Or: The Simple Things
We have no electricity.
This also means we have no running water as it comes to our huts through a pump. The pump is electric.
The whole village hasn’t had electricity since Thursday. They have had access to it for three years and the take-up rate has been relatively low to date. The impact on most of the locals is relatively minor though I suspect they may be a bit disappointed with warm beer.
The hospital is a big user and has a back-up generator.
This hotel is also a big user and has a back-up generator. It’s missing a part at the moment… Duct tape is not going to fix this one.
it’s given us another opportunity to test our resourcefulness. We now collect water from the ocean to fill the cisterns of our toilets so we can have them flush. We eat our meals by torches that we hang from the ceiling, being careful that we rotate which torches are used so that everyone still has light when they return to their huts. Our showers are now in the ocean using biodegradable soaps and shampoos. It’s not much of a change from what we were doing anyway since our showers here are all salt water and are cold.
The ocean has also served as a toilet for quite some time now too. It’s a great way to keep warm in a wetsuit. They say “only a surfer knows the feeling” and I’m sure many think they are referring to being on a wave, in a barrel and spat out before it closes out. It’s not true. This expression is referring to peeing in wetsuits. It extends to anyone that wears a wetsuit and those that tell you they have never peed in theirs are not to be trusted…
But I digress.
So, what do we have here that has kept us all quite content and not complaining about our current state of affairs? A lot of things that don’t involve electricity:
- fantastic diving
- an opportunity to contribute to environmental research which is being used both by the local community, Madagascar itself and globally
- eco-huts complete with geckos to help keep the insects at bay
- hammocks – one of the best inventions in the history of the world
- all the fish, rice, beans and zebu we could possibly eat plus the occasional duck, chicken and goat
- bengi parties
- a chance to experiment with our resourcefulness in countless ways, not just in designing costumes
- time to unplug, think and reflect on what’s important. Also time for creative pursuits such as song writing (we have a few singer / songwriters in the group – two songs written already), crossword and sudoku puzzles and story telling.
- recalibration of our circadian rhythm to reflect how it would have been during the industrial revolution with the added benefit that none of us are working underground in unsafe conditions digging up coal or needing to steal bread to feed our families
- some of the best sunsets and starry nights we’ve been fortunate enough to see. Many afternoons have been spent on our porches with our solo beer of the day (only one beer is allowed if a diving day follows) chatting and watching the sun dip below the horizon, throwing it’s pinks, yellows and oranges across the sky and ocean before dark blue, then black overcomes it all to then reveal the jewels of the sky, a multitude of diamonds sparkling from light years away. The Milky Way has never been so milky.
- conversations – in the absence of other outside entertainment, we’ve discussed everything from the state of the world through to books, music and movies as well as what we’d put as Christmas Cracker jokes. Not topic too small or too big. All done without the aid of red wine and cheese and always with good humour and some silliness thrown in
- inspiring people leading our expedition – they come from a variety of scientific backgrounds and their commitment to research and the environment is great to see. They are contributing on a far bigger scale than I could hope to and continue to do so in spite of funding cuts for scientific research around the world. While they always put our safety first, having a good time seems like a close second as long as the community benefits and we complete our various surveys
- staff of the expedition organisation – this group of people captain our boats, fill our tanks so we can dive, train us, check the weather conditions for diving, help us learn Malagasy and the local customs, as well as organise various recreational activities for us from learning how to make samosas and boku-boku through to zebu cart rides to baobab forests. They eat with us, some dive with us and they all laugh with us. They seem to always have big smiles at the ready and a couple have infectious laughs that even though we may not know why they are laughing, we are sucked into joining. Sometimes we can work it out through the international language of charades. Such a good language.
- an amazing group of volunteers – we are a group ranging from 18 to 44 years old and bring various experiences and perspectives from our lives led across the globe. We have all been drawn to Madagascar for various reasons (David Attenborough is mentioned) and we all get along surprisingly well. Each person brings something unique to the team and without a single one of them, this would be an entirely different experience and not for the better
- gratitude – every day we are all thankful of the circumstances and timing that brought us all here at this particular moment. We wouldn’t change a thing.
Except perhaps for the electricity…
* Thanks to Something for Kate for the title to this post