Antananarivo
We arrived in Antananarivo (Tana) anxious to get down to Ranomafana, but we had a few matters to handle in town before we could begin field work. We coincidentally bumped into Dr. Patricia Wright, renowned conservationist and founder of Ranomafana National Park (RNP), in the airport parking lot. We arranged for dinner plans later that night, and with that, our frenetic field season had begun. Delirious after 33 hours of travel, Mariah and I pressed on as we explored the streets of tana, hopping from one restaurant to the next (a grand total of four) until we finally met up with Pat. My impression of Madagascar has drastically changed since I was last here in 2014 through study abroad. The city center has become more developed, with high-end restaurants and shops popping up throughout town. Dinner featured scientists at the head of their fields; primatologists, epidemiologists, and behavioral ecologists all conducting conservation-based research to safeguard Madagascar's endangered endemic wildlife. We chatted with researchers we would eventually be staying with at Centre ValBio (CVB), the research station affiliated with RNP.
After a few days in town waiting for research permits and shopping for last minute supplies, it was time to finally start the 11 hour drive south to RNP. The journey started off as planned, with a stop for lunch after the first ~4 hours. We stopped again unexpectedly when our driver decided to fill the tires. I had been drifting in and out of sleep but I was surprised when I learned we had been stopped for 2 1/2 hours and the sun was now setting (which it does early, around 5pm). As we all grew worried, we tried desperately to communicate with our Malagasy driver, who was satisfied with the pressure in the tires and had moved on to fiddling around with the engine. We eventually deduced that both the tires and the engine were fine, but that the driver wanted to spend the night in the town we had stopped: Ambositra. This was understandable since the road is poorly lit and we still had a stretch until we reached Ranomafana. Once we arrived at our hotel, Mariah and I took the opportunity to rewatch Beyoncé's Lemonade for the 17th time. What we had not taken into account was that we hadn't eaten since 1pm that day and that it was now 8pm and the entire town had shut down. Pitch black. Our attempts at making it to a bodega were discouraged by security guards who told us nothing would be open. We went to bed hungry at 11pm, growing more and more conscious of the mistake we had made in not immediately having dinner at the hotel upon our arrival.
We got back on the bus at 6am, still without food, joyous to be pushing ourselves to our physical limits. We arrived at CVB at 10:30am, well into our 20th hour of starvation, excited to have to wait an hour and a half for lunch.
Tana
Mariah in tana
Me and Mariah shopping for rain boots
Scenery on our drive to CVB
After a few days in town waiting for research permits and shopping for last minute supplies, it was time to finally start the 11 hour drive south to RNP. The journey started off as planned, with a stop for lunch after the first ~4 hours. We stopped again unexpectedly when our driver decided to fill the tires. I had been drifting in and out of sleep but I was surprised when I learned we had been stopped for 2 1/2 hours and the sun was now setting (which it does early, around 5pm). As we all grew worried, we tried desperately to communicate with our Malagasy driver, who was satisfied with the pressure in the tires and had moved on to fiddling around with the engine. We eventually deduced that both the tires and the engine were fine, but that the driver wanted to spend the night in the town we had stopped: Ambositra. This was understandable since the road is poorly lit and we still had a stretch until we reached Ranomafana. Once we arrived at our hotel, Mariah and I took the opportunity to rewatch Beyoncé's Lemonade for the 17th time. What we had not taken into account was that we hadn't eaten since 1pm that day and that it was now 8pm and the entire town had shut down. Pitch black. Our attempts at making it to a bodega were discouraged by security guards who told us nothing would be open. We went to bed hungry at 11pm, growing more and more conscious of the mistake we had made in not immediately having dinner at the hotel upon our arrival.
We got back on the bus at 6am, still without food, joyous to be pushing ourselves to our physical limits. We arrived at CVB at 10:30am, well into our 20th hour of starvation, excited to have to wait an hour and a half for lunch.
Stuck in Ambositra
Getting ready for Lemonade
Praying mantis at CVB
CVB just up the road
RNP
Finally
What a leaf
Millipede at CVB
Spotted a chameleon on a night walk along the road
Centre ValBio
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