the shadow of a palm leaf on the sandy trail

the palm leaves stretched over 5’

hazy morning sunrise walk, watching fisherman on the estuary

lemur walking on a twisted branch at Palmarium Reserve

6AM on a Sunday morning, soccer matches on the beach

bamboo transportation on a lakana, with a clever sail on the Pangalanes Canal | Ektar 100

Sunday is a rest day for fisherman. The waves of the Indian Ocean roar wildly!

a curious lemur on a branch above

a lemur ready to jump to the next branch

fisherman pulling in the net as the sun rises behind a wall cloud in the distance

a mother cleaning pots and pans outside her home

after asking “Afaka maka sar?” (Can I take your photo?) this girl gave me a big smile and a thumbs up!

people working in the Canal with bamboo, a common building material

an interesting plant growth! I love the shape it creates, and the vibrant color green | Ektar 100

a double rainbow over Toamasina. Luckily for me, I had just loaded color film! | Ektar 100

if you look closely, you can see a chameleon on the tree branch

a pair of lemurs sitting in a whimsical formation in the tree. The one in the foreground has its legs propped up in front of it | Ektar 100

an interesting tree with uniform stripes | Ektar 100

another image of a shy lemur with a glassy eye

a coral and white spotted variety of an elephant ear plant | Ektar 100

many, many fishing traps on the Pangalanes Canal

an old, decommissioned lighthouse rises above shorter buildings in the foreground. a sunrise mission complete!

a man working on building a home in a village

Pousse-pousse lined up on the road, taken from our vehicle driving to Calypso Hotel from the ship

a lakana on the river, heading towards the Indian Ocean

a vessel transporting bamboo on the Pangalanes Canal

light leak above the water as the lakana travels down the Pangalanes Canal

being serenaded on a small stop along the Pangalanes Canal as we made our way 3 hours to Palmarium Reserve

women on the dock, watching us embark back to Toamasina on the Pangalanes Canal

small lemur at Palmarium Reserve | Ektar 100

kids laughing at me because I don’t speak French! they were asking me for a bon-bon

impromptu village soccer match, with a ball made of plastic bags and other found material

a cinnamon tree, recently cut to smell the fragrance of the bark

the main road that runs along Miami Beach. I walked along here most mornings, watching it get busier as the sun rose. I like the Malagasy writing on the fence in the background.

sunrise on the beach near the port, fisherman working in the foreground

I loved the bright colors of this village building. Vibrant red and cool green are consistently one of my favorite color pairings.

playful lemur!

Nepenthes, a carnivorous plant variety endemic to Madagascar | Ektar 100

Lakana excursion to nearby fishing villages on the Pangalanes Canal | Ektar 100

a small boat traveling down the Pangalanes Canal, taken from a hill in a village nearby. Mountains rise in the distance.

a person travels quietly through the vegetation as we study a cinnamon tree near the edge of the trail

a piece of notebook paper covered in Malagasy writing, in the sand near the beach

the Indri Indri (or Babakoto in Malagasy), the largest lemur species in the world. It naturally has a nub tail. | Ektar 100

at the port of the Pangalanes Canal, a man props up bamboo on a Lakana | Ektar 100

if you look closely, you can see a man sitting on a tree branch on the other bank of the Canal

the sun sparked on the shallow clear waters near the dock at Palmarium Reserve, accented by a palm in the foreground

self-portrait with a small butterfly

a young person smiling as we visited her village

an interesting lizard with a spiky tail at Palmarium Reserve | Ektar 100

a lemur from below, with palms above it

the haunting Indri Indri in the distance | Ektar 100

passing time playing Tonk with Tim, Braiden, Jacy, and Rickie on the 3 hour Palmarium excursion

can’t get enough of the estuary location at sunrise, it was mesmerizing to me!

fishing nets on the Pangalanes Canal

sunrise above the Indian Ocean, with a barge and a small lakana on the water

the first lemur spotted moments after stepping foot onto Palmarium Reserve

a man on a small boat on the Pangalanes Canal

self-portrait in the reflection of my hotel room balcony door, with Toamasina in the background | Ektar 100

the last lemur I photographed had an interesting glassy eye

lakanas standing by on Miami Beach in Toamasina. this hazy morning gives a painterly effect to the landscape | Ektar 100

A fisherman enveloped in the reflection of the sunrise in the estuary | Ektar 100

tiny lemur | Ektar 100

a hand outstretched, showing the features of the triangle palm tree

the Sacred Tree of the village. red ribbons wrap around its trunk, signifying wishes granted by the ancestors

lakanas and the wild Indian Ocean

“pisu” is the Malagasy word for “cat”! after calling “mee-mee”, it finally blessed my lens with its gaze

another image of the lemur with the glassy eye

blue hour before the sunrise | Ektar 100

a bent tree near the ocean, illustrating the effects of the cyclone that hit Toamasina area in February 2026

A closer look at an open Nepenthes pitcher | Ektar 100

I loved the design and color palette of this home | Ektar 100

Malagasy writing on a village sign | Ektar 100

Titus, our friend and tour guide, showing us various ways you can use the leaves of the Traveler’s Palm as a spoon, a wrap, or a plate

interesting plant life at Palmarium Reserve

a howling Indri Indri | Ektar 100

Braiden playing the harmonica on our boat journey to Palmarium Reserve

two people on a lakana on the Pangalanes Canal, likely checking fishing traps along the shoreline

a small lemur, licking banana off of a tree | Ektar 100

Titus on the boat ride home from Palmarium Reserve

the guide showing us the Nepenthes plant | Ektar 100

walking along in the water, gaining the courage to be baptized by the rough and tumbling waves of the Indian Ocean

light leak of some trees along the Pangalanes Canal

Braiden and Jacy taking a nap at the front of the lakana on the Pangalanes Canal lemur excursion

Pangalanes Canal