There are many beautiful waterfalls around Ranomafana!
Eulemur rubriventer - Red-Fronted Brown Lemur
This is the back-yard of the station! Week 2 - 2/7 - 9/7:
My first day of plots went well, counting epiphytes I couldn't see and vines I couldn't identify. Luckily for me, my research technician knows enough for both of us. But then that first day I returned to the station for some unpleasant news. I needed to send in a list of my luggage contents, because my bag was currently being held due to a "suspicious" object! Woe is me, will I ever see my precious bag again? I can't even remember what I packed...so maybe I don't really need the stuff after all. My first lemur siting was probably the only thing that lifted my spirits for the day!
I'm leaving to go on "expedition" on Monday, meaning I will be camping in the pristine forest for 10 days. My bag is still MIA, tho, which means I am short warm clothing (temps dip into the 30's at night) and I am cold-a-phobic. Second part of my crisis is that my Malagasy student, Josiah, who I was supposed to be supporting, got a better offer to go to a conference in South Africa, so she won't be joining me. That saves me a lot of money, but it also means I have no one to talk to on expedition...
Day before expedition - I spent a couple hours wandering aimlessly around the park, because I was desperately lost. Then, at around 11:45 am, I spot the beautiful red-fronted brown lemur! Naturally, I had to stop and take pictures, which made me late for lunch (always promptly served at noon). My two stationmates were already almost finished with the main course (more on my station meals later). Other than that, my first week was uneventful! Sum of a normal day: 6am wake up, run to gross outdoor toilet pit, condition in tent. 7am walk to station and eat a leisurely breakfast. 8am go out and do some plots. 12pm, ocassionally make it back for lunch, otherwise eat a sandwich after I return. Afternoon not much. 6:30pm dinner and then waste time reading, watching movie, or entering data until around 9pm, then sleep! Voila!
Weekly Tidbit:
Malagasy driving - Scary would sum this up very nicely. Walking down to Ranomafana, I feel my life is at stake. Despite the prevalence of pedestrians, cars purposely swerve out of their lane or ever into the other just to frighten an unsuspecting trecker. It still freaks me out when a large taxi-brousse zooms by within a half-foot of me. I will survive...I am a SURVIVOR!
-R
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