Alive and Well in Madagascar!

Sorry for the spelling here... this is a very non-qwerty keyboard Im typing on...

So, things are going pretty well here in Madagascar, and already this trip has been very much unlike any Ive been on before. It has thus far been a trip of extremes to say the least. We arrived just in time for one of the biggest ass-kickings this island has received from a cyclone in about 14 years - perfect! The rains were absolutely torrential, and incredibly high winds too. We weathered the cyclone quite well in a little thatched hut on high ground at a semi-lodge type place along a river in lemur-country. The cyclone flooded the roads about 10 feet deep surrounding us for 3 days or so in which we were stuck. In addition to that there were massive mudslides/landslides all over which made things more interesting. In the presence of all the carnage we still managed to get some incredible sightings of the largest lemurs on the island -- the "Indris" -- as well as chameleons, boas, geckos, and other interesting creatures.

After things had settled down following the cyclone we headed for the coast skirting endless landslides and flipped semis on the ravaged roads. It took us about 6 hours by "taxi brouse" (bush-taxis -- as good as they sound) to get to where we are now. The weather has improved greately in the wake of the massive storm, and we now find ourselves in insanely hot weather with loads of sunshine. The humidity and temperature here feel a bit like if you were in a pressure cooker steaming at an even 40 degrees C. Its the hottest weather Ive ever experienced so far (worse than Peninsular Malaysia or Borneo, even the bottom of the rift valley right on the equator in the summer time feels like a winters day comparatively) and you basically sweat what feels like youre entire body weight each and every day.

Other than the weather things here are absolutely beautiful however, and the people and sights are incredible. Tomorrow were off to boat down a canal on the east coast here, and then were off to a tropical island on Friday.