Field Scientist Diaries

Although every day is different here in Andavadoaka and we get out and about on trips and dry land activities on a regular basis there is a certain rhythm to everyday life as a Field Scientist. Here’s what happened one day last week (a pretty typical one for mid expedition).

8am Breakfast

Unless there is important dive training to do which involves a 6am dive, the day starts with breakfast. I usually roll out of bed and arrive just in time to get to the food before other hungry mouths gobble it up. Recently some brave souls have been getting up for “Jim’s Gym” at 6:30am which involves some circuit training type exercises and then a swim/run. Needless to say this does not appeal to me!

9am Dive Number 1

By 8:45am everyone is fed and kitted up for the first dive of the day. We always do a briefing beforehand which outlines where we are going, what we are doing and all the dive protocols and emergency procedures. Then we all pile onto the boats and set off to the dive site. By this point in the expedition the volunteers have been learning their fish and other creatures for a while and so it’s time for tests and revision. The leaders will point out various underwater animals and it’s the volunteers’ job to identify them. Recently the visibility hasn’t been great due to high winds during the night. However, I still managed to get Bianca and Erin finished with their Benthic tests with time to spare for a fun swim about too.

11am Dive number 2

It’s the same drill at 10:45am (with a short break for snacks in between dives). I didn’t dive this time but instead was shore marshal. This meant I had to man the phones on dry land just in case anything went wrong with the dive and an emergency response had to be coordinated. This also gave me a chance to catch up on some computer work back at my hut and also some time in my hammock!

1pm Lunch

Lunch time separates the “diving” and “activities” parts of the day and is always a welcome time to refuel after a hard morning in the water. We also have a quick staff meeting to plan for the next day.

2pm Duties

After lunch the volunteers carry out some chores like sweeping and other tasks that keep everything running smoothly. During this time I might do some of my own chores in my house or sometimes have a Malagasy style siesta. On Fridays this gets upgraded to BIG DUTIES which have a few other add-ons and everyone gets involved. The highlight is scrubbing the speed boats’ hulls so that they don’t get covered in algae and other biofouling beasts.

3pm English Lessons

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays the volunteers meet up with a Malagasy partner to practice English and learn more about Malagasy culture. Most of the partners are members of BV staff that work for other projects or staff from Coco Beach. Their level of English varies and so some lessons are basic useful phrases while others work on reading books or pronunciation. It’s great to see how the volunteers attack this task in different ways and how friendships grow from it.

4pm Study

The rest of the afternoon is taken over with various activities, many educational but some not so much. The rest of this particular day was left over for self-study as the volunteers are at the test taking stage of their survey course. I helped a couple of volunteers with some practice tests on the computer and ran some for real for others.

On other days this time is used for Malagasy lessons from Jacks, presentations for other projects, presentations and games from the volunteers themselves on a topic they have been learning about, diving theory or just some games on the beach and napping in hammocks. Once surveys are started this will also be the time for data entry.

7.15pm Vao Vao, Dinner and Tantara

After a relaxing sunset the final scheduled part of the day is dinner. First is Vao Vao (literally “news”) where Sam or I explain with the help of our trusty chalk board what will be happening the next day. This is also where we share any achievements of the day (such as passing tests) and also meet any new people at the dinner table. Sometimes after dinner we have Tantara, which means “story” in Malagasy. Here someone shares a game or story or photos that they have in order to keep us entertained until the lights go out. Once you have done your Tantara you have the privilege of picking the next person in the spotlight. Tonight Sanne showed us a video she had made of their overland tour to get to Toliara. It was great to see that same things I had done three months ago in a different light.

At 9pm the electricity goes off and the lights go out. This means that bed time is usually pretty early. I like to light some candles and curl up in bed to watch a program or film on my laptop before falling asleep ready to start over again the next morning.

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.

Welcome to My Office

My Walk to Work

I have been on site for a few weeks now and am getting settled into life with Blue Ventures Expeditions. Here is a virtual tour of my new office (and home!).

The expedition camp is based within a hotel in Andavadoaka called Coco Beach. The hotel is set upon a sort of headland to the south of the village. To get there you walk along the beach or across the football pitch. It isn’t a hotel in the traditional sense of the word but instead rooms (for volunteers, BV staff and paying guests) are actually individual bungalows or huts.

The camp is split nicely into two areas which are separated by sand dunes – although everything has a sea view! The first area contains reception, our dining area and the bar and restaurant. Next to this are some of the guest bungalows and the BV staff huts. Currently my hut is the green one – but more about that another day.

Welcome to Coco Beach

Across the dunes and around the corner is my “office”. Here you can find Nosy Cao aka the classroom and Bat Cave aka the dive shed. This area is also where the volunteer huts are (which they share with about 4 people in each) so there is no excuse for them to be late!

I predict I will be spending a lot of time in Nosy Cao in the next year. It’s here that all the presentations and “dry” teaching happens. This includes lessons for SCUBA courses, information on the work BV does and, my area, marine science training. It’s a well-stocked room with a projector and screen, computers for the volunteers to use (when the electricity is on) and lots of other books and resources. This classroom also comes with a pretty inspiring view.

Nosy Cao - our classroom

The Bat Cave is where to go for all things SCUBA. It houses the equipment lockers where we keep all out kit safely tucked away as well as Bic (the dive manager’s) workshop and various other bits and pieces required for underwater living. Next door is a kitting up area as well as a place to rinse out the kit after diving and hang it up to dry.

Bat Cave - the diving zone

The headland its self has a statue of Mary atop it and is a great place to get a good view of the beaches, rock and sea around site. And there are usually some friendly local boys that love having their photo taken hanging around here too. There’s also a bench which I think I will spend time chilling out on whenever I get the chance. It’s dedicated to some field scientists that passed away while on expedition so is a really nice place to stop for a minute and think.

Views of the village, dive boats and the volunteer huts from Mary

But right now I am in working away in Nosy Cao and think it’s time to get one with learning some more coral names!

National Parks

During our overland tour we visited two National Parks. Madagascar has lots of these parks and reserves and they provided us with a chance to see some of Madagascar’s amazing wildlife and spectacular scenery.

The first we visited is called Réserve d’Anja and is small (only 37 ha). Here we got our first sight of a lemur. This park only has one species of lemur, the ring tail, but it is the one most people will imagine. They are black, white and grey with a stripy tail (hence the name). The guide explained that the lemurs have a strict daily routine which involved waking up and emerging from the caves where they sleep to sunbathe on the rocks before going down to the forest to eat fruits, leaves and flowers. They then have an afternoon siesta, eat some more and then return to the caves at night. Lemurs are predated on by hawks and snakes and so sleeping in the caves keeps them safe. These lemurs live in family groups and the women are in charge – so King Julien from the film isn’t quite right. We got some good photos of the lemurs and they really weren’t bothered by our presence in their forest.

It was here that we also got to first see something that I was excited about – chameleons. We had literally taken about 10 steps when the guide pointed out a small one sat in a tree. It has changed its colouration so it was the same grey as the branches and so was well camouflaged.

The second park we visited is called Parc National de l’Isalo and is probably the most popular park to visit. It’s also is much bigger and older than the first. We stayed in a hotel in the park and spent the whole day hiking in the area. The landscape is sandstone and so where the river runs is a massive gorge. In the morning we walked across the plain and through the forest to our picnic spot. Here there were lots of very tame lemurs. We saw ringtails again but also brown lemurs. These lemurs were used to humans and would try and steal our food. We also saw a Verreaux’s Sifaka lemur that was a little shyer. However, when we were eating lunch we watched it hop across the ground on its two hind legs.

After lunch we hiked further along the bottom of the gorge, where the greenery was lusher. It felt a little bit like a film set and I was expecting a dinosaur to jump out at me at any moment. It is dry season at the moment so the river was very low. Despite this there were several waterfalls and beautifully clear pools on the way. At the largest one we stopped for a swim. It was nice and refreshing but REALLY cold. I tested out my camera on the big tadpoles that were sat underwater on the rocks. After our long hike we were all worn out on our return to the hotel!