Phaeton Rising

January 28, 2009

When a whole trimester of The Crucible got too much even for me to bear, I suggested to my friend that we go on an outing to the Iles de la Madeleine. These little islands are within full view of downtown Dakar and the lighthouse at Mamelles; they are a mere 20 minutes away by pirogue. After a labyrinthine walk to procure a ticket (down several winding staircases next to the extremely unattractive amusement park called Magicland), we came upon several men dressed in army fatigues who were drinking tea and playing checkers. They looked almost taken aback to see us, but were good about getting us tickets and into a pirogue with our guide, nicknamed Doudou (yes, unfortunately it is pronounced just the way you suspect it is, but as many Muslim names happen to end in

‘-dou,’ from Mohamodou to Amadou, it cannot be helped).

For a misanthrope like me, this park has EVERYTHING to recommend it: there is literally nothing (and no one!) there. No peddlers of fruit or wares, not a store, not a restaurant, hardly even any human beings, as the island is entirely uninhabited (some locals say this is due to evil spirits) by anything taller than a cormorant. What IS there is hard to describe; there are gorgeous volcanic rock formations that you can clamber around on, complete with breathtaking views of waves crashing against the rocks. There are pink barnacles and a magnificent baobab tree in which we shared our picnic with Doudou– the tree’s bark was smoother than you’d expect, but the branches were strong and sturdy and wide as a park bench (good thing too, given all the French fries I have been eating of late, http://www.traveling-stories-magazine.com/anchors-away/ ). For dessert, he showed us how to choose a ripe piece of ‘monkeybread’ (a literal translation from the French, as the fruit of the tree is known as ‘pain de singe’). The hard shell must be cracked open and the pieces of the fruit separated from seeds and fibers; it is addictively delicious and also used to make a popular local juice known as bouye. There are many different variations on the theme; one recipe calls for mixing it with pineapple juice, vanilla sugar, and banana nectar – at any rate, I have yet to try any version that was not simply delicious. We sat companionably in the tree, sharing the fruit; if I am not mistaken, I recognized even at the time that this was a Kodak moment…

Like Goree Island http://www.traveling-stories-magazine.com/index.php?s=thirty+goree , this tiny group of islands is a UNESCO world heritage site and has the distinction of forming the smallest national park in the world. What makes it particularly special is that Sarpan, the largest of the islands, is home to a rare marine bird known as the Phaeton that breeds only there. The bird, mainly a fluffy white, has extremely long tailfeathers and a red bill. Interestingly, these birds, also known as Tropicbirds, have no close relatives and according to Wikipedia, ‘their relationship to other living birds is unclear.’

Tropicbirds are of the hover and plunge-dive persuasion when it comes to the search for sustenance, generally venturing only into the surface layer of the waters. Both the male and female help to incubate during the 40-46 day waiting period before the lone egg hatches (needless to say, I am strongly in favor of such a progressive division of labor). Once it hatches, both parents will fly off in search of food, feeding the chick two times every three days for about 12-13 weeks. Only after this period will the chick have learned to fly, which is why it makes good sense to have the nest on the ground, usually in difficult-to-access crevices between rocks or holes in the bare ground, as you can see from the accompanying photo.

All nests on the island have been carefully marked by ornithologists, as the birds are loyal to their nests, which is why on a very ordinary Sunday, we were fortunate enough to be able to see this rare Phaeton hopeful and expectant, awaiting the miracle of life.

 About the Author : Tamara-Diana Braunstein brings us her stories from Senegal every week. She was born in Brooklyn, New York. She is a restless wanderer who earned an MA from the University of Freiburg and has worked in a youth hostel in the French Alps, a law firm in Montreal, the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as in university press publishing. At the moment her home base is Dakar, Senegal, where she is supposed to be teaching but is doing far more learning, as you will see by reading her blog at www.senegalschoolmarm.blogspot.com