Leaving on A Jet Plane... and Arriving, Too

I'm pleased to say that I have safely arrived in Madagascar. The flight from Reno to Chicago to Paris to Antananarivo was quite long, but fortunately I was able to sleep quite a bit on the plane, and Air France in particular really makes sure you're comfortable. When I arrived in Antananarivo (Madagascar's capital, known as Tana for short), I was met at the airport by my project coordinator, Dr. Erik Patel. Erik is the Director of the Duke Lemur Center's SAVA Conservation Initiative, and he has spent years living in Madagascar studying the silky sifaka (Propithecus candidus). Having Erik there to help me certainly made the entry a lot easier, and he saw that I got to the van for my hotel. The next afternoon, I returned to the Tana airport to fly to Sambava. Unfortunately, my project partner Faye had been delayed, so she had to catch the next flight to Sambava a few days later.

Me on arrival.  © 2014 Erik Patel

Sambava is a coastal town in northeastern Madagascar, and it is the capital of the SAVA region (an acronym of the four largest towns, Sambava, Antalaha, Vohemar, and Andapa). It is also home to the headquarters of the DLC's Sava Conservation Initiative. The DLC's other SAVA Conservation employee, Lanto, was there to greet me at the Sambava Airport. Lanto was very helpful in getting me settled in Sambava for the few days before Faye and Erik arrived from Tana. I have had the chance to explore Sambava a bit before we all make the move to our project site. Sambava is mostly built around one main road that runs parallel to the Indian Ocean. The road is busy with pedestrians, cars, bikes, and charming three-wheeled mini-taxis.  Dogs, cats, zebu cattle, ducks, and so many chickens can be found just about anywhere. One gas station is even populated by a heard of goats.

Goat station © 2014 Erik Patel

On Monday, I accompanied Lanto to my main project site of Andapa, a town about two hours away from Sambava. The curvy road was mostly devoid of traffic, but there were many small populations of people at various intervals along the route. I even caught a brief glimpse of a chameleon crossing the road at one point. The road took us past Marojejy National Park, a mountainous protected area home to the silky sifakas. Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to visit Marojejy at some point during our stay in Madagscar. Lanto and I visited the DLC's fish pond, and we stopped by two more fish ponds for Lano to meet with the owners. The DLC has been encouraging fish farming in the SAVA region as a sustainable protein source instead of lemur bushmeat, and some of the native fish are also reintroduced into local river systems. On the way back, we stopped by the house of Désiré Rabary. Désiré is the creator and maintainer of Antanetiambo Nature Reserve, where Faye and I will be working this summer. We will be living in tents just outside of Désiré's house for most of our project. Désiré proudly showed me around: the tents, the kitchen, the new well, the river, and the DLC-supported library across the street. I also met Désiré's wife Valerie, his son-in-law Nadege the librarian, and his dog Puppy.  After getting a feel for where I'll be living, we returned to Sambava.

Faye and Erik arrived from Tana yesterday. After I writing this blog at the DLC office, we will make the drive out to Andapa so we can get started with our project. To begin, we will mark a trail system through Antanetiambo to make it easier for ecotourists to navigate, and also to familiarize ourselves with the reserve. After that, we will proceed to the bamboo lemur observations! Needless to say, I am very excited to get started.

Faye and I at the DLC office © 2014 Erik Patel