Glamping
After a few days of recovery at CVB, lounging in bed for days watching medical documentaries, it was time to prepare for our next field expedition. Alicia, a recent graduate of Pat's lab and Amanda (different Amanda), Pat's new PhD student, had both arrived during this time and we all bonded through long lazy afternoons of TV-watching.
Vato, only about 4km from the nearest road, was around a 2 hour hike from CVB. While orders of magnitude less dramatic than the hike to Mangevo, we still appreciated the Mangevo playlist to get us through some steep mountainsides. I had camped at Vato in 2014, when I was in Madagascar for study abroad, but it was nowhere near as glamorous as the camp we arrived at that afternoon. The kitchen is tiled and equipped with a sink, counter space, and a dining table. The camping grounds are sectioned into 5-7 plots to accommodate 1 or 2 tents each. The plots are lined with sand and complete with metal roofs. I was initially opposed to the luxury of Vato and was really missing roughing it in Mangevo. I eventually came around, but Mangevo will always be my favorite.
Upon arrival, we had a quick lunch, pitched our tents (of course as close to each other as possible), and set out to do some data collection for the rest of the day. Our routine at Vato was similar to that of Mangevo's; parting ways in the morning, meeting up for meals, and lots of tent time. At Vato we were also joined by study abroad students and were not nearly as remote as before. Felt like vacation.
All in all, I had collected nearly 300 leeches in 4 days!
Me, Mariah, and Alicia
Vato, only about 4km from the nearest road, was around a 2 hour hike from CVB. While orders of magnitude less dramatic than the hike to Mangevo, we still appreciated the Mangevo playlist to get us through some steep mountainsides. I had camped at Vato in 2014, when I was in Madagascar for study abroad, but it was nowhere near as glamorous as the camp we arrived at that afternoon. The kitchen is tiled and equipped with a sink, counter space, and a dining table. The camping grounds are sectioned into 5-7 plots to accommodate 1 or 2 tents each. The plots are lined with sand and complete with metal roofs. I was initially opposed to the luxury of Vato and was really missing roughing it in Mangevo. I eventually came around, but Mangevo will always be my favorite.
Upon arrival, we had a quick lunch, pitched our tents (of course as close to each other as possible), and set out to do some data collection for the rest of the day. Our routine at Vato was similar to that of Mangevo's; parting ways in the morning, meeting up for meals, and lots of tent time. At Vato we were also joined by study abroad students and were not nearly as remote as before. Felt like vacation.
All in all, I had collected nearly 300 leeches in 4 days!
See the spider?
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