MADVENTURE '09 - as at 3rd July

Hello Everyone, We are now in our last week in Madagascar, since our last email we have now travelled to Isle Saint Marie on our way we stopped for one night in the rainforest staying in a beautiful setting near it. We did a three hour hike in the morning seeing many types of lemur, geckos, chameleons and a very lazy snake. We were privileged to see the lemurs because they do not often come so low down the trees. Back at the bungalows there were many trees with aerial roots that the boys used to play Tarzan which often left them stuck in vegetation and dangling ten feet in the air. The bungalows that we stayed in were more like tree houses than anything else. That evening, we had a good meal which included amazing steak and some of the boys eating frog legs. It was an early and very cold start the next morning (6 C). We then travelled up the east coast to our last stop before Isle Saint Marie staying at a beach resort, it was our taste of white sand and warm sea. The bungalows were literally ten metres from the beach and we were the only people there. The next day we had another early start with a short drive to the port which included a 2km walk as the road had washed away and was impassable by the minibus. Luckily the landrover could get through so it could ferry the luggage to the port. We them had a bit of a wait whilst we registered with the police and port officials who had to check we weren't pirates or running away from the law. Thankfully we were allowed to go to the island. We had our first glimpse of whales on our boat trip to Isle Saint Marie and saw a flying fish as well. We eventually arrived two hours late as one of the engines was broken meaning a one hour journey took three hours. We then had lunch at the port and the got transferred to La Crique( the hotel we are staying at). The hotel is right by the beach and is a tropical paradise with fantastic sunsets and a coral reef just off the beach. Some of us spent the next day lazing on the beach whilst others took out some scooters and motorbikes to cruise the island. All came back in one piece. Today we took an excursion by boat to the south of the island, where we spent the day at a little island off Isle Saint Marie which was even more like paradise with its sandy white beaches and jade green sea. We went snorkelling in the morning and then had a lunch on the beach. Sadly we had to leave all too soon. We then made our way back to La Crique for the evening. We are here until Wednesday morning when we then travel back to Montasoa just for the night and then we travel back to Tana for the last two nights doing some souvenir shopping. We then fly back to the UK on Saturday and we arrive back into the UK early Sunday morning.     Pray for Martin as he has continued troubles with his chest. Pray for safe travel from the island back to Tana and home. Pray for the political situation in Madagascar. Pray for the general health of the team. Pray for the readjusting back to life in the UK whether it be finding jobs or a cultural change.