madagascar dreaming

Snuggled up under the duvet on a dark December morning, I'm dreaming of a white sandy beach, basking in tropical sunshine and lapped by the warm Indian Ocean.

beach lemurs?

Lemurs dance across the sand where the forest fringes the beach, sometimes pausing for a moment to cast a glance at the strange hairless creatures lying in the sun. They huddle together for safety, then spring back into the trees and disappear into the dappled foliage.




I wander down to the water's edge and wade out through the surf, jumping through the waves. As I swim across the bay, giants appear on the horizon, hurling themselves out of the brine to crash back down in spectacular back flops, sending clouds of spray into the air.
As twilight falls, I walk up the beach towards the path. A pair of saucer-like eyes shine at me from a low hanging branch. The tiniest of primates, a mouse lemur, has come to peer at me with intense curiosity.

Madagascar may be six thousand miles away but it's never far away in my dreams...

It's all the more vivid for having lived it (well, make allowances for a little poetic licence) with the UK/Madagascar ngo, Azafady. You can go too and volunteer your help with conservation or human development. Have a look at azafady.org!