Home Sweet Home #2 - Valohoaka Camp
The equivalent to a Malagasy Raccoon, one of three Ring-Tailed Mongoose that lived next to our "kitchen" at Valo
My first glimpse of my study subject's predator - the Milne-Edward's Sifaka (Propithecus edwardsi) In the world of research at Ranomafana National Park there are two situations to be in: at the station and on "Expedition." Half of my time at RNP was spent at a satellite site deemed a pristine habitat, on expedition. This means hiring porters to carry a week or two worth of food and gear into the forest, hiking about 2 - 3 hours, and then living at that camp site for said period of time. Yes, that means no showers, toilets, or running/potable water for the duration. This episode documents the first part of the first of two expeditions.
Week 3:
Observation - I am going to have a lot of down-time! I am with my research technician (little English) and my cook (even less English), it gets dark at 6pm, and there just isn't a whole lot to do! I must ration the book and crossword puzzles that I brought along (unfortunately I have already read the book once). The little stroll I took on the first day turned into leach-fest on my sandal-clad feet...woops!
Let's move on to the scary weather on the first night! As you have observed from pictures, I live in a tent with a tarp over it. This means that when it pours rain and blasts wind every night, I feel as though my ceiling will cave in and smother me! Luckily, this is winter and not the wet cyclone season, then we'd be in real trouble. I still can't sleep for more than two hours at a time each night, so I am becoming very sleep-deprived. I've also come to realize what three years sans research projects can do to a trail system, proven by the hours of scurrying around looking for pink-flagged trees and wading through waste-deep brush and bamboo. I am being eaten alive by insects, even though it is winter and supposedly too cold for them to be out. It does get really cold at night and I have take to wearing my mom's wool sweater, a fleece hat, and a scarf! Tropical climate, huh?
I decide that we'll go back a day early, so I walk with the cook, Heri, on Thursday to the visit the other camp and give Virginia Tech researcher, Chaz, a letter to bring to the station. From my conversation with Heri, I am beginning to understand the lack of resources available to normal people here. He really wants to learn English so that he can have more opportunities as a tour guide, but does not have the money to attend classes, let alone purchase a book or dictionary. Ironically, we are discussing all of this in both of our second languages, my one-year of college French!
Weekly Tidbit:
Let's talk food! There is a great disparity between expedition food and station food. On expedition we have the same thing every day. After the first morning of inedible and unappetizing beans, omelet, and rice for breakfast, I have fallen back on cliff bars. Lunch is always greasy beans and rice. Dinner is usually oil-soaked vegetables, fried omelet (imagine 1/2 inch of oil in skillet and then throwing in two eggs), and rice. Water is boiled for at least five minutes so it's drinkable. Now the station is heaven! Breakfast is three cups of tea, a petit baguette or loaf cake with jam, and some fruit (although unfortunately usually banana). Lunch is a three course meal with a cold starter salad of sorts (cucumber, carrot, or tomato with bread), followed by the main dish with beans and/or veggies and a "vazaha" (white person's) portion of rice (1/2 cup versus the 2 cups for Malagasy). We finish with a fruit dessert. Dinner is always anticipated, commencing with soup or salad (I love the soups). Main dishes include pastas, omelets, rice, or even pomme frites (good fries) with veggies. Dessert is often ice cream, yogurt, or sometimes crepes. I can see the french influence, but I am not getting an accurate Malagasy experience (thank god), because their meals usually center on the rice and then if you are lucky, you get a vegetable, beans, egg, chicken, or zebu beef.
Anyways, that's all for the beginning of my expedition. Stay tuned for the next episode. Read about the fun on my 21st birthday and find out whether this awful nausea and chill I have right now is actually malaria!
-Over and Out
Week 3:
Observation - I am going to have a lot of down-time! I am with my research technician (little English) and my cook (even less English), it gets dark at 6pm, and there just isn't a whole lot to do! I must ration the book and crossword puzzles that I brought along (unfortunately I have already read the book once). The little stroll I took on the first day turned into leach-fest on my sandal-clad feet...woops!
Let's move on to the scary weather on the first night! As you have observed from pictures, I live in a tent with a tarp over it. This means that when it pours rain and blasts wind every night, I feel as though my ceiling will cave in and smother me! Luckily, this is winter and not the wet cyclone season, then we'd be in real trouble. I still can't sleep for more than two hours at a time each night, so I am becoming very sleep-deprived. I've also come to realize what three years sans research projects can do to a trail system, proven by the hours of scurrying around looking for pink-flagged trees and wading through waste-deep brush and bamboo. I am being eaten alive by insects, even though it is winter and supposedly too cold for them to be out. It does get really cold at night and I have take to wearing my mom's wool sweater, a fleece hat, and a scarf! Tropical climate, huh?
I decide that we'll go back a day early, so I walk with the cook, Heri, on Thursday to the visit the other camp and give Virginia Tech researcher, Chaz, a letter to bring to the station. From my conversation with Heri, I am beginning to understand the lack of resources available to normal people here. He really wants to learn English so that he can have more opportunities as a tour guide, but does not have the money to attend classes, let alone purchase a book or dictionary. Ironically, we are discussing all of this in both of our second languages, my one-year of college French!
Weekly Tidbit:
Let's talk food! There is a great disparity between expedition food and station food. On expedition we have the same thing every day. After the first morning of inedible and unappetizing beans, omelet, and rice for breakfast, I have fallen back on cliff bars. Lunch is always greasy beans and rice. Dinner is usually oil-soaked vegetables, fried omelet (imagine 1/2 inch of oil in skillet and then throwing in two eggs), and rice. Water is boiled for at least five minutes so it's drinkable. Now the station is heaven! Breakfast is three cups of tea, a petit baguette or loaf cake with jam, and some fruit (although unfortunately usually banana). Lunch is a three course meal with a cold starter salad of sorts (cucumber, carrot, or tomato with bread), followed by the main dish with beans and/or veggies and a "vazaha" (white person's) portion of rice (1/2 cup versus the 2 cups for Malagasy). We finish with a fruit dessert. Dinner is always anticipated, commencing with soup or salad (I love the soups). Main dishes include pastas, omelets, rice, or even pomme frites (good fries) with veggies. Dessert is often ice cream, yogurt, or sometimes crepes. I can see the french influence, but I am not getting an accurate Malagasy experience (thank god), because their meals usually center on the rice and then if you are lucky, you get a vegetable, beans, egg, chicken, or zebu beef.
Anyways, that's all for the beginning of my expedition. Stay tuned for the next episode. Read about the fun on my 21st birthday and find out whether this awful nausea and chill I have right now is actually malaria!
-Over and Out
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