote Camp Catta in the Andringitra National Park.  On a trip with many impressive “out the window” accommodation views, this was one of the most breathtaking: Families of cooing lemurs with babies clinging to their tummies playing in the trees outside of our bungalow framed by stunning peaks capped in clouds.  There was even a “natural pool” for us to play in after a long hike up to the top of the “chameleon peak”— a challenging (at least for Carolyn) 15km circuit on which we had to step aside for local villagers herding Zebu and/or single handedly carrying huge logs in bare feet. The hike up did send home the lesson learned to make sure to look up and enjoy the view (but be careful what you’re stepping into.)  Our guide showed us how to make a bracelet out of the “string” inside of plants, and we saw cool chameleons, orchids and a huge rainbow-colored grasshopper.

After a bumpy ride (let’s hear it for our driver) back to the RN7 we stopped off at the Anja Reserve, where we scrambled over rocks and through a caves to get to a lemur-filled forest and fed a chameleon a grasshopper on a stick.  It had a shockingly long and fast tongue and even managed to impress Xander.  Our final hiking adventure was in the rainforest in Ranomafana National Park.  On the way there we even saw a 6ft+ tree boa slithering across the road.  Here our guide took us way off trail through the muddy jungle brush to search for lemurs and other elusive creatures.  We saw four different types of lemurs, including the golden Bamboo lemur (this lemur was only discovered in 1986), leaf tailed geckos, chameleons, a giraffe beetle and even a crab (!) living in the water pooled inside of a crevice in a tree.  It seems sometimes you need to get off the beaten path to get to the cool stuff… even if it’s steep, muddy and filled with thorny trees.  

Our last few days up to Tana included driving through an increasingly populated and cultivated landscape.  Smoke was thick in the air for some of way and we passed several spots where we actually could see and feel the flames from a slash and burn site.  Our guide said that there are radio announcements not to burn forests, but it’s hard to promote conservation when people need to live and eat somehow. We got to learn about different types of handicrafts, such as wood sculptures and zebu horn carving, where people create beautiful crafts in ingenious ways - such as using a washing machine motor and old cut up jeans to buff and polish horns.  The capital city Tana is a bustling city with myriad people and narrow streets choked with traffic, road side stalls selling everything from cell phone minutes to chickens (alive, dead and cooked), surrounded by rice patties and made-by-hand brick yards.  The highlight of our time in Tana was spending an evening with new friends Zane and Michael and sons who teach at the international school as “trailing spouses” (which seems much better than being a corporate spouse) for their wives who are Peace Corps directors.  Mexican food never tasted so good!

giraffe beetle

We all enjoyed Madagascar and confirmed that hiking and animal spotting (along with pools at hotels) are some keys to our collective happiness. Madagascar seemed easier than Ethiopia, maybe because of the “Mula Mula” (slowly slowly) attitude of the Malagasies or maybe we are getting better at adjusting to our surroundings and conditions.  Now it’s back to South Africa.  This week we will head up God’s Window and Kruger National Park—but first this weekend we’re going to hang out with some local friends and learn about the two main national pass times—Braai (BBQ) and Rugby. 

Senses:

Jim: The cloud of pink water trailing liam walking through the ocean, thinking it might be his blood, but realizing it's just an "inking" fish off of Ifaty Beach, Madagascar; The sweet sound of a woman singing in the sea gathering crabs and other sea creatures from the shallow tidal flat; the bright green and yellow lichen covering the desert canyon walls at Isalo National Park as I recognize the comparison to the American southwest yet appreciate the differences; the cool (literally and figuratively) cave under the lemur forest used by the lemurs for weekend parties because of the great acoustics;

Xander: the fishing boats with hand-made sails going to the shore as we spotted the small glimmering spotted puffer fish in the grains of the wetted sand; the large tortoise’s starry black shell crashing through the weak twigs to get to the shade underneath the rock; the small baby lemur's tail wrapping around its mother's stomach as his minuscule head turns to reveal his pudgy face; the  golden tail of the  golden bamboo lemur draped on the secondary forests canopy as we squelch down the root and vine-infested hill

Carolyn: The rows of rice fields covered in muddy water, lined by drying laundry on our traffic jam drive from the airport to the Tana city center; the tiny striped tail of the baby ring tailed lemur sprouting out from where it clings to its mother's belly as she gracefully launches from tree to tree; the astounding rainbow colors adorning the back of the giant cricket standing out from the white and grey "elephant foot" plant; the heat and smoke from the fires blazing on the blacked landscape gruesomely demonstrating the conflict between conservation and livelihood.

Liam: holding the displaced but beautiful shell looking inside to see if I can discover a hermit crab; the tall yellow blooming flowers sprouting out of what looked like a miniature spiky baobab tree at the arboretum in Tulear; the bitterly cold water freezing my sensitive skin as I swim vigorously to try to catch the tadpoles on the black pool underneath the waterfall at Isalo national park; the  fuzzy and soft brown bamboo lemur scurrying up the  long bamboo pole as dad frantically tries to get a picture

Lessons Learned:

• Madagascar has random trampolines
• Zebus are the cattle with the big hump on their back.  The hump is filled with fat and given as food to elders as a sign of respect
• People in Ethiopia and Madagascar carry staggering loads on their heads and backs.  Only women carry loads on their heads.
• Tombs in Madagascar are square piles of bricks adorned with zebu horns to show the wealth of the family.
• There is a plant that is super bitter that is used to wean babies and stop nail biting
• Assume that a driving time estimate is at least 50% greater than that provided by the tour operator
• Where there are palms there is water
• Zebu are used to save money instead of a bank.   Malagasies sell them when they need extra money.
• Do not use your fingers to point at tombs, instead curl them down and point with your knuckle
• There are two types of tombs, temporary used for two years then when the body is bones they are brought back to the village washed and celebrated again then placed in the permanent family tomb
• There are 18 tribes in Madagascar
• There is a plant that poisons fish and people just net them when they float to the top.   The poison is not harmful to humans
• Malagasies dry corn for months in the hay on the top of their houses to get the seeds ready to plant
• A minivan with a two rows of seats and bucket seats that recline is way more comfortable than a Landover
• Malagasy people are resourceful-  for example, they reuse wires from tires and strings from chairs to make saws to create intricate woodcrafts