Actually that’s only true in the south of Madagascar. Northern Mada is tropical rainforest, which is also unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Everything is so green. And dense. And wet.
Supposedly it is the dry season here, and supposedly it is dry for 360 days out of the year in the South, but ever since we left the rainforest, it has kept raining. It rained for three or four days straight, and our leader Anthony introduced us to the village as the goddesses of rain. (We are a group of 17 girls and 2 boys.) Finally, about two or three days ago, it turned hot and dry like it’s supposed to be.
Anyway, I love how different Madagascar is. Unlike the charismatic megafauna of African mainland savannahs, Mada is populated by tiny microclimates of little things. Insects, chameleons, skinks, lemurs. Lemurs are the kings of this jungle; the largest is about the size of a small dog and the smallest lemur – the mouse lemur – can only be seen as a pair of eyes in the trees at night. Lemurs run around like raccoons. They are everywhere, and there are so many of them. Indris, the only tailless lemurs, make calls that sound like whales. Ringtailed lemurs travel in packs, and they parade through campsites to eat up the mess left by humans. Wild lemurs really like to sit in trees above your head and drop bits of nuts on your head. In one case, a lemur pooped on one of the art student’s sketchbooks. How cool is that?! How many people can tell that story…
Mom, I have not seen any lemurs in fine Italian suits, or any Italian suits, or even any humans in Italian suits. I will keep looking.
There are also a million species of chameleons. The Parsons chameleon is the largest, and we’ve seen several. They have funny rhino horns on their noses. We also saw the smallest chameleon, though I can’t remember what it’s called. And if you look hard enough at this cactus-like plant called pandona, you will always find tiny tree frogs. Also, some cockroaches here hiss if you press on their backs.
Baobabs are everywhere, too, in the south. Except there is this one tricky species called pachypodium (elephant’s foot) that looks just like a baobab but is not, and so I’m never quite sure what I’m looking at. Unless the baobab has fruit hanging from its branches; then I know.
Other notable things: I’ve been swimming in the Indian ocean several times and it is so warm!! Mom, even you would agree, though the Malagasy say it’s cold. I swear, it’s like bathwater. Warmer than the Gulf of Mexico in August. Fruit here is delicious. Bananas come in several varieties, each one tasting totally different. Passion fruit and tangerines are everywhere. Pineapple is everywhere. We ate coconuts and drank coconut milk fresh on the beach. Honey here also tastes way better than anything, even homemade stuff, in the states. You can taste the eucalyptus or lavender or baobab or whatever tree it’s from. Otherwise, all we eat is rice. Rice and vegetables, rice and goat (castrated then slaughtered in our presence), rice and fish, rice and pumpkin. Yup, pumpkin in Madagascar. Lots of it!
So anyway, I’m having a great time. I’ve not got malaria or schistosomiasis or anything. I’m not sunburned. I haven’t been able to send postcards yet and it looks like internet updates will be only once every week or two, but I’m happy and healthy and fine. (Except for getting carsick from the god-awful “highway” earlier today, that is essentially a dirt/sand path with mud puddles like Lake Michigan and terrain that mimics a sine wave. I also threw up from my malaria meds one day, but I told my stomach that was unacceptable and it would just have to get used to it. My talking-to seems to have worked perfectly since now I take it with no side effects.)
I also speak a teeeeeeny bit of Malagasy, which is good because no one here speaks French except in Tana and some in Tulear. So I’ll say now, veloma! Which means goodbye. Until next time.
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