Zero Hour

Well, I have at last arrived on the Africa Mercy!

It was quite a long trek, took me about 4 days (including a day to recuperate in Antananarivo). I don't sleep well on planes, even with a little . . . "pharmaceutical assistance." So, not only do I get jet-lag, I also get sleep deprived, and my entire body gets very confused. My appetite, in particular, goes haywire, and it has taken till now for me to feel like I'm hungry and full at appropriate times again. I.E. I'm hungry before I start eating and full after, as opposed to hungry(ish) then full after two bites, then slightly queasy if I force myself to keep eating.

Anyway, I'm happily back on track (at least till my weekend of night shifts, yay!), and getting the swing of life here on the ship.

The drive here from the capitol took 8 hours on a shuttle-bus, and provided a really amazing glimpse of what life is like for many Malagasy, in many different areas of the country. The interior of the island is QUITE mountainous, and there are fairly distinct cultural differences between the communities in the mountains vs the coastal regions. There are crazy, incredibly steep trails meandering off up mountainsides, which are clearly the main route many travel from day to day. We saw a man waving a giant, carp-sized fish at us to sell. We saw many, many piles of bricks being pulled from the clay/mud flats on flood plains, many with smoke rising from them as the bricks are fired. And we saw many, many, MANY people doing their Sunday washing in the same, murky mud flats. How their clothes don't look muddy is a complete mystery to me. In the mountains, we saw steep hillsides burning all over; this is called "slash and burn" and is a strategy for clearing agricultural or pastural land without heavy machinery. It is also illegal, as it contributes to much of Madagascar's deforestation, and is, unfortunately, putting many endangered species at further risk. This is being done out of necessity, as most rural Malagasy sustain themselves on the food they grow.

We didn't get the chance to see any lemurs yet, but the wildlife we did see was breathtaking, and SO incredibly diverse. There is no doubt that almost every living thing here is a Madagascar-exclusive.

As we approached the ship, we passed through the town of Tamatave (aka Toamasina), which was MUCH smaller than I expected, and saw signs of great disparity between the few well-off, and the rest of the population. Large, modern, walled and barbed-wire-fenced compounds house diplomats and large corporations, while next door there is a slum crammed full of ramshackle huts. A dozen or so patchy lean-tos/tents housing squatters line the beach across from the pier. A shiny BMW zips past rusty rickshaws and motorbikes.

Finally, we arrived at the ship; certainly a sight for sore eyes, and a stark contrast (dare I say, beacon of hope?) to this rather forlorn land. We had a day and a half of paperwork, meetings, tours, and moving in, and tripping over every single door frame. By the time I get home, I'm going to instinctually high-step through every doorway, and look very silly to anyone watching. Oh, and I may have walked in circles 2 or 30 times trying to find my way around. Fortunately, I'm on a ship full of super-friendly people who love what they do, and are very nice to the silly newbies who just arrived. They must be used to us by now, as it seems every week a dozen or so crew leave and a new dozen or two arrive. Soon I shall be the rescuer, no longer the rescuee!

I should probably get some z's, as my 5 (yep, count-em, 5!) cabin mates have all hit the hay already.

Later this week I will try to share about my actual job here, but I think I might need more than one shift under my belt so I at least kind-of know what I'm talking about.

I also am trying to work out how to edit together some video of the bus trip . . . with the limited technology at my disposal. So stay tuned.

In the mean time, here's a few photos.

View of the beach with the gangway in the foreground (a few squatters tents can be seen on shore)

Cargo ship delivering sulphur across the port from us

Travellers Palm

Slash-and-burn fires smouldering all over

Rice paddies in a small valley amidst the mountains

Stacks and stacks and stacks of bricks being dried.

Papaya and mango trees

1 - I'm going to the closet, to grab my stuff and split!

Wow. This is the end of the countdown! My last full day in Canada before I hop on a plane to a new adventure!

I'd like to thank you all who've been following my ramblings and research thus far, and ESPECIALLY to thank all of you who've supported me financially. I couldn't be doing this without you.

Well, I've still got a lot of packing to do, so without further delay...

LEMUROIDEA 

(aka the Lemurs)

Yes, the lovely, leap-leaping lemurs! I saved the best for last. Ok, I'm probably a bit biased on that point, since I went through a "lemurs are my favourite animal" phase when I was a kid. I blame this on the Kratt brothers. My friends and I even had a secret hiding spot called "The GLT" (Great Lemur Tree). And there was the "GLF" (Great Lemur Fort). And we hopped around a lot.

But c'mon! There's so much to love about lemurs! They jump around in trees all day, munching on leaves and fruit as they go, and they're so fuzzy and cute! They're like a cross between a monkey and a kangaroo.

ADORABLE.

There are around 100 species of lemurs, some tiny...

...some not much shorter than me...

...all found living exclusively on Madagascar. Despite being revered and considered sacred by the Malagasy, logging, industry and politics have prevailed, and lemurs are the most endangered group of mammals in the world. In fact, it is predicted that 90% of the species of lemurs may go extinct within 20-25 years.

UNACCEPTABLE. 

Lookit these majestic critters.

Here's a quick (and adorable) video by NatGeo showing some ongoing efforts to preserve the lemur population:

Well, that's it from me for now, the next time I share a fun fact about Madagascar, it'll be from FIRST HAND experience, and not wikipedia.

Here goes!

I shall leave you with this blast from the past...Happy Lemur Day!

It Takes Two

CRYPTOPROCTA FEROX 

(aka the Fossa)

THE FOSSA ARE ATTACKING!!

Who, us?

Yes, you.

You might be confused right now, because in the movie Madagascar, "fossa" is spelled "foosa." It is actually supposed to be pronounced "foo-sa," so I guess they just changed the spelling so as not to confuse people.

Anywhoo. . . the fossa was once thought to be part of the feline family, but is, in fact, more like a giant mongoose than a cat. They are the largest predators on the island, and hunt lemurs, birds, rodents, and pretty much anything that's smaller than a human.

There may be a lot of things that movie made up, but the killer instinct of the fossa was not one of them!

Okay, but their babies are still PRETTY DARN CUTE.

3 Times Bigger Than This!

DAUBENOTIA MADAGASCARIENSIS 

(aka the Aye-Aye)

The Aye-aye is the largest nocturnal primate, supposedly named for the reaction of seeing one watching you in the dark for the first time. "AY-yi-yi!"

I can relate to Alpha in this situation, having been startled in the past by the eyeshine of a raccoon up in a tree that had been watching me for some time. I think, however that an aye-eye might startle me a bit more than a coon. They're a little...well...startling.

Yeeeahhhh...that's a little creepy. I keep thinking that's a puppet. But no, it's real. And about to get slightly creepier.

So, the aye-aye is like a cross between a monkey, and a woodpecker, and a gremlin.

How in sam hill does that work, you ask?

Like this:

The aye-aye has a special, extra-long middle finger that it uses to tap trees, then listens for the sound of grubs inside. Like a woodpecker. Yes, it essentially hunts by flipping its food off. Unlike a woodpecker. 

Look! It found a grub!

Tastes like chicken.

Okay. If you're officially grossed out and want nothing more to do with this bizarre-o critter, here's some adorable eye-bleach. 

I mean, it is kinda cute. 

DAWWW. Yes. Cute. 

Aww lookit. It's hungry. 

YAAGH. Nope. Nope. Nope.

Cute during the day. Kind of terrifying at night. Apparently the Malagasy find the Aye-aye rather creepy too, and consider it a bad omen. Some believe that if it has pointed its freakishly skinny and long finger at you, you're marked for death, and the only way to prevent that is to kill the Aye-aye. This superstition has led to the species decline, and it is now endangered. 

Sweet dreams! 

Number Four

DYSCOPHUS 

(aka Tomato Frogs)

The Tomato Frogs are a family of rather large, bright orange/red frogs that are (you guessed it!) found no where in the world outside of Madagascar. 

When threatened, the frogs puff themselves up, so they appear even more tomato-like. This seems, to me, like not the greatest defence mechanism. "Hey, this thing looks kind of like a tasty fruit. WHOA! It just got even bigger! Now it looks like a really big, juicy, tasty fruit!" *CHOMP*

If something does chow down on a tomato frog, however, a secondary defence mechanism kicks in. The skin of the frog begins to secrete a toxin which causes the predator's eyes and mouth to "gum up." The predator will then release the frog while it rubs its eyes like a sad school child, and the frog is free to hop away and live another day. 

I'm now imagining Neville Longbottom replacing his lost toad with a tomato frog. It would be the perfect mascot for Gryffindor!

5 Golden TOOOQUES!

AEPYORNITHIDAE 

(aka the Elephant Birds)

The elephant bird was a humongous bird that went extinct about 400 years ago. They were about 3 meters tall, weighing up to 1,000 pounds. 

The ostrich-like, flightless birds were bigger than some dinosaurs, and definitely would have dwarfed humans. I think I would be pooping my pants if one of these came up to me. MRAAAOOOWWW. 

Here's a normal chicken egg next to a fossilized elephant bird egg:

Cray.

It's believed that humans harvested the eggs and hunted the birds to extinction around the 17th or 18th century.

7 Ate Nine / 6th Sense

So, you may remember how Madagascar has some crazy animals that aren't found anywhere else on the planet. In fact, about 90% of the plants and animals on Madagascar aren't found anywhere else on the planet.

That's pretty stinking cool.

So, I've decided to dedicate the last seven posts (yikes! Only a week to go!!) to some of the amazing wildlife that calls this island home.

BROOKESIA MICRA 

(aka the tiniest and most adorable chameleon in the world)

This teeny weeny little thing is among the smallest reptiles, and is THE smallest known chameleon. It's the size of a match-head, and pokes around among fallen leaves all day, then clambers up into a shrub to snooze. They eat even tinier bugs and use their camouflage to hide among the leaves when threatened.

It's so cute I might die.

CATHARANTHUS ROSEUS 

(aka Madagascar Periwinkle)

This particular variety of the lovely little purpley-pink blossom is especially awesome as it is the source of a number of medications, namely those used to treat leukemia and lymphoma. 

 

The plant is, unfortunately, endangered in the wild, but is widely cultivated throughout the world in nurseries and gardens. 

Minor Niner / Pieces Of Eight

Wow! I got really behind this week as I took some time to enjoy a few days of fall beauty (and attempt [and fail] to use up my deer tag) before I take off.

So, without further ado, double-double posts.

MOST MALAGASY ONLY ATTEND 4 AND A HALF YEARS OF SCHOOL

Ok, So initially that kind of sounds GREAT. I mean, whenever someone suggests to me, "Hey! You should get your masters and become a nurse practitioner! How great would that be?" My response is: "ARE YOU KIDDING...do you know how much more school I'd have to do..."

But let's be real. 4.5 years barely gets you half way through primary school. If you ever want to get anywhere in life, do anything to help improve the situation of yourself, your family, or your country, you're gonna need more than that.

Students learning math, French, and Malagasy.

Some major improvement has taken place over the last several years, but there is still much to improve, such as the large gender gap (in secondary school, there are half as many girls as boys enrolled). School building quality also varies greatly, with some being mere shacks, or in desperate need of repair.

MADAGASCAR WAS ONCE A PIRATE STRONGHOLD

Back in the 1600's, the island became a haven for pirates, and was used as a headquarters away from the pesky armadas of the Brits, Spanish, and Dutch, who would spoil all their piratey fun. The scalliwags would target shipments of jewels, silk, and spices as they travelled the Indian Ocean.

One such pirate was the infamous Captain Kidd, whose reputation lives on in legends and myths, and occasional excitement like this "silver" bar that was found off the Madagascar coast:

Turns out, it was actually just lead.

The pirate infestation also resulted in one of the few written records of Madagascar prior to the 19th century, in the journal of a marooned sailor, who eventually joined a pirate vessel.