2004 - Bamboo Club, Madagascar.

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19th April 2004 and we were back in Madagascar for a "sharkfin" eclipse at sunset. Morombe, where we went the last time had been devastated by typhoon Gafilo in March and for all intents and purposes needs to be rebuilt from scratch. Our thoughts go out to the people there and the other areas further to the North East devastated by this particularly violent storm. The only good news we heard about this event was the amount of foreign aid which began arriving within 24 hrs of the storm. It seems that the new Madagascar president has attracted the interest of the international community in a big way with aid coming from The EU, USA, Canada, Japan and South Africa to name but a few. The South Africans provided aircraft to get the emergency supplies into the affected areas as quick as possible. Well done to all the countries worldwide who chipped in to help our favorite country.

On this trip we flew into Tulear from Antananarivo and saved ourselves a week long drive. We stayed at the Bamboo Club in Ifaty (surprise,surprise!) and experienced what I can only describe as the loneliest eclipse so far. Only four of us made the trip, myself, John Bateson, Liam Staunton and Mary Rogers. We were on our own for the first week with no guides or translators to help us out but nevertheless we managed perfectly well and had a great time in the excessive heat. It was 32 degrees centigrade in the shade most days and everything we had heard before about Malagasy mossies proved true. They do bite through clothes and are vicious to boot.
As usual these days for our eclipse trips it was cloudy at sunset on Monday April 19th after two stunning cloud free green flash sunsets the previous two days. What is it about solar eclipses that they seem to generate cloud or is it just a coincidence. Every other sunset on our 3 week trip was cloud free bar that one really important day.

Anyway we pressed ahead with our preparations. We had two digital cameras and two standard 35mm SLR'S with 500mm lenses along and hoped to capture something on film. I decided to photograph this eclipse, the first time I have ever attempted to do so.
This proved a much more difficult task than I had anticipated. With the sun only partially eclipsed at sunset it was for all intents and purposes still shining at full strength. The digital cameras found it difficult to cope with the glare and out of my quick fire roll of 36 exposures through gaps in the cloud I only managed to capture the event properly in four shots.( On my old trusty Praktica would you believe). Ah well you live and you learn. Now I know why I do not bother to photograph total solar eclipses and prefer to to sit back and enjoy them with the naked eye.

Highlights of this trip.
1. The eclipse.
2. The family of Grey Mouse Lemurs who lived in the roof of our chalet at the Bamboo Club. Where else but Madagascar would you get such neighbours?
3. Comet 2001Q4 Neat. Not as bright as predicted but still nice and our constant companion every night of the trip.
4. Comet 2002T7 Linear. Equally unspectacular and difficult to view in the early morning sky. Still, viewing two new comets in the space of a week is not bad and probably will not be repeated by me again.
5. The riveting boat trip down the Tsiribihina river in the second week and the hospitality of the boat crew.
6. Kirindy Forest where the wildlife comes at you with such regularity that it was difficult to keep track of what we were seeing.
7. "George" the Fulvous Lemur in Morondava who really did not care for people at all. Just wandered around growling at anyone who bothered him. Good on you George!
8. The stunning flight from Morondava back to Antananarivo. Low and slow over the Tsiribihina river which we had traveled down the previous week. Bravo Air Madagascar! I am still smiling at the fact that when I presented my flight ticket at the airport I was presented at the check-in desk with a bottle of Coke and a fish roll for lunch on board the plane. It didn't matter to me if flights were canceled at the last minute and never left on time. Its all part of the experience!
9. The Lunar eclipse we watched from the wonderful nature reserve in the mountains at Anjozorobe.
10. Antananarivo itself. The city has undergone a dramatic change for the better in the few years since we were last there. Now its a vibrant capital city buzzing with productivity and resourcefulness. Well done Marc Ravalomanana and the Malagasy people.
11. Another flight from Antananarivo to Tulear via Tolagnaro. The "handbrake turn" over the sea in a Boeing 737 to make it onto the airfield at Tolagnaro was just astonishing. We actually saw the airfield out the right hand side window and commented "That cannot be our airfield because we have just passed it". Boy were we wrong. The pilot just dipped the right wing, did a stomach churning turn and dropped us down onto the runway in a perfect landing. Then we were all told we could go for a walk and stretch our legs before traveling onto Tulear. We needed the break in the fresh air to recover our composure!
12. Last but not least the irreplaceable Hoby, our faithful guide, and her transfer off the boat in the Tsiribihina. It involved a 20min. walk in the midday sun, a small boat trip across a flooded plain, then a transfer to a zebu cart to be brought through a rice paddy and then dropped off beside a modern Toyota Landcruiser. These Malagasy people are just a wonder to behold. They do not have the word "cannot" in their vocabulary. They always manage to get you from A to B safely. We will be back.

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A personal view by Brian Seales