Old House, New House

This week we said goodbye to Expedition 5 and are getting ready to say hello to Expedition 6. As it was Madison and Sam’s turn to head to Toliara to pick up the new volunteers, I have been left back at Coco Beach to get ready for their arrival. It has also given me some free time and so I have taken the opportunity to move house! The hut that I have been living in is great, but a short sharp rain shower a few weeks ago showed that in rainy season things might get a bit wet. The drips combined with its very pronounced lean to one side convinced me that I should probably seek more stable accommodation. However, I have not travelled far. In fact I am now settled in a newer, sturdier hut only next door!

Old House

Every staff member gets their own hut and all are equipped with everything you would need to lead a happy beach life. A balcony for relaxing in a hammock and hanging wet bikinis, a shower (with brackish water) to wash the salt and sand away, a desk and shelves for data entry and blog writing and a bed to relieve tired heads and legs (and watch many, many films). My new luxury abode even has an ensuite toilet and a concrete floor. The volunteers get much the same, just over the other side of the dunes and shared between 3 or 4.

New House

However, for these creature comforts I also play host to several actual creatures. So far I am waging a battle against cockroaches in the bathroom (helped ably by the ants) and rats, mice and huge centipedes are all possible visitors – but it’s a small price to pay for the beautiful view from my window. Welcome house mates are the cute geckos and hermit crabs which also wander inside on occasion.

I am all stocked up on various methods for lighting my room after dark. The electricity at Coco Beach comes from a generator which runs from 9 – 11am and then in the evening from 4 – 9pm. This means that bed time tends to be pretty early and candles, lamps and torches are a must. Another result of me changing location is that my view of Andava rock and the sunset is no longer blocked by an inconveniently placed tree which provides great vista for many more Instagram moments!

The wooden walls mean that my whole room is a giant pin board and I have already started to fill them with photos and cards. An experiment by my parents shows that cards sent to the BV office in Toliara do reach me (transported by friendly staff members when they make the journey to Andava). The real test is packages though. These are very likely to go missing or be opened on transit. Although, I am informed that religious text written on the outside in French greatly increases the likelihood that parcels reach their final destination.

But I don’t have much time to enjoy my new home as now it is time for me to give Nosy Cao a final sweep, write up the new survey sites on the board and make sure there is plenty of drinking water for when thirsty travellers arrive this afternoon.

Visiting Vatoavo

As well as all the training a survey work the volunteers get up to in Andava they also have the chance to go further afield and visit other BV projects. A couple of weeks ago we went on a two night sojourn south to make just such a visit. A short camion ride and then a motor pirogue across the Bay of Assassins brought us to Tampolove where we would be staying. This village is home to two large BV facilitated aquaculture projects – but more on that another time. After dinner at a local family’s house it was time for bed as we had an early start the next day.

At sunrise we boarded yet more pirogues (this time hand paddled) to visit the small village of Vatoavo for the day. The people of Vatoavo had written to BV to invite us to visit the village and since they had been working on their mangrove reserve area since 2009 it was high time that the volunteers came to say hello.

When we arrived at the village it was clear that the community were just as excited to see us as we were them. First we met with the village Nahuda’s (elders). They welcomed us warmly and reiterated again and again that they were happy that we were here and that they were very proud of their mangrove reserve. We then set up base at the church/school and ate breakfast of boko boko (doughnut balls) and hot drinks.

After breakfast it was time for some education activities, while Paul (BV’s Education Coordinator in Madagascar) taught the adults some basic English in the hall, the volunteers and other staff took the children off on a scavenger hunt. We were given a list of things that could be found in the village (feet, rocks, tree, fish, ball etc) which we had to find, translate into Malagasy (with the help of the children) and then take a photograph with. This exercise led to several amusing moments, especially when the children warmed to us. After being lead on an unfruitful hunt for a goat the children (and several volunteers) spent a good amount of time chasing after and trying to catch a chicken! After this exertion it was time to go back to the hall for lunch. As well as the usual rice, beans and fish we also ate some mangrove snails that were actually pretty tasty despite their odd mint green colour.

After lunch the village treated us to a talent show. There were all sorts of different acts and a hat was put out for tips. Some ladies joined together to form a choir and they could sing so loudly. A group of young guys sang a song that was improvised on the spot – with references to the mangroves, our visit and even our sunglasses. There was also a lady who constructed a xylophone out of wooden planks the she laid over her legs.

Once the entertainment was over we took a walk to look at a small seaweed farm just outside the village. It turned out that the owner was an older gentleman called Bonadventure who had set up the lines totally of his own accord. He was also eager to show us his house and the zebu that he kept. He also told us all about his 15 children (with only 1 boy) and all the other entrepreneurial activities he was up to.

On our return it was time to head back to Tampolove via a pirogue tour of the mangroves. Mangroves are special trees that can survive in the intertidal zone and spend most of their day stood in salty water and sticky mud. They provide an important habitat for many animals like birds, crabs, snakes and juvenile fish. As we paddled through the forest I was amazed at how big and tall the trees were. I also recognised that their long, thin, straight trunks would make perfect building material for both houses and pirogues. Removal of trees for materials or firewood is a big problem across the globe and is part of the reason the people of Vatoavo set up their reserve. As we left the mangroves the sun was setting and the crescent moon rising. I made for a beautiful and peaceful return journey and everyone was in awe of the view. When darkness fell the movement of the paddles in the water set off the bioluminescent plankton which added yet more to the magic of the evening.

We arrived back to our beds very tired but happy and very glad that we had had the opportunity to visit this great village, meet its people and see the amazing environment they were striving to protect.