It has been a really long time since we’ve blogged—hum, guess that isn’t a Microsoft sanctioned word yet.  Thanks to those who actually check it and gently urge us to update!

Well, I will begin with a brief update of Tom since I am authoring this section.  Tom has gotten comfortable with his facial hair lately and it just keeps growing and growing and…

He has some new foot infections that he is nursing back to health.  He won’t deny that he is pretty excited to return back to good ole’ sterile U S of A!
 
Our close of service conference, or COS conference as Peace Corps calls it, is March 4-6.  Can you believe it has almost been two years?!   

I have been in Tana for entirely way too long.  My friend, Martin, was awarded money from the US Embassy for our library project and we were required to receive it in person.
 

The date happened to fall two and a half weeks before my mom came to visit. So add two and a half weeks plus the three weeks we were on vacation and we have been away from site for almost two months. 

So…  “The Vacation”.  I am not sure my mom will agree with me as to whether or not she was actually on vacation.  The word vacation implies relaxation, ease of going, fun, etc…  Madagascar is a difficult place to access.  Flights are limited and very expensive so we had to do some “broussing” (bush taxiing).  One thing is for sure… we definitely have some stories to trade, my mom and I!  Here are some pictures to show you the wonderful things we saw in Madagascar.

My mom and 16 year-old nephew, Shawn, arrived in Tana on November 16 after a 6 hour layover in Paris.   We spent a few days in Tana recovering from jet lag and then set off towards Mananara-Nord.  We flew with a missionary organization called MAF and Shawn got to sit in the co-pilot’s chair.
 

Landing strip in Mandritsara, a town about three days walk from our site.



Upon arrival in Mananara, we had to eat our weight in letchis.  Letchis are delicious red fruits that only come into season for about a month every year.  And they only ripen on the tree so they are difficult to save.



We headed out to a small island nearby called Aye-Aye Island, famous for the rare lemur, the Aye-Aye.  We weren’t patient enough to actually see it but I think we were satisfied with the coconuts anyway!



From there we visited our village, Imorona but those pictures were all on Shawn’s camera and were subsequently erased… so you’ll have to fill in the gaps.

Then up to Maroantsetra.  The 114km stretch of road north isn’t so bad but the bridges are notoriously rotten.  In addition to the bridges, there are also six major river crossings.  We decided it would be best to hire our own vehicle as to minimize suffering during my mom’s first taxi brousse ride.


Here we are lounging around in the back of the Toyota 4x4.



Typical method of crossing the river. Notice the bridge has seen better days, but the guy dragging the bamboo fery doesn't seem to mind.



Random fishing guys seen on our way to Nosy Manga Be.



Random photo of Nosy Manga Be.



Our destination: Nosy Mangabe.  Nosy means island and mangabe, we learned, has many meanings. Most simply it means big mangos or big blue.  But history has it that slaves were kept on the island as well. Mango trees were planted to feed the slaves so slave became to mean manga.  Along with the history of the island we saw many interesting critters.



Cool little frog.



We got lucky to see this little guy. He was standing guard, but he didn't mind us walking by.



This guy is awesome, he is seen here asleep. The leaf-tailed gecko is very common on Nosy Manga Be.



An alert leaf-tailed gecko.



Vinsty, malagasy king fisher.



Cute little bat hanging around under a large rock.



Malagasy tree boa.

Next stop—Diego Suarez.  The first thing that struck us right off the plane was the cute, yellow taxis outside the airport.



We decided that we would head south to Ankarana to see the crazy karst-filled landscape. 



Standard taxi bus on a good road. Of couse we had to stop many times to add water and fix a flat.





Park view before the landscape turned to rocks.



Suspension bridge built by the Malagasy from imported supplies purchased from entry fees.



Rocky view of Lynne and Tom.



Cicada. There were lots of them and as we left some natives where going to harvest them for food. They are also known as Malagasy Pop Corn.

The next day we went to Emerald Island. We were lucky enough to spot three manta rays and a sea turtle on our boat ride to the island—no pics but very memorable.



Picture of the boat leaving Emerald Island to catch lunch.

Back to Tana for a night and then out to visit our host family.  It was very sweet to see my host family and my mom together.  They gave us a warm reception and we shared a meal in their home. My mom was finally glad to meet the woman who took care of us upon our arrival to Madagascar two Februarys ago.



And finally, our last stop. We visited Jonathan, fellow volunteer in Andasibe National Park.
 


Cool little bug, Malagascar giraffe beetle.



Babakoto, largest living lemur.



Another leaf-tailed gecko, but different from the Nosy Manga Be dude.



little chameleon.

I think we sufficiently wore out my mom and Shawn for their 1:30a.m. departure from Tana.