Hello everybody, here are some news from Andavadoaka. Thomas and I went to the Southern villages to collect the data on shark and turtle catch as well as the pictures. We took a different mode of transportation this time as the weather was not very good and sailing might be dangerous. So we took a zebu cart most of the time. The Southern villages stretch from Ampasilava to Antsepoke. We visited 5 villages in total. We took a pirogue from Andavadoaka to Ampasilava. That was feasible because the waters near shore were not too rough. Then from Ampasilava took a zebu cart to Lamboara.
I think zebus are the most useful animals ever in Madagascar. They work so hard in the fields, pulling carts and in addition people use a lot of things from zebus: milk and meat for food, skin for crafts and horns to make a medicine to treat a cold. Zebus are simply a great richness for Malagasy people.
We walked to Lamboara at low tide since the village is on a peninsula and is surrounded by waters at high tide. From Lamboara we took a pirogue to Tampolove. Then from Tampolove zebu cart again to Ankitambagna and Antsepoke. It took 2 hours then 2 hours back. We got back to Tampolove at 10 pm!! We finished all 5 villages in a day and I was exhausted!! The next day we went back to Andavadoaka but we had to wait for low tide so the zebu cart will be able to cross the bay. It took 2 hours to go from Lamboara to Andavadoaka. And finally, we got back around 3 pm in the afternoon.
Vola Ramahery
Research Assistant
