Beautiful Rivers in Andasibe National Park
I am currently reading a book from a fellow Peace Corps
Volunteer that served in Lesotho in the early 2000s and I feel compelled to
share a quote he states, originally written by Mark Jenkins: “To travel is to
expect much of the places you visit; to move to one of those places is to
expect much of yourself.” This was first read to me by my mother (she started
to read to this book before me, so
now I naturally feel motivated to read it) while we were traveling in
Madagascar last week; we agreed to the undeniable truth behind these words. The
experiences I am gifted in Lesotho have come because I live here, because I am
with time and much effort, assimilating into a culture and discovering things
on a level that traveling alone does not allow. However, we all need breaks and
I got the best Peace Corps vaca ever with two very cool traveling companions!
Our Madagascar trip started off a lil bumpy (Dad got his
passport stolen and flights in MAD were canceled due to an unexpected strike-T.I.A!),
but low and behold it turned out to be part of the adventure to create the trip
of a lifetime. Firstly, it was SO amazing to see my mom and dad after quite
some time..to just feel their parental love! From Johannesburg, South Africa we
flew into the capital of Madagascar, Anatananavario, where we first were
acquainted with Malagasy people, their native language, Malagas, and their
second spoken language being French. Ohhh the challenges of communication! We
got to our hotel and figured out how to get to our destination of Ill Aux Nattes,
a small island off an even smaller island, Ill Saint Marie, off of the big
island of Madagascar provided that our flight was canceled. Yay public transportation!
One and half days later and 2 buses, 3 taxis, 1 boat ride, and a ride in a traditional
Malagasy pirogue- we arrived to our rustically perfect bungalow on Ill Aux
Nattes. Let me just say some of the most beautiful places are the hardest to
get to. An undiscovered, lushly vegetated tropical island whose native people
still run the place was worth it. Provided that it was a center for piracy back
in the late 1600s, supports my thoughts that is might just be the coolest place
to choose hang, scuba, hike, fish, and explore! I’ll let the photos do the
talking..
Beautiful view from the tallest point on Ill Aux Nattes, Madagascar
Oops, it inked! We caught a cuddle fish while
fishing off Flourio‘s pirogue!
Got two dives in. Highlights: loads of lion fish, giant
octopus, colorful schooling fish, spiney-blue lobster, and interesting disk
coral. Plus humpbacks!
After the island we packed up and got to fly into Tana,
spent a day walkin around local markets smelling all the locally grown vanilla,
sampling all the bizarre luscious fruits, and gawking at the beautiful
handicrafts. We also went to the Digue Market where we got to see some immaculate
crystals, giant fossils of ammonites and loads of other marine critters, and
petrified wood. From here we changed gears and took a trip into the Malagasy
rainforest. We hunkered down at a nice lodge in the Parc National Andasibe
Mantadia, a park who is home of the Indri
indri, the world’s largest lemur! You could hear these guys hollering
before you saw them. We had time to explore many parks in this region, seeing
six different species of lemur, chameleons and geckos galore, as well as have
time to just chill with the locals, play ball games with the kids, and go on
some rejuvenating runs with local dogs and a nose full of the scent of fresh
cut lemon grass. The trails through the
rainforest were tourist-less (so nice) and truly humbling. One could feel how
after we humans leave this planet, Mother Nature will just swallow everything
up and grow over it. Bizzare lil creatures-insects, fungi, and primates will
take control. Seriously, the forests were so lush and full of life I felt like
I was experiencing A Land Before Time. And promisingly enough, efforts to
conserve the rainforest in Madagascar are there and in action (with only 10% of
it’s rainforest remaining), however, the scars of slash and burn are very
prevalent. Economically it is a struggling country, but it is rich in
beautifully hard working cultured people, natural resources, and rice.
Water-filled rice patties are everywhere, quite the difference from dry
abandoned cornfields of Lesotho…
Exploring Andasibe National Park
The smallest chameleon full size..cutest lil creature alive
A common brown lemur befriended my dad on Lemur Island
But these bone-dry fields compose the land where I now live
in and the land my parents flew across to the world to finally see and
experience. Our long border crossing and taxi ride from Johannesburg got us to
my village of Ha Khoro just as night fell, arriving just in time for a mixed
bicultural family dinner around a fire in my Basotho family’s kitchen..it was
awesome. So surreal to see my mom and dad hug my host mother, her daughter in
law, and her children. We were awoken the next morning by my Mme with a silver
trey of lesheleysheley (traditional Basotho sorghum porridge) served to us in
her best-never-used-before-china. They got to meet the chief of my village, see
my school, meet my collogues, and were embraced by many more. Everyone was so
pleased to have met them and I was beyond words.
One big colorful family. So much love!
It was such an unforgettable experience to travel with my
mom and dad through an unreal island and have the stay at my place in Lesotho. I
am thankful to have their support and won’t forget it as I have to buckle up
for a new quarter of teaching. Staff meetings have been held and it looks like
I’ll be teaching maths and biology for the rest of year because one of our
teachers unexpectedly quit..If I have learned one thing in Lesotho, it has been
to just go with flow. And with fond memories of funny lemurs, exploring
underwater pinnacles with my mom and dad in the Indian Ocean, runs through the
jungle, and an encouraging circle of friends, family, and colleagues in
Lesotho- I think I can do anything!
