Blackie and life

Well what has been happening here recently?

The sun is still out - I love April it is the perfect month here... not too hot, not too windy and the winter southern swells are beginning to kick in so Samson is very happy with the waves!  He has been busy with lots of surf lessons down at Baie de Sainge - it is such a lovely beach to learn on.  He has a regular class with one of the local French schools who are now really getting the hang of riding those waves and there have also been a few tourists and new 'vazah' (or strangers) arriving in town... long may it continue.   

He recently took a couple of tourists to Andoahela one of the National Parks within striking distance of Fort Dauphin.  It is a fascinating forest full of endemic plants and animals right up the mountains that separate the wet coastal Anosy region from the spiny deserts of Tandroy in the south west.  Really worth an overnight camp by the beautiful waterfalls if you are ever heading out that way!  

We are finally mending our leaking roof so that the menagerie I mentioned in a previous blog will no longer be resident in our bathroom - fingers crossed!!  Also fixing our terrace roof so that I will once again have the best office in town - imagine sitting in a beautiful garden whilst working on the computer - how cool will that be?  I love living in the tropics!

For the last three weeks Blackie (the dog) has been on heat. It is her first one and I have been determined to avoid puppies - easier said than done in Madagascar!  Dogs are not exactly seen as pets here by the Malagasy... not only because many families can hardly feed themselves properly let alone a dog, but also because there are so many dogs and very few solid fences so they tend to procreate rapidly.  Many of my Gasy friends don't get my English obsession with looking after Blackie.  Their attitude is that if a dog goes missing / dies / wanders off, you just go get another puppy from your neighbourhood - there are bound to be some. 

Luckily we do have a wall around our house which has meant that so long as the gate has been kept closed, I have managed to keep the boy dogs at bay.  This has been a challenge with all the comings and goings at our house: the man fixing the roof, little Dollar and Rasta (yes those are their names) who hang out as Samson's 'gofers', Relax who does the garden, the lady who does the washing, the numerous people knocking on the door to sell us meat/ fish/ fruit every day, not to mention Samson's family coming and going to use the water tap... I feel like I have turned into a crazy harridan constantly shouting 'close the gate'!  I think that all our Gasy neighbours must now be convinced that I am definitely mad!  Keep your fingers crossed that a naughty boy dog has not snuck in when I was not looking!!

I guess it is time for a bit of an introduction to Blackie.  She is the grand-daughter of Bonnie who was my first dog here in Fort Dauphin.  Both came to me when I was not really wanting a dog - both looked up at me with very cute little faces and my heart melted in a way that only an English heart can.  She is still 'only a dam dog' as Samson puts when he is feeling Gasy, but I can tell that he is getting really mushy about her as he plays with her when he thinks I am not looking.  Our Gasy visitors are amazed that a dog can be trained to behave themselves (sit, stay etc) and that so long as a regular flea/tick regime is followed, they can actually be quite fun to have around.  She is also a great guard dog - so she is earning her keep!  I am determined to slowly undermine the Gasy attitude to our four-legged friends!  Does any one knows a dog specialist vet that would like to come to help with sterilisation operations and more, I know that the one and only local vet would love to have more help/training/medicines?! 

Oh and I have finally signed up for French lessons - they start tomorrow so I am getting a bit nervous about going back to school!  I am dreading trying to understand the grammar... I remember hating it the first time around.  But I really do need to brush up my Française so it will all be worth while.

Hope that spring is springing with everyone in the Northern Hemisphere and the Daffodils are finally out back at home!

Sunshine, moon shadows, cruise ships and Easter

The sunshine is back - hurray!  For the last two weeks or so we have been enjoying the sort of perfect weather that I adore.  No idea about the temperature but it is HOT, must be 30+ degrees, perfect blue skies and our little wooden house is finally drying out after all the rain.

Last week we celebrated the full moon with a barbecue on the beach.  The moon was so bright that we didn't need any other torches or lights.  Moon shadows always fill me with a wonder - you so rarely appreciate the strength of moonshine in the UK with all the street lights.  The boys went in to have a moonlit surf and came out raving about silver waves; oh and the rabbit in the moon was clear to see (yes there is a rabbit, rather than a man, in the Malagasy moon!)

The last Sunday of March was a red letter day for Fort Dauphin.  It saw the arrival of the first cruise ship to visit for literally decades.  The new port (which has been built to service the Rio Tinto mine) can also facilitate deep water cruise ships, the visits of which could potentially really help the economy of this remote corner of Madagascar... Everyone in town was very excited by the prospect of some 2,000+ tourists - even if they were only going to be with us for 6 hours.  Plans for the day were discussed for months; the town cleaned for weeks beforehand and many locals arranged special tours, restaurants put on special menus and craft stalls were set up at both of the towns beaches especially for the day.    Samson was there offering surf lessons and I was selling traditional Lambas (or sarongs) made into the perfect beach dress.  Unfortunately what occurred was basically frustrating.  Various issues appear to have 'scuppered' the day for a lot of people:

• The Malagasy tour operator decided to only promote two tour options actually onboard the ship.  These were the offerings of the two largest companies in town - apparently because they were the only two that accepted invoiced payment rather than requiring cash on the day... so all the smaller specially arranged tours had to be cancelled at the last minute - a shame for the locals, but also for the visitors who could have had a much greater choice of trips around this beautiful region for the day.
• The information given out on board was extremely limited and did not detail either of the events arranged at the two town beaches (despite full info having been submitted in good time) - so visitors did not know that the beaches were the places to head for entertainment and shopping.  Most visitors just stayed at the port if they didn't go out on one of the tours.
• Buses were put on to run from the port but bizarrely they did not drop to the beaches, but only to the town hall in the commercial district - which was all shut - it being Sunday!
• The final straw was that the local taxi drivers took it upon themselves to charge a ridiculous $5 per person per trip rate (normally 50 cents) despite being asked by the council not to over charge - so many visitors understandably did not want to pay to get them from the centre of town to either of the beaches.  The result - many visitors never made it to the beaches, seeing only sleepy, slightly scruffy Fort Dauphin all closed up on a Sunday and headed back to the boat disappointed. 

Those visitors that were a bit more adventurous that did make it to the beach were very complimentary about entertainments, stalls, food that had been arranged - but most had only brought a little money with them as they had been told that all the shops would be closed and not to eat anything onshore!  Not the big success that everyone had been aiming for.   We can only hope that these teething problems will be sorted out for the next ship which is due in at the end of April.  Keep your fingers crossed that Fort Dauphin will get it right next time.

Last weekend was Easter.  This is a happy time of the year.  Traditionally, all the Malagasy get out and go on a picnic on Easter Monday.  Samson and I took ourselves off to enjoy the day on Monseigner beach - one of the great local surf spots.  

Tuna was cooked, Three Horses Beer drunk, Samson caught a few waves and Alison hunted for shells.... heaven on earth in my book!  

I hope that Easter is finally bringing the UK some better weather and that chocolate eggs were received by all that desired them - that may have to be a tradition that I introduce to here for next year!