More Photos
More photos (from other volunteers) available.
This is the link to Jame's photos. It is so great to look at them. It really brings back great memories!
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Ozyallmand
Photos
I have sent the link to my photos in Andavadoaka to almost everybody now... but just in case I forgot someone here it is:
My Madagascar Photos on Flickr
My story in full photographic glory.
Enjoy and add any comments if you like.
Bye for now
Ros.
Back in the UK
Sorry for the long delay with the update. I tried to add an entry when I was back in Tulear at the end of the expedition on 21st December but... after two hours of wasted time on a painfully slow internet connection I had to give up!
While travelling and moving around we never got a chance to ever see a computer (and I didn't miss it).
So today I am back in the UK. IN fact it's only been a few hours, time to have a nice looong shower after almost 24hrs between flights and airports and relax, go quickly through a mountain of mail (by the way thank you all for the lovely Xmas cards).
I haven't even un-packed. I just can't face that yet. I am going to pick up Simon in South Ealing at around 8pm as he is arriving on a different flight after having xssed the Alps 3 times in his return journey. I will be doing a list of food to buy in a moment (I am so hungry, Madagascar is 3 hours ahead from here so normally this is dinner time!!) and I will go for my first supermarket run after 2 months living in very basic conditions and sorrounded by poverty... I think I'll have to take it easy around those isles.
Funny thing: the last few weeks in Andavadoaka there was not a day that would go by without mentioning food because we were so bored by the repetition in our diet by now after two weeks travelling around and over-eating Zebu I kind of crave for simple and healthy food..something like a nice veggie soup! Let's see what happens though when I get to the supermarket later. Today while trying to kill my 6-hour transit in Paris Charles De Gaulles I must have been back and forth to the cheese and meats delicacy duty free shop 4 or 5 times wondering if I should fall to temptation: I didn't. 250g of camembert at 4.50 EUR after getting off an Air Madagascar flight seemed so extortionate!! and that was the cheapest :)
OK let's give you an idea of the prices in the more expensive part of Madagascar: Antananarivo, the capital. Well on our very last day we decided to treat ourselves to a lovely lunch so we went to a restaurant in Tana called 'Rossini' or something like that. That is supposed to be the poshest restaurant in Tana (therefore according to Simon, in Madagascar) and 3 people (we decided to also treat our lovely chaffeur - that's how they called our driver over there - for lunch), so a meal for 3 people consisting on a posh main each (we skipped the starter as it was lunch ;)), pudding, wine and water cost 77000 Ariary that translates to roughly 30 EUR which is the most we have spent on a meal during the whole stay!!! A lot more!
Let's say that we have had filling meals for 8000 for the two of us in total. I just need to recover and get used to the crazy London prices. Or better I just have to get a job first!! :)
Anyway. This is just a quick note to say that I am back (and Simon will be shortly).
We had a fantastic time and I will add some additional notes to tell you a bit about my last weeks of my adventures, links to photos (as soon as I sort them out) and some additional comments.
Just stay posted.
Until then.. veloma and HAPPY NEW YEAR!.
Ciao
Ros.
Baobabs and the Spiny Forest
Since I last wrote we went Baobab mapping in the spiny forest. This consists in measuring and writing down characteristics of the baobas to record human and animal damage then we also record their position on the GPS. The trip there was quite an adventure! We went by Zebu cart. This means we sat for about 1 and 1/2 hours on a little cart pulled by two Zebus whipped and 'tortured' by the zebu driver to make them go faster. He even bit their tails! Not the most comfortable of journeys but it was an experience :) . Really really bumpy, it was OK on the way out there but coming back I was starting to feel Zebu-cart sick (if there is such a thing :) I really enjoyed the trip though and we picked the best day since it was cloudy and it spitted a bit from the sky so not so great for diving and not too hot to go to the spiny forest. Once there I also took a chance to climb a Baobab. It was a bit tricky to climb it but well worth it. Once on the top the view was great!! I also saw a couple of really huge and colourful spiders (which are great photo subjects), photographed a couple of butterflies and saw lots of birds (including parrots) although I could not get very good pictures with the compact digital (you really need a good zoom for those).
We also had another party night and day off since I list wrote (we have one every 5 days' diving). This one was particularly good because it coincided with the leaving do of the last Project Manager who had been here for about a year. We partied all night and popped down to the bar in the village called EPI bar (from Epicerie bar: since it sells spices as well as functioning as a bar). Got to bed at 4:30 am so I was a bit useless on my day off (slept all morning on my cabin's patio and listened to the Ipod).
Yesterday I was supposed to go on a double dive to a new site and start the very first fish belts on that new site (basically ID'ing and counting fish over a 20m-long measuring tape) but it didn't happen because the viz was reported as very bad by the people on the 6.00am dive (2mts viz). Most of the volunteers went Octopus gleaning (or something like that) but I opted out as I have already seen how octopuses are caught and killed and it is not a show that I enjoy. So I did a few little jobs around camp (put up a shelf and cleared the reptile traps). Found a Hermit Crab wihout its shell (always wanted to see one!) and looked for a few empty shells for him and then watched him pick one and climbing into it! It was great :)
Got up in the middle the night (2.30 am) last night) for the night dive.. yet we didn't get into the water until 4:30 because the boat driver didn't get up so someone had to go to the village to get him out of bed. Apparently there were a load of people sleeping in front of his hut so it was a chain reaction of children crying and a portion of the village being woken up :) . Unfortunately the night dive wasn't anything to rave about as we missed the reef or we were not on the best part however I was very intrigued by a jelly fish that looked like had come out from the abyss series of the blue planet. It had four faces and corners with light running up and down and no tentacles. Truly amazing. I also managed to find a mask during the dive which turned out to be one Ashley, the field scientist had dropped from the boat some time ago. She was very pleased to see it. I also saw a sleeping octopus and some random fish. Safety stop at the end of the dive was great with glowing light on the surface from sun rise. Got to bed for a couple of hours after night dive, then breakfast and then another dive at 9.00am for science purposes (3 fish belts). I am really enjoying the fish belts. I get to notice so many fish. I think from now on I will make a point of carrying a slate with me on recreational dives to try to write down everything I see. It really makes a big difference and you tend to pay lots of attention. A bit like when you are photographing.
Cooked fish on the fire with coconut and mango last night. It was quite nice. Back for 9.00am and 11.00am dive today but missed the first dive because the first stage of my reg failed while I was doing my pre-dive safety check on the boat and could not even take it off to use the spare one. I had to snorkle it. What a shame the site was really good. But I had a good snorkle and saw 8 big blue spine unicorn fishes. Shame though because my second dive tody would have been my 100th dive. Tomorrow then, we are having recreational dives tomorrow! :)
Entry made on official Blue Ventures blog...
See report made on the official Blue Ventures blog by following this link;
http://blueventures.blogspot.com/
Bonfires, Barbecues and Hermit Crab Racing
Hello hello,
This week has been quite full. I have now also passed my fish test both on the computer and in-water. A bit amazing as I did it at the first attempt: I wasn't too sure I was going to but I suppose all our dives and book consultations during our holidays in the Maldives and in Egypt has really helped me with learning the families fast then it was just a question of learning a few more families and all the species. Apparently I am the first volunteer in a long time to pass both in-water and computer fish tests at the first attempt (and the only one on this expedition; which means I have to wear some funny gilet called 'the golden fleece' as a trophy every night for dinner doh :) . As learning the fish and the science side was really what I wanted to get out of this experience you can imagine how happy I am with myself (big smile :)
Went camping to the Northern beaches the night before yesterday. The northern beaches is an area where a planned new Marine Protected Area has been agreed with the locals and where BV is going to build an eco-lodge (which this expedition is starting). The eco-lodge will eventually be run by the locals and the profit will benefit the local village. We will be camping on a rotation basis to start working on building the site there so a couple of nights ago we went to spend our party night there (as a trial) and we had a huge bonfire (the biggest I have ever seen). There was a lot of wood from the clear-up of the beach. I took so many photos!! It was great. We cooked there (lovely BBQed Zebu kebabs) and had a Hermit Crab race (he he). The moon was lighting the sea and the beach and it was great. I have now been nick-named by other volunteers 'the prepared one' (it makes me laugh) because I am always prepared with my kit wherever I go: I was the only one to have mozzy repellent on the mangrove trip and for the camp night the only one who brought the mozzy net along which made my sleeping area look like some regal bedroom: it was pretty funky and I was very happy to have brought it with me (no mozzies at night but more important, no persistent flies to disturb my sleep in the morning; sweet).
Had a great recreational dive today on Yellow Brick Road (very cool dive site). There was a resident grey reef shark too but I missed it. I took nice pictures however. Just come back from my camping night on the northern beaches. It was so cool. I went there with two staff (Ashley our canadian field scientist and Alan, her boyfriend and expedition manager) plus other two volunteers (James from England and Els, a Dutch girl). We went there yesterday late afternoon/sunset and we lit a fire to cook some pasta and heat some fish. I then set up 'my bedroom' under the stars and we played poker till we were to tired to continue :) Got up at about 6.30 this morning and started working on the jobs to build up the site. I have built a really cool table, I was quite impressed at my carpentry skills :) . It was bliming hot especially when cutting the wood!! Sweat dripping from face and all (very charming) had to go and dip into the sea every now and then, what a bummer ;) We stopped at around 11.00 am as too hot and we went for a walk to a well not far from there into the spiny forest and saw my very first wild Chameleon on a tree. It is such a funny animal. I was so happy.
Yesterday saw my first Hammerhead Shark, unfortunately it wasn;t while diving. This was the day's catch of a fisherman's pirogue during my fish monitoring shift (we go down Andavadoaka beach every other saturday to record the fish they catch, not too sure if I told you already now). It is a shame that my first real life hammerhead had to be a dead one. A beauty roughly 2 meters long and a small baby (a real shame, they are truly awesome creatures).
PS: thanks a lot for the messages from the blog. It was nice to read them. Say hello to everybody and enjoy the Xmas parties.
A strange bug that kicks you when you lift it up !
I have been taking lots of pictures, mainly above water but I also have a few under water ones. I normally don;t take the camera down when I am doing science training dives but I have had two recreational dives so I took the opportunity. The viz has been really good on both my recreational dives but fish are very hard to photograph :) . I have taken lots of pictures above water too. There is so much wildlife, every time I see something new (I wish I had a more powerful zoom), so far I have managed to photograph 3 different snakes, a huge spider, a strange bug that kicks you when you lift it up (last night), a bird, some local hedge hogs that are called some name that has slipped off my mind and I am sure something else that I cannot remember. Sunsets are also amazing so pictures go very qui8ckly.
On 3rd December is elections day in Madagascar. Apparently there has been a bit of unrest in Antananarivo and Toliara in the past few days. This week I have also been snorkelling to the Mangroves. It was so much fun. They are about 45 mins' walk south from camp. When the tide was coming up there were some currents and we were gliding through the mangrove it was great. I saw a few juvenile fishes. By the way I have also passed my bethic test, both on the computer and in-water which means that I can now tell apart my tunicates from my sponges ;) We have one fish lecture tomorrow then we will start with the fish tests from tomorrow: I think they will be quite challenging however I am already quite happy as I have been suprising myself recognising quite a few families and species during the dives.
There is a lot of work to do and some days I hardly have time to brush my teeth after lunch but it is good fun and I am learning a lot. I have just come back from the village now after giving some 8-11 yrs old English lessons. They really get super excited. There is really no light pollution here. We had a fire on the beach the other day and it was really good fun. When the generator goes off at 10pm it is pitch black! And Tulear had hardly any street lights either so I guess most of Madagascar is like this.
