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THE ISLAND LIFEI volunteered at the Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute (MRCI). Camp was on Nosy Komba, which is an island off the coast of Nosy Be, the biggest island on the Northwest side of Madagascar. While Nosy Be attracts a rather large amount of tourists, Nosy Komba offered a more "authentic" experience being isolated on a such a small island. The only village nearby was Ampang, which was a 30 minute walk along the coast from camp.
Camp itself was amazing, a home away from home. From the private beach down at the water, you would head up to Main House, just above the dive deck. Main House is where we spent most of our time reading, playing cards or just hanging out around the beanbags and hammocks. Beyond Main House, you would go up further to the kitchen area, which is where we had meals. Since it was further up the mountainous side of the island, you would get spectacular views of the Mozambique Channel and Nosy Be from the dining table, which was a treat by itself. Then there were the bamboo huts, which were scattered beyond the kitchen area. It was such an amazing opportunity to live in camp alongside people from all across the world. I made friends with people all across the world, including the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Spain, Kenya, the US, France, Canada, Australia and Germany. Such a diverse group of people made camp life all the more interesting. Even though we were mostly isolated in camp, we had the opportunity to go into Ampang in the afternoons if we had nothing scheduled on the board. Therefore, several afternoons were spent going to the Lemur Park, or teaching adults English at the school or simply going in to get some Pako Pako (fried coconut and flour bread) from the street vendors and a soda. Although most of our time was spent in camp, Ampang was always only a short walk away. The culture of Nosy Be and the surrounding islands was very vibrant and fascinating. From sacred trees to discotechs, we all quickly fell in love with the Malagasy way of life. A great summary of the culture is a popular Malagasy phrase of "Mora Mora", meaning "it will happen when it happens". We were truly on island time and it was spectacular. |
CONSERVATION IN PARADISEOf the programs offered at MRCI, I participated in Marine Conservation. That meant diving everyday on the stunning coral reef and doing a variety of conservation efforts. From benthic point outs to coral cleans, as well as the occasional Nudibranch hunt, I spent two months working to monitor and protect a spectacular reef at risk from the environment.
As a part of the courses at MRCI, I became a certified advanced diver. This allowed me to partake in the conservation dives (coral cleans, point outs, surveys), but also now allows me to dive on my own without an instructor. Our daily schedule for marine would be as follows: we would wake up for an early morning dive (depending on the scheduled time), go for breakfast, then hang out in Main House for the morning. Other than the scheduled dive, morning/afternoon activities included Turtle Watch, Data Entry, Bamboo Straws and Study Sessions. Turtle Watch was a 30-minute allotted session where you would look out from the dive deck and record any turtles coming up for a breath or surfacing, along with any boats or snorkelers that could be disrupting the turtles. Data Entry is where you would record this data onto the computer so that the staff could compile the data to send out to several affiliates for research purposes. On most days we were assigned to make bamboo straws to then sell to local restaurants to minimize the use of plastic straws in the local communities. Proceeds were used to send the Ampang Girls Basketball Team to tournaments. Finally, study sessions were times when you would study flashcards for either sessile (coral), benthic (bottom dwellers) or active (fish). Afternoons were usually free, which allowed me to go to Ampang some days to teach English at the school or go to the lemur park there. However, the real magic happened under the sea. Once you start your descent, a whole new world opens up. From schools of fish circling by to turtles grazing on algae on the coral, there was a myriad of outstanding things to see. Most of my dives beyond the instructional dives were point outs, so I focused on the sea snails, sea cucumbers, worms, and crustaceans on the sea floor. However, that didn't stop us from seeing Giant Clams, Cuttlefish, Octopus and Blue Spotted Ribbontail Rays. Diving on the reef everyday seeing so many amazing things is the one thing about Madagascar I will undoubtably miss the most. |
IN THE WILDMadagascar is a ecological wonder as one of the most biodiverse places in the world due to its extreme isolation. There are hundreds of species of life that are only found in Madagascar, as about 90% of all plant and animal life is endemic to Madagascar. Even living on Nosy Komba, it was amazing to see the prolific amount of exotic wildlife – it was not uncommon to see several geckos or a chameleon in and around camp on a daily basis.
Over my two months in Madagascar, I was able to see so many different species of reptiles and amphibians, as well as many lemurs and turtles. One of the most special memories of Madagascar was the hatching of a Hawksbill Sea Turtle nest. It had begun to rain and I had just finished Turtle Watch when I noticed that no one was in Main House. When I asked those who remained, they said that the turtle nest which we had been monitoring had begun to hatch. I grabbed my camera and ran to Turtle Beach (the beach where the turtles nest on the way to Ampang), arriving in time to see the baby turtles hatch from the nest and ultimately head into the ocean. Such an experience is one that I will never forget! Before Madagascar, I had never seen a sea turtle, a lemur or a chameleon in my life. Now, even after seeing so many, the wonder of seeing one has not faded. It was always a surprise and delight to see a turtle while snorkeling or diving, or to see a gecko climb a palm tree while reading in my hammock. Some of my favorite pictures are my wildlife pictures, which you can see below! |
NOSY IRANJANosy Iranja is honestly the most beautiful place in the world to me. It is my definition of paradise. I had the fortune of visiting twice, the first of which happened to be on my birthday. I ended up spending my birthday with some of my closest friends in paradise.
Nosy Iranja is actually two islands that are connected by a sand bar at low tide. The tides in Madagascar are so drastic that the entire sand bar disappears at high tide. However, Nosy Iranja's white sand and crystal clear turquoise water are what make it unbelievable. I would spend the day swimming in the impossibly warm waters or walking the length of the sand bar and back, taking photos all along the way. The next morning Alice, Murimi and I woke up early to watch the sunrise (although there wasn't really one). Such time spent was bliss. We really were "on island time" when at Iranja. While the first time we went to Iranja was for two days, the second time was for a quick stop during Island Outreach. These few hours were possibly even better having already been there before. During this visit we climbed to the top of the island to get pictures of the view over Nosy Iranja, as well as shopping among the many stalls of handmade goods and souvenirs. Although we were only there for a few hours before we needed to get back on the Spirit of Malala, the boat that we lived on for the two weeks, it was an amazing experience. |
ISLAND OUTREACHIsland Outreach was possibly the best two weeks of my time in Madagascar. I lived on a research vessel – the Spirit of Malala – and traveled around the northwest side of Madagascar with people who became my closest friends. The memories I have from Island Outreach will last a lifetime.
Our first stop was Nosy Mamoko, where we spent two nights. We did battery collection and plastic collection in the village, as well as a hike to a waterfall in the jungle. However, there was a cyclone that came through, and we were in tents, so we were wet for most of these days. From there, we went to Ampoagna, the MRCI Turtle Camp. We spent three days there, doing two very wet hikes, as well as battery collection in the village. However, the highlight was teaching English to a group of local children on the beach. We taught them body parts, numbers and colors. Additionally, there was a proper hut for us to stay in which was very nice, and provided us with a nice reprieve from the tents. In fact, after Mamoko, we never stayed in a tent again. From the massive beach to the two story hut, Ampoagna was definitely a highlight. After Ampoagna we went to Russian Bay for a night, stopping at Coco Beach to hike to Russian Bay. This hike was very cool, going over a mountain and down into Russian Bay. Although we only spent one night at Russian Bay, it was such a fun and cool place – and I got to sleep in my hammock on the porch of the hut we stayed in! From Russian Bay we went to Nosy Iranja for a few hours, then to Baramahamay for three days. We hiked, taught English in the local village, canoed in the traditional African pirogue and collected batteries in the village. From Baramahamay we headed to Nosy Tanikely to rest on the beach and snorkel (though the visibility was terrible) for a few hours before heading back to Nosy Be. Overall, Island Outreach was an adventure to different parts of Madagascar where tourists don't usually go. It was an authentic volunteering experience where we reached out to different communities and volunteered by teaching them and cleaning hazardous materials from their villages. I am so happy that I had the group that I did for Island Outreach, as well as the opportunity to participate in such a great initiative. |