It's NOT just about the Lemurs

It is true, it is not just about the Lemurs but fortunately it is travelers' fascination with lemurs which brings them to Madagascar where they are then exposed to a deeper sense of Madagascar and the history and culture of the Malagasy people.  After spending nine days in four national parks and covering almost a thousand miles, we realized that "chasing" the lemurs was only a backdrop to the Madagascar experience.

The problem for the lemurs is that their environments are disappearing.  

When people first settled in Madagascar, the culture they brought with them depended on rice and zebu cattle, neither of which can be raised in dense forest, so the trees were felled and the undergrowth burned.  Two hundred years ago King Adriana punished those of his subjects who willfully deforested areas. The practice continued however. A century later destruction continued and the first legal protection efforts came in 1927 when 10 reserves were set aside by the French.  Successive governments have tried and failed. In addition to the indigenous peoples continued need for land for  cattle and rice, their reliance on wood for charcoal and housing, outsiders have come to Madagascar to mine nickel, cobalt, gemstones and engage in illegal logging.

In 2003, the president promised to triple the area of Madagascar's protected reserves within the next five years and a program was launched to identify areas in need of protection.  The System of Protected Areas of Madagascar (SAPAM) has three major objectives: to conserve Madagascar's unique biodiversity; to conserve its cultural heritage; and to enable sustainable use to help alleviate poverty.

We saw evidence of these initiatives but all of us felt that Madagascar is in trouble.  We are glad to be here now to experience the remaining forests, the wildlife and the fascinating culture of the Malagasy people.  We learned about all of it while we were in search of the Lemurs.

There are 106 recorded species of lemurs that are found in the wild only in Madagascar. Much like the  indigenous tribes of Malagasy people, they live in specific regions of the country.  One cannot expect to go to just one of Madagascar's many national parks or forests and find all the lemurs.   Different species have adapted to different environments, dependent on food sources found in those environments.

We spent our first two days in the vast Andasibe and Matadia National Parks.  Andasibe, closest to our lodge, is an 810 hectare reserve that is home to the largest of the lemurs, the Indri indri. We awoke our first morning at the Eulophelia Lodge to an eerie wailing sound.  Somewhere off in the forest the Indri were starting their day.  They are the largest lemur and the only one with virtually no tail.  They are only found in this central lowland part of the country that receives approximately 67 inches of rainfall a year.

 

 

The second park we visited in this area was the Mantadia Park which covers an area of 60 square miles.  It was a great hiking day which ended in a celebratory late afternoon lunch complete with South African wine that Sarah & Tom had brought over from Cape Town.  We toasted to the spotting of the Common brown lemur and the beautiful Diadem Sifka.

 

  

  

In addition to the lemurs, there were reptiles of all types,  beautiful birds and a strange little mammal called the lowland striped Tenrec. Our wildlife book described it as having the most primitive mammalian body plan.  They fill the vacancies created by the lack of shrews, moles and hedgehogs. Madagascar has 34 different species of tenrecs.

 

 

It was a great walk.

 

The road back to our lodge took us through a small little village inhabited by a few families who farmed vegetables, rice and other grains.  We stopped to take photos of their primitive but artistically constructed storage bins.

  

We left the next day to start our drive to our third park.   It was a 12-hour trip to reach the Ranomafana National Park in the southeastern park of Madagascar.  The trip was broken up into two 6-hour days with stops along the way including lunch at a beautiful lodge and restaurant in the town of Ambositra.  We were entertained by a troupe of Malagasy dancers and enjoyed a typical Malagasy meal which consisted of two kinds of rice, beans, locally caught fresh water fish, pork cooked in chopped cassava leaves and grilled zebu meat a chili sauce. Pretty tasty!

 

  

The afternoon drive took us through rolling hills, terraced rice paddies as well as lots of little farming villages and, unfortunately, an example of a local destroying the roots of a eucalyptus tree.  

   

We spent the night in the town of Ansirabe, a bustling colonial town founded by Norwegians missionaries.  The following morning, our driver, packed the car and we left the hotel Couleur Coafe to continued our drive.  

 

 

We experienced more Malagasy life as we passed by village after village with stands of fresh vegetables and fruits, we saw the landscape change and in one town visited various shops; one where little toy bicycles and busses were made from recycled materials and another where spoons, other utensils and jewelry was made from the horns of the zebu cattle.

 

  

We arrived at our lodge, the Hotel Thermal, just outside the Ranomafana National Park at dusk.  The hotel gets its name from a thermal pool that is nearby. 

 

Ranomafana National Park is part of the eastern rainforest belt and is one of the wettest areas of Madagascar.  The forest is filled with a variety of frogs, chameleons and very strange bugs all of which we saw on our night walk.

The following morning we resumed our lemur trek and were not disappointed.  At each park our trip guide hires a local park guide who acts as a spotter for the various mammals, reptiles etc.  

  

The park was beautiful consisting of narrow trails under the tree canopy and flowing with beautiful streams and waterfalls.  

 

The lemurs were great: the Greater bamboo lemur, the Black and white ruffed lemur and the Red-fronted brown lemur.

   

Sarah and Tom could'nt resist the ladies outside they park entrance selling various Madagascar spices. I'm not sure if they have mastered their negotiating skills.

 

 We leave in the morning for another long drive to our next destination.

Burial, Exumation and Second Burial

The Malagasy people of Madagascar are divided into 18 different tribes, living in distinct regions of the country.  Their dialects are different and in many cases their appearance is different.  Their livelihood for the most part is dependent on the region in which they live and whether they live in the cities or in the agriculture areas.

Common to all Malagasys is an interesting custom for dealing with death.  The first stage is called sasa.  It is a ritual practiced immediately after a death.  The family of the deceased goes to a fast-flowing river and washes all their clothes to remove the contamination of death and then the bodies of the dead are placed in solidly constructed family tombs.   Every five to seven years the bodies in the tombs are exhumed and prepared for a second burial.

The Exumation and Second Burial are major family events.  It is a way for all living family members to come together and communicate with their relatives who have left this life.  The ceremony, called famadihana lasts for days.  We were lucky to witness a portion of the ceremony preceding the exumation from the car during one of our drives. Sarah captured these two photos.

 

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See the woman carrying the straw mat just to the right of the large above ground tomb.

 

It is a huge and very expensive (for the family) ceremony.  As well as members of the immediate and extended family, many guests are invited to participate.  During the events, the family is responsible for all meals and the special ceremony sacrificing the zebu, one of the oldest breeds of cattle in the world, and while it is a principal beast of burden, it is sacrificed and eaten during important ceremonies.

Certain members of the family carry large straw mats as they mix with friends around the tomb.  The mats are used to carry the remains of the dead after they are exhumed.  The eldest family member begins the ceremony.  Once the bodies (mostly bones) are exhumed they are wrapped in clean shrouds and paraded around the village or town for relatives and friends to touch and say hello.  To Malagasys, death is the most important part of life, when a person abandons their mortal form to become a much more powerful and significant ancestor.  

The next day, the Second Burial is performed and all the bodies are returned to the tomb.  This happens EVERY five to seven years.  In between ceremonies  the exterior of the tombs which are very elegant, are kept well maintained and landscaped.  The family will have spent more money on keeping the tomb nice than they will on their own house.

  

Paris to Antananarivo

Our Trip Has Begun

We spent three beautiful days in Paris, up early for coffee and a croissant, walking for hours visiting all the familiar places, taking in a nighttime Siene River cruise and frequenting the many neighborhood bistros and shops.  One can never say enough about Paris.  It's a georgeous city and our weather was perfect.

Here are a few snaps taken during our short visit, September 24-26th

Jerry at the bridge with all the locks. 

 

The magnificent fountains.

 

 

The Eiffel Tower at night.

 

The little sail boats at the Luxembourg Gardens.

 

On Monday, the 26th we spent several hours in the military museum.  Having had no previous idea of the vast and comprehensive collection of armaments, military garb, photos, videos and historic documents, we concentrated only on the periods of World Wars I and II which comprised about a third of the museum's collection.  The museum is worth several repeat visits.  

On Tuesday, the 27th we boarded Air France flight 934 for the 11-hour flight to Antananarivo, the Capitol of Madagascar.  The flight took us along the western coast of Italy which was beautiful with a clear view of the coastal towns and various islands.  After crossing the Mediterrean, we had an awesome view of the beautiful blue sea hugging the stark sands of the Egyptian desert.  We flew for hours over the harsh sandy landscape seeing only occasional signs of desert villages.  It is amazing that people have lived here for centuries.

  

Antananarivo

We landed just before midnight in Madagascar's capital city most commonly known by its colloquial shorthand form, Tana.  During the daytime the drive from the airport to our hotel in central Tana would be through chaotic traffic of taxis, busses, zebu carts, trucks and people with wheelbarrows spilling out into the road. But, at midnight, with limited electricity it was dark and fairly quiet.  We were met by a driver from Audley Travels, our international tour operator, who drove us to our hotel the Maison Gallieni which occupies the bottom two floors of  Consulate of Monaco,  It is perched on a hill overlooking part of the city.

Unfortunately because of the darkness we were not able to take in the real charm and color of Tana but the hotel is lovely.  The following photos are shots of the hotel.  Tomorrow when we start our drive to our first national park we'll drive through Tana and see more of this colorful city of 2 million people.

      

 

The following morning we met the driver and guide that will accompany us for the next several days.  We will visit approximately seven national parks in the southwest part of the country. 

  

Our guide, LaLa, got a big kick out of my brother-in-law, Tom who, was perhaps the tallest client he had ever had!

Founded in 1625, the city of Antananarivo was built on a series of hills with the Queen's Palace placed on highest peak. The city takes its name (the City of the Thousands) from the number of soldiers the King assigned to guard it.  Today the palace is an empty shell and the city, as it has grown, has sprawled across the hills in a disorganized fashion.  It is boardered by rice paddy fields and brick factories. As we exited the town we experienced the endless traffic we had missed during our arrival the night before.

  

Our destination today is the Eulophelia Lodge in the Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. It was an interesting four-hour ride through colorful villages and beautiful countryside. We made a couple of stops for scenery photos and then an unexpected stop when our guide spotted an unusual Oustaleti Chameleon on the side of the road.

  

   

We continued on the RN7 road to the south, snapping shots out of the car windows.  While the appearance of the area is of extreme poverty, the villagers are very productive farmers and craftsmen.  The fields are beautifully terraced for the seasonal rice crops and crop rotation of beans, corn, carrots, and cauliflower.

  

In early afternoon, we reached our home for the next three nights,The Eulophelia Lodge.

 Eulophelia Lodge is a privately owned beautifully manicured property of several hundred acres adjacent to the Mantadia National Park.

 

Sarah and me in front of one of our cabins discussing our upcoming "night walk" in the surrounding rainforest and laughing about the decorated toilets.

   

That evening we headed out with our head lanterns and flashlights to look for wooly lemurs and mouse lemurs as well as different species of frogs and chameleons.  Our guide had a sharp eye and amazed us as he spotted the smallest of smallest of critters hiding in the crevices and under leaves.  Unfortunately neither Sarah nor I were successful in capturing photos of everything.  The lemurs were the hardest to spot and sometimes all we saw were their eyes shining in the lights.

Here are a couple little creatures we managed to capture by cameras.

 Heading out into the forest.

 

Tree frog

 

 

Flat-tail chameleon.  This one is about three inches long and was just changing color to blend in with the tree branch.

We saw lots more during the walk but, like I said, successfully photographing them was difficult.  Not having the photos did not diminish the thrill of being in the Madagascar rainforest at night and witnessing the sights and sounds of life of certain species of animals that are not found anywhere else in the world.  There is more to come as we explore the areas during the day.