Reef thinking - tales from Madagascar

Also published in Elephant Journal November 12 2012
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/11/reef-thinking-tales-from-madagascar-catherine-wilkie/

For my 30th birthday I booked myself a flight to Madagascar. Too long spent on the bogs and otherwise solid Irish ground. It wasn't for the lemurs I was going, but if I did see one I wasn't going to complain. It was for the coral reefs. 

I flew out from Dublin on a cold December day and landed in a hot and steamy Tulear in the south west of the country. From there, united with a dozen or so other volunteers who had decided to give up a cosy Christmas in the  UK (I was the only Paddy), we travelled for 22 hours in the back of an army truck over the dirt-tracks of Madagascar's outback to get to our base in Andavadoka.

Pirogues moored - Malagasy fishing boats

For six weeks I lived in a beach shack with no door - if there had been a door I'm sure we wouldn't have bothered to close it. We had electricity for a couple of hours every evening. There was no internet, no phone. We got messages transmitted once a week from family by satellite phone. It was more than the locals had, but they were happier than most folk you'd meet in a busy cyber-ridden street in the developed world. This place was a paradise. It was - is - a beautifully quiet and peaceful, and un-interrupted rural corner of Madagascar. 

The research centre is tagged on to the small fishing village of Andavadoka and run by an award winning charity called Blue Ventures. The base was set up initially by a couple of UK guys who were concerned about the degradation of coral reefs globally. They were equally inspired by the pristine coral reefs off the west coast of Madagascar and the need to preserve these exquisite, vulnerable ecosystems before overfishing and pollution could wreak irreversible damage. 

I spent my first week there learning how to dive - perfect buoyancy was required for the work to be done. Further training was necessary in order to carry out the monitoring work on the reef - we each had to learn over 100 species of reef fish, coral, starfish and other reef dwellers that we would encounter. I thought it would be difficult and it was, but it was like learning the species of the Burren as an undergraduate - once you got your eye in on the varieties and colours, the differences became clear and obvious and each species became a new acquaintance, and a new wonder. 

We would wake at 5.30am and the first dive of the day would be out soon after. The mornings were calm, and I never tired of watching the local fishermen set out early in their pirogues - south bound - for the daily fishing. The wind would carry the boats easily home in the afternoon, and for this reason too most of the diving was done in the morning when the Mozambique Channel was kindest. 

The diving was superb. The silence of that underworld and the absolute beauty of the reefs that were literally just a stone's throw from our base camp perched on Coco Beach, hidden from those on land by tropical blue waters - well, it was deeply humbling and truly inspiring. Angelfish, Butterflyfish, Grouper, Parrotfish, Conger Eels, Starfish, Surgeonfish, Goggle-Eyes, Jacks, Barracuda, Anemonefish...all this life supported by a tiny, teeny life form with the ability to create superstructures of great beauty and mystery - coral. 

Mi casa, zebu casa ;)

Since that precious time spent in Madagascar I have only returned to the coral reef twice - once in Cuba and the last time in Barbados. In both places the beauties were to be seen but there was also the worrying presence of coral skeletons and foreboding algae. 

I got to worrying and found that the trend is not good for the Caribbean coral reef. All those small islands with growing populations means more fishing and more nutrient run-off. The likes of Hurricane Sandy and her sisters aren't kind to coral reefs but natural disasters coupled with overfishing, development projects, soil and nutrient run-off do not make for a bright future. Rising temperatures present another gloomy figure on the scene. In the words of Father Jack - feck. 

Beach clean up time in Andavadoka

We have to support the work of groups like Blue Ventures and we have to do what we can to raise awareness of the degradation of these spectacular ecosystems so that we can preserve their exquisiteness now and into the future. The folk at Blue Ventures work closely with the local community - approaching the problem from social, economic and environmental perspectives. More projects like this and more will be achieved. In the meantime, check out your nearest coral reef....

http://blueventures.org/conservation/

http://blog.blueventures.org/category/madagascar/

http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/marine/marine_our_work/coral_reefs_and_climate_change/

Barbados - swimming with the turtles

Bajan local - peace out man ;)

It was the last day of our two week holiday in Barbados. We had been staying for most of that time in the sleepy fishing village of Shermans to the north west of the island. All said, September is the quietest time of the year for tourism in Barbados – hurricane season and all - and given that we were also in one of the quieter parts of the island, we had the luxury of soft, white sand paradise beaches mostly to ourselves and the odd local. That - coupled with traffic free snorkelling with friendly coral reef fishies and occasional turtles - equals relaxation of the highest order. Nothing prepares you though for when you suddenly see a peaceful turtle resting on a reef bed surrounded by industrious blue surgeons – him just sitting there in that silent water-world taking it all in. 

How to scream when your head’s underwater and how to remain as inconspicuous as possible despite your 2ft long fins, mask, snorkel and wildly waving arms and legs? I tried. I failed ;) He spotted us, and he gave us the most non-phased glance with the deepest, darkest, widest eyes as if to say peace out man, what’s the fuss? And with an effortless, graceful gliding movement of elegant flipper, he was gone into the deeper blue where we couldn’t follow. That was just one of the highlights of our trip. We had set out from damp Ireland, after an even damper summer and our bones were in desperate need of drying out under a cloud free sky. I knew nothing of Barbados other than time there would fulfill that need, and as always - to be prepared for the rest that may come!

You can never get tired of tropical beaches, and Barbados has ample supply. We had our own private beach on our doorstep, just down from the luxurious looking Little Good Harbour resort – Google this place, it looks amazing! But there is Accra to the south, Mullins on the mid-west, The Crane – all the tourist hotspots that are well catered for by the full range of star-rated resorts. But hop in a car, and less than half an hour drive from west coast to east coast and you are in the land of the Atlantic. No swimming here – far too dangerous. But surfer’s paradise and the complete opposite of the calm waters of the eastern shore waits.

Sunrise on the east coast...pure Santosha ;)

For me the east is the best – Bathsheba being the main focal point. Here is the west of Ireland but wearing a warmer, softer cloak. No less powerful, no less addictive and no less humbling, but no harsh breeze and water kinder to toes (less chilling), topped off with warm nights better suited for dining al fresco! We spent two nights here in the Scotland District just north of Bathsheba (www.santoshabarbados.com). Santosha is sanskrit for contentment, and Santosha - the place - is a kind of hideaway where the music is the Atlantic roar – more lioness than lion king roar ;) Great place and great therapy for those who spend (dare I say waste) hours in mindless meeting sessions in the day to day businesses of life.

Snugness - sundown view

Bajan food is great – and we mostly ate at home! We had local staples prepared for us on a regular basis by friends and family - Hyacinth’s fish cakes, flying fish and cou-cou, sweet potato and okra; Gran’s curry with sweet plantain, and peas and rice; Derek’s beer can chicken with breadfruit chips; Larry’s 10 day marinated pork; and Denis’s taste sensational saltfish bulgol – yum! The few times we eat out I had the most amazing pieces of marlin and barracuda, deep fried calamari, and red snapper. Not to mention the local Thursday and Friday night food o de pot in Braddys Bar in Shermans and the local rum shack in Moon Town (pronounced Mooon Town). De pot is generally a big one and it rests on an open flame, the food is all fresh from the sea or local fields and all meeting the highest standards of the Bajan palate.  In the shacks you’re hanging with locals – older men playing dominoes and women taking their chances with karaoke. I’ve seen some clips from Moon Town on YouTube but it ain’t nothing like the real thing baby ;) Stars on a Friday night that were cleaning houses and minding children hours before – all becoming their own Bajan version of Otis, Dolly, Patsy, Elvis…fantastic. All helped along of course by rum and coke, rum punch, rum and coconut water, rum and sprite…rum anyone? Oh yeah, and bottles of 7.5% Guinness – which they love out there – brewed in neighboring Trinidad!

The island of Barbados is surprisingly small, and surprisingly highly populated – keep your eyes open as Richard Branson’s plane drops you in. The west and south is well built up, slowly but surely spreading to the northern reaches. The east remains beautifully calm. We only met the best of people. There’s so much more to Barbados than beaches and resorts - if that’s all you need you’ll be more than satisfied. I would suggest - for a richer experience - get out of the resort and get moving with the locals, and say hello to the turtles for me :)  

We stayed in a beach house called Snugness in Shermans - available to rent. Check it out at:

http://www.bajanservices.com/index.php?RootSection=59&Section=60&PType=R&PID=1274