Pic St. Louis

View from about a fifth of the way up on the ascent

 
Well I encountered my first Malagasy "malady", and it suffices to say it was not one I expected. But more of that later.

Last weekend we went on a beautiful hike, just outside of Fort Dauphin to the top of Pic St. Louis, from which there was a gorgeous view of Fort Dauphin, and beyond. It felt as though we could see all of the south coast of Madagascar, although I'm sure that's far from the case. The hike was pretty difficult, and fairly rough. A lot of it was straight up ascent for long stretches. Both students and members of their homestay families were allowed to go, my homestay dad came along. Most inspiring were one student's grandmother who made the ascent, and one family who brought and carried their (~ )6 month year old  baby the whole way.

Brush fire

The views were simultaneously spectacular and saddening, as much of the openings for views were due to the fact that much of the area has been deforested or burned and in more than one area there was fresh evidence of it.

Recently cleared

 At the very top there was a rock which we could climb up on- it was like being on top of the world. Apparently it's tradition to write your name on that rock, so I did, although chances are it will have washed off now with the rains we've been having this last week.

I wrote my name on the rock

View from the top

Then on the way down, we went down the opposite side of the mountain, which was a lot faster and much steeper as well. There were lots of places with loose rocks, or steep enough step downs between large rocks that we'd need to sit down to go between them. Not very long after starting the descent I slipped and fell down. I'm pretty sure I managed to (lightly) sprain my ankle. It wasn't terrible and I was still able to hike down the rest of the way, but definitely managed to cause some concern with my homestay family- who on returning home, insisted that I soak my ankle in hot water and put on a some sort of pomade.

I didn't really know what to say, except that I didn't need a doctor as there didn't seem to be a way to tactfully say that from what I've always been taught you're actually supposed to ice an injury, not to mention I don't know if ice is really all that readily available. But now a week later, it's mostly better- I've still been able to get around, walk to school etc., so I think there's no harm done. It's definitely interesting though, the cultural difference in things we think of as "common knowledge". The Madagascar "common knowledge" is practically contrary to our own in the respect of what you apply to an injury. It also makes me reflect on how much trust we put into what we're taught, that our science and values are the right ones. Ice might have been what was best in that case, but you never know, do you?

But so there's my first Malagasy malady. It's definitely not the first one you think about, when barraged with warnings about Malaria, dysentery, other food-borne bacteria, poor water, etc. all of those warnings for "3rd world" tropical countries. Go figure that the first time I sprain something in a non-horse related incident is within 2 weeks of leaving the country. And now I leave you with some more pictures from Pic St. Louis. Until next time!

View of the local airport runway