Seagrass Surveys et Le Spectacle

Before I begin, a fun anecdote: Five minutes ago, three middle-aged men showed up at our backdoor to introduce themselves. They own a house 200 meters down the beach and come here for vacation each year. Rather enthusiastically, one of them asked about Reef Doctor and said that he was interested in partnering for some community projects in Mangily, a town just to the north of Ifaty. He also mentioned that he works for a surfing company and pulled out a business card to give us. He’s the CEO of Ripcurl.

On a slightly less exciting note: seagrass. Woo! Reef Doctor partners with the University of New Hampshire and Seagrass Net to contribute to an international data base of seagrass information. Seagrass growth/depletion is monitored for two purposes: the plants prevent sedimentation on coral reefs (which kills coral), and the seagrass also serves as breeding grounds for juvenile marine species. Reef Doctor began conducting these surveys in October of last year, so we’re still gathering baseline data. Two weeks before each survey, we plant light sensors to monitor environmental conditions leading up to the date of data collection. On Thursday, we planted underwater sensors underwater around the bay in preparation for a quarterly survey to begin in a few weeks. Finding skinny metal pegs in large beds of seaweed is...like a game...of...Where’s Waldo?. Except not as fun, but the surveys themselves should be interesting.

Land ahoy! We’ve been busy above the water as well. Yesterday was a day to remember; le spectacle took place. For months, Stephan, the environmental education officer, had been preparing for an all day affair including a play and an art contest at the school in Ifaty. Hundreds of students and villagers from surrounding towns came to Ifaty to see L’Ocean, complete with a giant, rolling, plaster turtle and a juggling clown. The play’s theme focused on marine conservation. The kids had a blast; we were exhausted.

On Friday morning, we went for a hike in the spiny forest led by our night guard, Le Bon, meaning “The Good” in English. We saw a species of giant baobab, which exists only in Madagascar, as well as several other endemic plants and birds. Le Bon showed us one plant that the women use to clean between their legs; after you use it, you become a virgin again. The plant can be purchased at your local witch doctor’s shop. Speaking of which(es), local legend has it that at full moon, witches come and poop on all the village roofs, which are all made of reeds. Guess what tonight is. I’m sleeping in my rain jacket.

Keep your fingers crossed,

Annalise