2 of 10 days.

10/10/2010. So today is day 2 of our ten day trip across Madagascar. Yesterday we hit the road at 6:30 am, had a brief stop in the nearby town of Fianaratsoa (Fianar) and then continued on towards our first destination. We stopped in a dry (semi-natural) forest to see some ring-tailed lemurs, (scientifically known as lemurcota, but preferably referred to as lemurcutea. Har har.) climb up some giant boulders, see some awesome caves where people used to live, and see some awesome tombs where their bodies still reside.

We made one more stop at a local paper factory where they showed us how Malagasy paper was made and decorated with local flowers. The results of their work were beautiful, and several of our group spent a good amount on souvenirs and gifts for family and friends. From there we drove on to our resting destination, had a great meal at our hotely (restaurant+hotel) and a fun night hanging out after dinner. Most importantly, we had beds. After a month+ of "bed" referring to a 2 inch thick inflatable mattress pad it was like sleeping on a cloud. It seems like we're getting spoiled on this trip.

Today was mostly just a ton of driving. We left early in the morning again, and 8 hours of driving and a few notable sights-seen later we arrived here in Tulear. The air smells of saltwater (among the other smells of a Madagascar city. . .) and sand is strewn about the edges of the streets - we've all be eagerly awaiting the chance to hang out on a beach and swim.

But first sights seen:
-Boabab trees! Awesome; some fun facts - store water in their massive sized trunk; can reach 25 meters tall; 10 meters diameter; have no means of seed dispersal - likely used to be dispersed by now extinct megafauna.
-Dust Devils. Less exciting, still cool.
-Dry spiny forest. Pretty crazy, largely because it was extremely isolated in an otherwise desolate desert landscape.
-Crazy plateau ridge. This was just neat looking.
-Some forest fires. . . Actually not cool. But worth mentioning, I suppose.

So the rest of our trip is spent mostly in 2 locations. Tomorrow we're actually arriving at the beach where we'll be spending 3 days. We've apparently got really nice bungalow's rented for our stay in Ifaty, and lots of opportunity to view and learn about the dry spiny forests of Madagascar. After our stay at the beach, the plan is to (reluctantly) pack up and head back on the road (which we drove on all day today) to our destination in Isalo. We'll be spending 3 days there hiking around the granite outcrops and dry forests.

Day 10 is spent in transit back to Centre ValBio in Ranomafana, and then we're off to the races performing our independent research projects.

This past week blew by as a result of a full schedule and anticipation for this trip. Monday and Tuesday included a hike up to the primary forest - which was incredible- and the rest of the week was spent writing up our research proposals.

There's a group of people studying lemurs, a few people are doing cultural projects, and a few of us are doing transects. My plan is to take some surveys of the riparian zones in the forest, comparing the levels of animal activity during different times of day. But I'm mostly thrilled for the chance to spend so much time in the forest.

Time for dinner here though. Headed to a beach-side restaurant! Veloma!