Leapin Lemurs

Well I just washed off the last of the smashed bananas and rain forest smells off of me. I just had an experience of a lifetime!!! I am in the rain forest in Madagascar right now. As I am writing this I can hear numerous birds and insects that are a far cry from the crickets of Alabama. After we arrived this afternoon, Stephen and I went to go see lemurs. They are only found here in Madagascar. The place where we are staying has four species that they keep on separate islands as some species will fight each other if they are together. I did not have high hopes of seeing more than one maybe far off on a tree limb, but I was definitely wrong! As we walked up there was a black and white lemur just hanging out. Lemurs are very friendly especially when they know you have fruit. Stephen interacted with that lemur and soon there were about five or six small brown ones jumping back and forth around us. As we kept walking it was almost overwhelming to see and keep track of so many of them. It was hard to even pass the camera back and forth between us because they kept jumping on both of us. Our tour guide was able to take a couple of pictures of us where we each had a lemur on our heads! SO neat!!! You don’t want to close your eyes for fear of missing the beauty of the moment yet I found myself clinching as I wasn’t so sure wildlife should be this close. I did my classic “cheerleader clap” in most of my pictures. This always comes from being nervous haha! From there Stephen had information from a friend that if you ask, there is another island that they can take you too in order to see the ring-tailed lemurs. These are the kind that you’d find on Madagascar the movie (“I like to move it move it!”) ;-) You are welcome or as they say in Swahilli, “Karibu”! I know that song will now be stuck in your head as it was in mine. The canoe ride to the other island was like something out of a movie. Stephen and I couldn’t believe where we were and I almost had to pinch myself. Yes Bailey, you are in Madagascar and you are pulling up to see lemurs!! The tour guide warned us not to “touch” this species of lemur and that they had to be kept on a separate island because they’ll fight the other ones. With that in mind, try to imagine our faces as 7 lemurs start leaping towards our canoe!! We nearly froze because we didn’t thing that they would come close and we were unsure if they were safe or not. They were so incredible to watch and the next five minutes flew by! They wasted no time investigating our smashed bananas that we were brought to them and they were soon all over Stephen and I in the canoe. They were so curious and I was just sure that they knew more than they let on. Their paws were so soft and looked almost like certain frogs with little circle ends on them. Yes I know that was an incredibly scientific explanation! I couldn’t help but hear King Julian’s voice (movie reference) in my head as these funny guys were climbing all over me. Much like the conversation I imagined having with the elephant and lioness while on safari, I believe I know what these guys would say if they could talk to me. Getting to see lemurs in the rain forest of Madagascar was pretty neat and I loved that Stephen and I got to do that together. After the lemurs, we went to “ Parc Crocodile”. Yes, a crocodile park. As we drove up, I began trying to convince Stephen with my best foreign accent speaking English that it was safe. “Oh yes yes! You are very very safe here! Crocodile stay very far away behind fence”. He laughed and said that his friend mentioned that they tell you that you are safe, but to make sure that you stayed back. Thanks Renier! So we went on a tour through the reptile park following our shoeless guide. In Madagascar it is common to see people walking without shoes. A missionary here said that not very long ago about 80% of Malagasy people did not wear shoes. We saw crocodiles laying out on the edge of the water and they looked like someone who is absolutely in a deep sleep with their face all smashed onto a pillow. I thought, “Hmmm…harmless!” Thankfully I had Stephen…I mean the crocodile hunter with me ;-) Later as we walked, our tour guide took a large stick and poked at the crocodile. I being the good tourist that I am took my camera out and SNAP the croc bit off the end of the stick and I screamed!!! Now clearly we were behind the ever so sturdy wooden fence, but wow! The sound of it was incredible. I have video of it so I’ll post it later. We saw a fosa which like lemurs is only found in Madagascar. Stephen and I determined it looked like a dog, monkey, cat and rat combination. Then I valiantly followed my barefoot guide and croc hunter to see the boa constrictor. Of course! Why wouldn’t there be a boa constrictor at such a park?! Very, very safe! SO safe that you put around neck and take picture…yes? Um…no! I did hold it (hears gasps from audience) BUT only after Stephen and only enough to take an awkward picture with my nervous smile and quick eye contact. After the boa wrapped himself around my wrist next to my watch, I was definitely alright with passing him back to the guide. Stephen stepped in and took him from me before the guide had an opportunity to place it around my neck. Thanks babe! Fact: there are no poisonous snakes in Madagascar. Crazy right? Even so, I do not want to take any chances. It was a neat time, but by the end I was completely fine with getting out of the rainforest and putting some proper distance between the wildlife and myself. It is so fascinating to have seen safari animals in Kenya and now lemurs and other wildlife. I’m thankful for such an incredible trip with such beauty!