Blind, Expressive, Village Chief and Largest Indri Lemurs - Madagascar

Critics are men who watch a battle from a high place

then come down and shoot the survivors.

Ernest Hemingway

Zafimaniry Tribe Chief, small village of Antoetra
Blind and about 80 years old - doesn't know his true age
Had to have two translators to have a conversation with him

It is with trepidation and sadness that I am about to leave Madagascar.  Trepidation because I don’t know if my flight will depart or if the coup will prevent me from going away?  Sadness because of leaving all the absolutely wonderful people I have met along the way.  I finish this trip visiting the chief of a village and then heading to a forest in the NE to see the very elusive Indri-Indri Lemur.  I lucked out and saw some pre-monsoon blooms as well.  A great way to end this adventure.

And sometimes you build the rice paddies around large rocks
The forest around the village has been replaced by rice paddies
Once well known for their wood carvings, they no longer have decent wood to work with

Parents out in the field (see left of home)
Kids at home saying hello
38.6% of children suffer from chronic malnutrition

In this area men nearly always wear some type of blanket on their shoulders
Even the elder at the top of this post
Men often carry sticks as well - part of their culture

Between rice crops, a field gets dug up for gold
Then put back together when it's time to plant rice again

Spreading via water, schistosomiasis affects half the population
It is second only to malaria as the most dangerous parasitic disease.
We are told not to go in any stagnant water in all of Africa because of this disease.

A little posing and nearly always smiling

His village only has about 1,000 inhabitants
He has, with him, one of the colorful papyrus hats made locally
To total number of Zafimaniry is thought to be around 25,000

Kids watching us interact (my two translators/guides) with the elder of the village
They were quiet the whole time

The chief was so serious.  My goal was to get a smile out of him at least once.
I succeeded but don't have a photo of it

My question to him was 'What are you the most proud of as chief?'
His response:  Being charitable

There - almost a smile
Cooking indoors, all walls and ceilings are blackened with soot
They believe it protects the wood from insects and rot

Over his left shoulder, the storage area of the house
By his left elbow, the kitchen
Check out his feet which have not seen many shoes in his lifetime

Ivato River fishing and the art of throwing a fishing net
He worked at it for 20 minutes but never caught anything that I could see

These bright green areas are where the rice seedlings are grown
Once they reach a certain height they will be transplanted in the paddies

Fence made of rice straw (stalk)

Orb Weaver spider (Trichonephila)
Female to the right, possible male to the left
Leg span about 4" (100mm), its web can be up to 60" (1.5m) wide

These cyclists with very primitive bikes going uphill
Carrying anywhere from 3 to 5 charcoal bags
I was told the only thing they really care about having on these bikes are excellent brakes.

Wearing very flimsy sandals most of the time
We often saw what fell off bikes at the bottom of hills where brakes didn't work too well

Primitive bike repair shop

Sausages and cut zebu meat waiting to be cooked to order
Roadside Hotely (hotely means restaurant here, not hotel)

Several food stalls in a row

I love these old carts.  The wheels are made here with a special type of wood.
Capped with metal, check out the break pads

Porters - one carrying my luggage on his shoulder
Walking through rice paddies to the Akiba Lodge
My last stop to finally see the hard to find Indri Lemur

Small bunches of rice, ready to be planted

I would've loved to try planting rice with these nice ladies 
I would've slowed them down, I'm sure
However, I have to worry about catching schistosomiasis so I won't

Sometimes sinking all the way to their knees
Kids also help.  The women get paid $1.50/day to plant from sunup to sundown.

Can you believe the color of this beautiful blue bug?
Blue Weevil (Eupholus)

Branched Aeranthes Orchid (Aeranthes ramosa)
Not 100% sure if I have this one right 

Egret Orchid (Angraecum-linearifolium)

 Didier's Angraecum Orchid (Angraecum-didieri)

Don't know enough about birds to identify

Sandpaper Glorybower (Clerodendrum arenarium)
Leaves are like sandpaper

Flame of the Forest (Butea monosperma)

Passion Flower (Passiflora edulis)

Type of cicada (Platypleura)

Bright resin from East African Gum Copal tree (Hymenaea verrucosa)
Used for incense

Cutting the 'weeds' along the sides of rice paddies to feed their cattle
Nothing is lost or left unused in Madagascar

Bringing back a bag of cuttings to feed the family's zebu(s)

Dried up African Elodea (Lagarosiphon major) - the green twisted plant
Lives in freshwater - native of Madagascar

About 50' up and 50' away (15m) - very hard to take photo through thick forest
Male Indri Indri Lemur

Of all the types of lemurs I have seen in Madagascar, they are the most cautious
Secretive and very loud vocally

While paying so much attention to the male, we didn't know the female was right above us
She screamed loudly.  It was completely unexpected so we jumped out of our skin
This female Indri Indri (sometimes called Babakoto) jumped to join the male
Baby in tow

She was quick to watch us while ensuring we can no longer see the little one
The group before me walked the forest for three days never seeing any of them
I saw these three on my first day - I was very lucky

Leaf Tail Gecko, king of disguise (Uroplatus fimbriatus)

Back to my hotel for one last night before flying to South Africa then home

From large poster at the airport upon my departure
Photo by Cyrille Cornu, 2019, Morombe
Tsitakakantsa, largest baobab at 95 feet (28.82m) circumference
Name means 'If you sing on one side of it, the other side can't hear the song'.

From another poster at the airport
Photo by Cyrille Cornu, 2017, Plateau Mahafaly
Baobabs are dug to make them into water cisterns
There are no lakes or rivers in that area of Madagascar and it seldom rains
It doesn't hurt the tree and provides for humans and animals