Hey, look, a forest!!
Trip Start
Feb 24, 2005
1
9
21
Trip End
Jul 23, 2005
Maroantsetra,
Madagascar
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Lacy's work here is, in part, evaluating and training the guides for Masoala National Park (on the Peninsula) and Nosy Mangabe (an island just off the coast).
01_Rainbow on the way to the Masoala Peninsula
Lucky for me, I got to ride along on two of her trips. To get to the peninsula, we motored several hours in an open boat in on-and-off rain on choppy seas. Miserable--but a crappy day on the ocean is better than a pretty day just about anywhere else. The peninsula is heavily forested, so the view from the boat was magnificent. Thick vines hanging from tall trees; Extravagent foliage dripping down the hillsides; Green crawling down to a thin stretch of sand and churning waves. The very definition, were it not for the grey skies and drizzle, of Tropical Paradise. Always the goal.Our second trip, to Nosy Mangabe, was the highlight of my time in Madagascar. The boat took us and three guides to a sandy spot midway down the island, and then left. They promised to pick us up in two days, but it still felt like being stranded on a deserted island. We went on three hikes, one with each guide, so Lacy could evaluate them (and so that I could have fun under the guise of "ecotourism development," the oldest trick in the book). The poorest performer had to be the one in charge of the night hike, who didn't think to bring a flashlight. Oops! Hope his clients are nocturnal! Although I've enjoyed my time here, things like that seem to happen a lot. Everything is disorganized, no one wants to take responsibility for anything. Lacy recently tried to deliver a letter to a doctor in town, but he was out of the office
02_Rainbow with boat underneath
. When she asked his secretary to hand it to him when he got in, she said, "I'm sorry, I can't be responsible for that." It can be very frustrating.But overall, the hikes were great. More lemurs, frogs, snails, geckos. We hiked to rock inscriptions left by 16th century Dutch sailors, and to an abandoned lighthouse. Even with just our small headlamps, we found a huge leaf-tailed gecko on our night hike. A quick trip to the loo turned into a wildlife adventure, when I ran into a long red snake guarding the toilets. The swimming was also fantastic. The water is bathwater warm, and a cool freshwater stream flowed right by our campsite--perfect for rinsing off and cooling down. Unfortunately, the reef just offshore was almost entirely bleached in the last cyclone. Nonetheless, it was pretty cool to swim just meters away from rainforest.
On our second day we asked the park ranger if we could borrow his pirogue (dugout canoe). He agreed, but as we hauled it down to the water he kept asking for reassurance that we knew how to swim. Little did we know that the coda to that question was, "because with this boat, that's probably what you'll be doing." As soon as we pulled it into the water, little fountains sprung up all along the bottom. Not just seeping cracks in the hull, but true bubbling springs
03_Masoala Peninsula
. The boat came equipped with a cut-off plastic bottle for bailing, which gave us confidence that we could stay afloat. We did, but only with me bailing full-time! Anyway, it was my first time in a dugout, which was exciting, and we got past the swimmable area and into the emerald-green deeper waters and the coral graveyards.Aside from the hiking and boating, we spent some time just lying on the beach. It was one of the most beautiful places I've been, and I could have spent much more time there. White-faced brown lemurs played above our tent, the stars were thick and the horizon dark, and the sounds of the rainforest kept us company throughout the night. In the morning the first view from the tent was of turquoise water lapping at lush forest. Really, it doesn't get any better.
