Minmaxing Life

The past four days in Sainte Marie have not been as sunny as one would have hoped. After all winter is coming in Madagascar, and the rain with it. But no one cares under water so - rather than spending all my time lying on the white sand - I went diving. I am constantly amazed by the vitality of nature here and diving was another perfect illustration. Thousands of tropical fishes everywhere, swimming in swarms sometimes so dense you can hardly see through them. Seashells, 5 kilos lobsters (yummy! - too bad its forbidden to pick them up while diving), nudibranchs (sea slugs), black tip sharks, white tip sharks, gray sharks, rays, it’s got it all. I even saw a crocodilefish. Ugly, yes, but it was a first for me.
And I’ve never seen such a concentration of lion fishes! Until now, I’ve always seen them mostly isolated and hiding around rocks. Here, they go by groups of up to 5 individuals, swim in the open and are totally unafraid of humans. I could count dozens in a single dive.

As you can probably tell, I’m really enjoying my time. But in a few days, it will be time to head back to Paris. Different types of pleasures await…

The past few days have been all about the Lemurs. I went across the private reserve of the Vakôna lodge and Ankanin’ny Nofy - the dream nest - a small island made into a beautiful reserve. So I’ve made lots of new friends: Propithecus diadema (Diademed Sifaka), Varecia Variegata (the Vari), Propithecus verreauxi coquereli, Eulemur Coronatus, Eulemur Macaco (the black lemur), Indri (the Babakoto), more Fulvus and a rare hybrid endemic to this island. They are such a riot!

I’ve also seen crocodiles, snakes, turtles, lots of rare trees, plants and orchids and even the legendary Fossa. That last one was in captivity unfortunately, as they are very hard to observe in their natural habitat and - if released - they would eat all the surrounding lemurs.

After that I traveled by boat down the “canal des Pangalanes” to reach Tamatave where I am now posting. Tomorrow, I will be flying to Nosy Boraha otherwise known as Sainte-Marie island. See you there!

Did I say the drive to Ifaty was epic? Boy was I wrong…

I’ll tell you what’s really epic: 2 flights, followed by 10 hellish hours of driving off roads under a relentless sun, trying not to get stuck in the mud (and 12 hours of the same on the way back), crossing two rivers with the 4×4 on rafts all of this followed the next day by hours of walking and climbing and squeezing yourself through tiny holes and crevices.

But then you get there and it makes it all worthwile.

Before reaching Tuléar, I spent a couple of days in the national park of Isalo where I saw my first lemurs. I was lucky to catch a glimpse of two of the three diurnal species that live in the area: the lemur catta - national emblem of the island - and the lemur fulvus rufus.

Also went trekking and had a swim in the natural pools (of cold water!). Caught some beautiful shots coming back down at sunset. The pics are up on Flickr.

I am now in Ifaty a small village by the seaside after an epic drive where we got stuck in the sand twice! Thankfully the local villagers helped us out and we made it safely, late in the evening yesterday.

I’ve been in Madagascar for a week now. Not enough time to have anything worthwhile to say but I’ll still record my initial reaction - if only to compare it with future perceptions.

After landing in Antananarivo - the capital city - some 400 km from the sea, I am now traveling down the RN7 road to the costal city of Tuléar. The landscape so far has mostly been the red earth high grounds from the center of the island which, to my amazement, reminds me very strongly of central Australia. Between 3:30 to 5 pm the sunlight turns golden and enhances everything it touches. I’ve also seen a couple of remarkable lakes around Antsirabe. One of them - the Tritriva lake - has surreal, bright blue water, and is almost completely still. The legend has it that two lovers who where denied marriage drowned themselves there and it is now “fady” (forbidden) to bathe in it.

The country seems to have exceptional ressources: ingenious people, skilled craftsmen, rare minerals, all kinds of crops, one-of-a-kind biodiversity, wonderful natural sights and even oil! Which makes it all the more surprising to witness how poor the general population is… From my limited understanding, the main explanation seems to point to years of political mismanagement and corruption. But even though the people are amongst the poorest in the world, I did not get the sense of desperation and urgency I’ve felt in other parts of the globe. Not until now at least. Folks are friendly and show genuine interest: it is not uncommon to be called out loud “Vasaha” (foreigner) by little children trying to grab your attention in the street. Of course some of them see you as a walking candy/cash/pencil dispenser but most are just curious and eager for an interesting interaction. Showing them their portrait on a digital camera is often enough to generate endless laughter and a procession of would-be models.

Madagascar may well be the land of tranquility or, as they say, mora-mora (pronounced mooramoor) but to me, right now, it looks like an extremely inviting playground…