Once arriving there I was picked up by a taxi and taken straight to the Reef Doctor site. The drive was around an hour or so and cost 60,000 Ar which is about £15, which may seem cheap though it turned out that he had not only charged me for the journey but also charged Reef Doctor so there was a lot of angry shouting in malagasy down the phone to him the next day.
After I arrived I had a quick dinner of rice and lentils, a dish I would soon become very accustomed to, and then was shown to where I would be staying for the next 3 months which consisted of a large hut split into 4 sections using curtains. Each section has a bed and shelving apart from one which was the entrance and living area. We had a small bonfire that night to wave off a volunteer who was leaving the next day which was a great chance to get to know everyone.
The next day was filled with a lot of forms and signatures just so I was able to start diving the next day. Later I got a chance to help out on one of the projects in which they were giving solar ovens to the local villagers allowing them to save money on charcoal. They rent them out to the villagers at a low price (much lower than purchasing charcoal every day) and this stops them just taking advantage of schemes such as this and ensures that the people will take more care of the ovens them selves.
On Friday I did my refresher dives with the dive officer, Dean. Dean is a great member of the team who will always be happy to answer any questions regarding diving no matter how stupid you think they are. He has a great sense of humour and really connects very well with the volunteers and the staff equally.
Saturday was my first experience of a taxi brousse and though I had read numerous blog posts about peoples experiences in them it really wasn't anything like experiencing it first hand. One of the other volunteers described it the best as being, "a simulation of what it would be like if you were a battery chicken". They basically consist of a small pick up truck with a canopy over the trailer part and some benches on either side. Comfortably you could probably fit 14 people in one, 7 on either side. When we got to Tulear there were 28 to 30 people in the brousse. So certainly cosy... The reason for the trip was to collect the essentials I needed due to my lost baggage including clothes, toiletries, suncream etc. Emma, who is pretty much the mum of the camp, was very helpful with the clothes shopping due to having a much better eye for style than myself while also being able to speak fluent Malagasy and so was able to haggle down to get the best prices. This was much to the annoyance of the store owners who were shocked my this foreigner, or Vazha, who was able to get the prices of a Vezo (local fishing people).
The next week was filled with doing the dives need for the PADI Advanced Open Water. While also doing a few science dives which mainly consisted of ID-ing the various fish species, coral and invertebrates. All of which we are tested on before we can begin to partake in the surveying. The science dives are conducted by Val who is the current science intern. She is a great laugh and really makes the early mornings not as painful as they may well have been.
So that's my week in general, other than that I have been going to nautilus, a small hotel about a mile away with Internet, with the excuse of sorting out what's happening with my luggage, when actually its to have one of their delicious zebu steaks served by waiters wearing uniforms that seemed to have been designed by the same people who made the costumes for Rainbow... I have also taken part in a number of volley ball games, of which my terrible hand eye co-ordination has been little if no help, as well as continuously attempting to write this blog to little avail though at last I have succeeded! Well, unless I end up reading through this and then deleting it all again...
Pictures in order are the front of the Reef Doctor Site looking up from the beach, a pirogue which are the local fishing boats used by the Vezo people and the restraunt of Nautilus.
"Each section has a bed and shelving apart from one which was the entrance and living area." Duno why this sentence made me chuckle :P. Maybe needs a comma in there somewhere.
ReplyDeleteHow is it going now after a few weeks? Diving amazing? What animals have you seen? What crazy Third World stuff has gone on? Are you alive? You must have a tale or two to tell!