Undiscovered Destinations Traveller Reviews

Ghana, Togo and Benin - Ouidah Voodoo Festival January 6 to 19, 2019 Arrived in Accra, capital of Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast), met our guide Amedee and transferred to the Accra City Hotel. We toured Accra the next day stopping at an outdoor muffin oven, in the old quarter of Jamestown, a fishing village, Fort James, built by the British as a trading post in 1673, and operated as a prison until 2008. Built to hold 50 it held as many 1000 slaves and other prisoners. It is now used for school rooms, etc. We saw a former Royal Palace, the Independence Arch or Black Star Gate, before visiting the Kwami Nkrumah Mausoleum and Museum which houses the body of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah the 1st Prime Minister and President of Ghana and his wife Fathia Nkrumah. Unique to Ghana are the coffin makers. These craftsmen build elaborate coffins in unusual shapes such as fish, cars, animals and airplanes. Here are also saw a woman making and packing a type of corn pone called Banku to sell. We crossed into Togo to its capital, Lome. Our 3rd day started at a rusty pier built by the French, the beautiful monument to Togo’s independence from France on April 27, 1960, a human silhouette is carved within it. We walked in the bustling Grand Market near Lomé Cathedral, and then to the Akodessawa Fetish Market, the world's largest. An African fetish is a juju, charm or amulet believed to have magical powers; or a human-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is attributing inherent powers to an object. We found all sorts of animal parts, each believed to cure a woe, including monkey and dog heads, skulls, dead birds, crocodiles, and other products of dead animals on sale for spells and potions – a truly West African sight! It is not related to Voodoo. A fetish priest gave us safe travel protection and showed us amulets for various needs and wants. Miloudi stood with the God of Iron, a tangle of twisted metal. We stopped at Gaigocondji a village where we saw tiny goats, village deities, friendly people, and were welcomed by Yaovi, a priest who did a ceremony to welcome us before taking us into 2 shrines, 1 with an altar and 1 with a preserved crocodile for protection. As yesterday, day 3, was Elvis’ birthday I had worn a T-shirt with his face, and as we wear shirts to give to the locals I gave Elvis to the matriarch of the village. Later we crossed into Benin and headed to Ouidah. Our 4th day, Jan 10th, was National Voodoo Day. We explored the mysteries of voodoo at Ouidah’s annual, and Benin’s largest, festival. Benin is the birthplace of Vodoun (Voodoo) and all that goes with it. Vodoun is the world's most secretive and misunderstood religion veiled in mystery. Predating many religions by 10s of 1000’s of yrs Voodoo is the official religion and a way of life in its country of origin, Benin. Much of the population practices voodoo officially, and unofficially. Voodoo is a deeply-rooted ancient, yet severely misunderstood, monotheistic religion with a major image problem in a deadly conflict of good vs evil - Voodoo vs Witchcraft, which puts it at risk in its birthplace. Early European invaders implanted this global stereotype forcing Christianity, and demonizing Voodoo by spreading tales of black magic and sorcery. They conjured up images of scrawny witches casting evil spells, pins-in-dolls, and steaming cauldrons. But that's not true Voodoo the peaceful spirit religion that heals and helps. Based on divine elements of nature, philosophy, spirituality, and tolerance of all faiths Voodoo is founded on pleasing the spirits of passed ancestors, to bless the living, merging the themes of life and afterlife. The people show us their ancient spirit religion for us to understand it and to shatter false stigmas. Mutilated dolls and hexes are just a few misconceptions about Voodoo. It is not an evil practice. It is a spiritual system of beliefs rooted in healing and caring for others that includes a single, supreme godhead equated with the Catholic God, laws the same as those in the Bible, and spirits that are more involved in daily life than God who is a remote figure. Believers provide sacrifices of food (which is later cooked and eaten) and other items to the spirits for their assistance. Voodoo dolls are not a part of tradition. It combines Roman Catholicism and native African religion. Communication is through prayer and animal sacrifice, and drum and dance ceremonies where spirits may be invited to possess a believer during rituals so that others can interact with them.  Most of those who practice Voodoo consider themselves Catholic, and often the saints and spirits become one. Our guide told us he had one foot in Catholicism and on foot in Voodoo. Ouidah is the Voodoo capital and center of a centuries-endured slave trade, with a chilling history that was so horrific that you do not want to know the details we learned on our journey along the Slave Road. Slaves were kept in unspeakable conditions for months awaiting shipment. Voodoo was a source of strength for African slaves who endured fierce conditions when they found themselves uprooted and moved around the world as chattel. These West African shores were the final footsteps of 100s of millions of shackled slaves forced to depart their homeland forever boarding gigantic slave ships. They were exported to the New World from the 16th to the 19th C. where the Portuguese, British, French, Spanish and Dutch Empires depended on their slave labor to produce food and goods to sell in Europe. Estimates of 12 million were considerably higher, when their death rate is included. In the early 21st C, several governments issued apologies for the transatlantic slave trade, but no words can ever make up for monstrous atrocities those humans endured. Our awesome, colorful, music-filled day on the streets of town consisted of dancing, singing, many people in various types of native dress, and a procession in which a High Priest was carried in a paliquin through town. Pythons are sacred in Benin, and welcomed into local living rooms as honored guests. At the Python Temple Miloudi and I welcomed a cute one around our neck. Next we went to the Festival venue on the beach where we enjoyed more music and saw many more colorfully dressed people, although white is the color of the day. There are many sects of Voodoo each family of spirits having its own female priesthood, often hereditary if from mother to blood daughter. Patterns of worship follow various dialects, spirits, practices, songs, and rituals. As we left the beach I saw 2 Zangbeto, my favorite the one I wanted to see, on top of a van. Zangbeto were the traditional voodoo guardians of the law before official law was established and known as the "Nightwatchmen". To my delight we saw the Zangbeto in action back in town. Originally created to scare enemies, they wandered the streets to find thieves and witches, and can fall into a trance which by tradition lets their bodies be inhabited by spirits who possess knowledge of people’s actions. They look like haystacks, 6 ft. moving mounds of rafia twirling incessantly to hypnotic drum beats. After another procession with a priest under a large umbrella being twirled by one of his entourage and Miloudi showing some boys his video of them, we drove to an old Portuguese Fort to visit the Historic Museum of Abomey in the Kingdom of Dahomey where slaves were held before being moved on. Next was the village of Agondji celebrating the festival by sacrificing a kid, NO not a child, a small goat. There was more music and dancing, when guess who showed up? The Zangbeto! I was happy to see them again. Legend says there are no humans under the costume, only spirits of the night. When the blue, red and yellow one stopped, they opened it. There was nothing in it, but a red cloth covered calabash filled with candy for the children. Then the hot pink and yellow one stopped and was opened to reveal, that there was again no one inside. On the 5th day we started at the Door of No Return Monument the point of departure for slaves bound for Brazil and the West Indies from Benin. This is also the place where the Festival was held yesterday. Designed like a gate it was the last place slaves walked through before their slave ship; they knew at that point that they would never see their loved ones or homeland again and we also saw the Spirit of the Dead Memorial to insure that their spirits would return someday. After the Slave Auction and branding 100s of 1000s of slaves walked the 2 ½ mi. slave road to board the slave ship for resale. Along the road were large painted concrete statues including Segbo Lissa the chameleon god of nature; a Mamiwata Statue standing for the Tree of Forgetting, where men slaves were turned around the tree 9X and women 7X to reinforce forgetfulness of their homes, now a Memorial to call Africans back; and a Mino, meaning our mothers, who were Dahomey Amazons, an all-female regiment of fierce warriors. Next we drove to Lake Nokoue to take a boat to the village of Ganvie built on stilts in the middle of the lake in the 16th or 17th C. by people running from slavers. Ganvie means “we are safe.” The village of over 20,000, several miles from the nearest shoreline, is Africa’s largest lake village. The villagers use pirogues (canoes) to get around. A school is the only one of 3,000 buildings that exists on land, although a cemetery mound is under construction. The few land animals they keep live on plots of grass that spring up from the water. We continued to Abomey, formerly the centre of the notorious Kingdom of Dahomey, a fierce people who struck terror into the hearts of the surrounding tribes. The kingdom had a large army, including the aforementioned regiments of female “Amazons.” It existed from about 1600 until 1894, when the last king was defeated by the French, and gained full independence in 1960. In 1991 it became the Republic of Benin. The Dahomey kingship exists as a ceremonial role today. We visited the Historic Museum of Abomey, a reminder of the vanished kingdom that was once a great African power. We left the coastal belt of Benin on the 6th day, heading north into a different landscape, here Islam replaces Voodoo as the dominant religion. Yet at the Dancoli fetish shrine, the most powerful in Benin, sacrifices were being performed and palm oil poured over this revered pile of blood, guts, and feathers. On the road we stopped to buy old gin bottles filled with delicious peanuts. In the Atakora Mts. the Taneka people of many ethnic minorities, live in small remote villages where they fled from the slavers centuries ago. Round houses made of earth called “tatas” have a conical roof protected at the top by a terra cotta pot. We saw a baobab tree entwined with a ficus tree, a memorial for a priest, the fruit on a cashew tree, a mango tree, an elder sitting under a tree, and their outdoor kitchens. The upper part of the village is inhabited by spiritual dignitaries. Dressed only in a small piece of goat skin and a hat they deprive themselves of everything, except for a long pipe, through which they find inspiration and communicate with the spirits. Finally we sat with the king or sawa, the political leader, as he welcomed us to the village. On the 7th day we met 6 Fulani children on the road. They are a nomadic Islamic people widely dispersed across West Africa. We visited the Tamberma people who live in round huts that look like mini fortresses with only one point of access helping them to defend against slaving raids of old. The smaller conical buildings are granaries with removal tops. Daily breakfasts and dinners were at our hotels, but lunch presented a problem. There are places to stop and get drinks, but not food. Thus we took our own cook, Mensah, with us to make our daily lunch buffets. We drove back to Togo to Sokode the 2nd largest city that has the highest proportion of Muslims in the country. Tonight we watched a traditional sacred fire dance done by Tem people. Dancing to the hypnotic beat of drums, glowing embers are rubbed on their arms, legs and chests or eaten with no sign of injury nor pain. Heading south on the 8th day we stopped at a school. We always take school supplies with us to give to the children. The principal was very thankful. We saw a house being built near the Garongee village. Rats were grilling on the fire, men were gutting a pig to cook and sell, a tree yielded loofahs that the women soak in water and use for their monthly purposes (yes, loofah Kotex), and calabashes grew on trees. On to Atakpame, a typical African town, where we saw blacksmiths, weavers, a woman carrying a large piece of luggage on her head, and many interesting items in the market. We continued to the tropical forests surrounding Kpalime, a town with a rich colonial past that is now an important trading center surrounded by coffee and cocoa plantations. Before a forest walk (up hill) our local guides played drums for us and showed us a pair of Walking Sticks (insects, not canes). The female was 12” long with wings and the male 8” no wings. We met an artist who uses natural colors from plants, including cola nuts for his paintings. We then climbed the hill to the Chateau Vial built by the French in 1940. Our guide placed a fern leaf on his arm, smacked it, and it left a powdery white temporary “tattoo.” We crossed back into Ghana on the 9th day and drove to Krubo to visit Cedi Bead Factory producing beads made from recycled glass. There are 3 main types: Translucent, Powder Glass and Painted Glass beads. We learned about the molds, the firing, and the polishing of the beads. Drove to Kumasi to the Akwaaba Royal Palace Museum of Ashanti History. Today the Ashanti Kingdom survives as a constitutionally protected, sub-national in union with the Republic of Ghana. On day 10 we traveled to the centre of the Ashanti kingdom, a city of nearly 1 million. We visited the Ghana National (Ashanti) Cultural Centre with its collection of Ashanti artifacts. We started day 11 in Kumasi at the huge, open-air Kejetia Market, selling all kinds of goods from all over Africa. We witnessed the Ashanti funeral of Mrs. Elizabeth Osei Taylor AKA Auntie Ataa (92) who worked with the Queen Mother and died in 2018 – a colorful and exuberant affair giving insight into the complex culture of this once powerful kingdom. We then headed back to the coast to the town of Elmina stopping on the way at a cacao plantation. On our 12th day we saw the old quarter of Elmina with its colorful wooden fishing canoes and fish market. At the Castle of St George, the oldest European constructed building in Africa erected by the Portuguese in 1482, was used to hold slaves (600 men/400 women) for months before shipment. We learned more of the worst, most appalling, gruesome details of what those people suffered. Returning to Accra we had use of a dayroom until 6PM and our flight home at 11PM. This was a journey to the spiritual heart of West Africa, where myth, religion and reality intertwine. This realm of ancient rituals, trances and fetishes gave us a fascinating insight into a much maligned religion that was unlike anything we have ever seen before. As our guide, Amedee, said each evening at our briefing, “Tomorrow’s another day.”

Undiscovered Destinations is wonderful. This was our third trip with them, and they are an excellent tour company. We plan to travel with them again soon. Thank you. Nancy Becher and Miloudi Elafess

Fascinating trip through Ghana, Togo and Benin. Main focus was voodoo ceremonies and our guide was both knowledgeable and very well contacted. Nothing like the popular view. A thorough tour and lots of interesting sights. Quite a lot of driving and all stays one night which is tough.

Excellent customer care and good helpful preliminary information.

Based around a 13 day tour of Bhutan we also spent 2 nights in Kathmandu at the beginning and added a 7 day tour of Northern India at the end. The whole itinerary was well planned and gave us a chance to experience the nature of the countries we visited. Bhutan is a wonderful country and visiting it is an experience that I will always remember.

Undiscovered destinations provided us with outstanding personalised service. Everything had been thoroughly checked out and immediate action was taken with any issues we raised.

We did a tour of Katmandhu, Bhutan and India and saw amazing sights such as the Tigers Nest Monastery, Black Neck Cranes Festival and Dzongs of Bhutan plus river rafting in Punakha. The Taj Mahal, an amazing step well in Abineri and lots of World Heritage sites in India

Undiscovered Destinations included many hidden gems in their itinerary. The staff are very knowledgeable and extremely helpful and dealt with an accommodation problem so fast and efficiently I was amazed

Wonderful wildlife viewing in Zambia, fascinating culture in Malawi.

Very efficient, prompt replies. Local operator, Land and Lake safaris also excellent.

What an amazing two (2) adventures ~ Romania (small group) & Poland (solo). Beautifully planned & executed by ALL!

There were MANY people involved from Britain to Romania to Poland & they worked together like a well oiled machine ~ FABULOUS!

What a great travel destination - the Silk Road! In 15 days we visited beautiful Uzbekistan, exotic Tajikistan, and slightly weird Turkmenistan. All were beautiful and fascinating and the people everywhere were friendly. We crossed deserts and mountains, both beautiful in their own way. It was thrilling to explore many "lost cities", some in their pristine though weathered condition and others beautifully restored. We ate lots of great food and I even thought about ordering some fermented camel's milk that I saw posted on a menu. Now is the time to visit this exotic destination! Everything that you need to have a great trip is available and at a very reasonable price. But I'm guessing that the Silk Road as a travel destination will soon be "discovered"! Go there now!

Everything was done very professionally. All of our guides were very knowledgeable about the sites we were visiting. And all of them went out of their ways to ensure that we were always comfortable, secure and happy. The accommodations were better than I had expected although of course some were not quite up to Western standards. The office communicated effectively with me before the trip about travel details etc. All in all a great trip and I am planning to travel with them in the future.

A full on tour to Central asia

Undiscovered destinations

The pamir Highway, it was stunning!

Very well organised without being babysat

Madagascar June 20 - July 8, 2018 Madagascar originated as part of the Gondwana supercontinent. Its west coast formed when Africa broke off from Gondwana 165 million yr. ago, and finally broke off from India about 88 million yrs. ago. South of the equator and part of the African continent, it drifted from mainland Africa long before any big cats, elephants or apes evolved making it one of the most diverse wildlife spots in the world. The world's 4th largest island, twice the size of Arizona, is 260 mi. off of the southeast coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean with 22 million people. Madagascar was first reached by sea-faring people of southeast Asian (Indonesian) descent from 200 BC to 500 AD. The first European on Madagascar was Portuguese sea captain Diogo Dias on August 10, 1500 after he was blown off course on the way to India. The French invaded in Dec. 1894. In 1896 France annexed Madagascar as a colony and unified the country. In 1958, the Malagasy Republic became an autonomous state within the French Community, and on June 26, 1960 Madagascar gained independence. The island consists of rainforests, palm and forest-lined beaches, semi-arid deserts, limestone peaks, mountains, grassy plateaus, cities and villages filled with very hospitable, welcoming people. The climate is subtropical with temperatures depending on altitude and geographic position. In Antsirabe nights can go below 41°F. Antananarivo has a temperate climate. Coastal temperatures are higher about 70°F in the dry season. After more than a day on a bus, airplanes, in airports, and getting visas in the airport at 11PM…we arrived in Antananarivo, Tana for short, the capital and largest city in Madagascar. We were met by our Tour Manager, Danhy on Day 1. Its name means “the city of the thousands”, from the 1000 warriors of King Andrianjaka, who established Tana as the capital of the Merina tribe. Tana has French and Asian inspired architecture with winding cobblestone streets and stairs giving it a medieval feeling. Day 2 We visited a place where men were making aluminum pots, etc. Not a factory, per se, but a cluster of sheds where the men worked with a fire pit and hot liquid aluminum without any protective clothing or shoes. The Malagasy people grow a lot of rice. When rice is out of season they make bricks. We drove 6 hr. on paved roads past people carrying bags of charcoal on their heads, sacks of grain and other goods for sale at the side of the road, and zebus (an ox with a fatty hump on its shoulders, a flap of loose skin hanging below its jaw, lyre-shaped horns and drooping ears). Villagers use the resources available in the area to build homes. It could be bricks, sticks and /or mud, reeds. etc. In larger villages we found colorful rickshaws (pulled by a man on foot) and trishaws (pulled by men on bikes) used as taxis. Everywhere we saw babies transported on backs, while goods were transported on heads and laundry spread out on the grass or the bushes. As the land transitioned into the red soil for which it is called the “Red Island,” we arrived in Miandrivazo, on the Tsiribihina River, a fertile region for cotton, corn, manioc, beans, tobacco and rice; where we spent the night. Day 3 En route to Kirindy we stopped at a Zebu market, a cattle breed kept for meat, milk and work. As we went from red soil and rice fields to the dry west we came to the famous Baobab Alley where massive trees, up to 800 yrs old with long thick cylindrical trunks up to 9 ft. across, covered with smooth reddish-grey bark can reach a height of 98 ft., line the road hinting at the vast forest that once covered this area. Oct. to May the flat-topped crowns bear bluish-green palm like leaves, May to Aug, spectacular flowers with white petals that give way to large, velvety dry brown fruit with edible pulp. These Baobab trees (Malagasy for "mother of the forest") are a legacy of the dense tropical forests that once thrived on Madagascar. On a night walk in the Kirindy Reserve we saw the giant mouse lemur, a large spider and the elusive Fossa a cat-like carnivorous mammal native to the island closely related to the mongoose. Day 4 On an early morning walk in Kirindy Reserve we saw red-tailed sportive and red-fronted brown lemurs. During our day of travel (depending on traffic and road conditions) in 4X4s we passed an endangered Baobab forest, many small villages and saw dugout canoes plying the river. The ferry across the Tsiribihina River, the only way to get to the Tsingy by car, is 2 large canoes with a wooden platform over them holding cars and people. It’s amazing how resourceful they are! We had lunch at the Mad Zebu in the small, dusty, unpaved town of Belo-sur-Tsiribihina. While waiting for the police escort for our convoy, (many cars travel to Tsingy together now due to the terrible roads, and the problem of bandits in the past) we walked about the tiny town. Nary a one of you can even conceive in your minds the unpaved, rutted, badly maintained roads littered with large stones, natural debris, and small streams that we traveled for 4 hr. to reach Tsingy. Later we crossed the Manambolo River on another ferry arriving in Bekopaka in the PM. Day 5 There were only 4 of us plus Danhy and our various drivers. Mitzi and Beverly, delightful Brits, were great traveling companions. First a dugout canoe ride on the Manambolo River stopping twice to enter and explore 2 very low ceilinged caves while dodging stalactites on the ceiling. Back on the river we passed skulls at the burial area used by the Bazimba, or ancestors, who were the first people from Africa, women doing laundry in the river and fishing canoes. The World Heritage Site of Tsingy de Bemaraha has been a National Park since 1998, with 2 areas the Grand Tsingy and the Petit Tsingy. Its bizarre landscape of serrated limestone pinnacles called tsingy that form stone forests were created millions of years ago by the play of the ocean when Madagascar broke free of Gondwana. The Grand Tsingy is deep canyons with a climbing route through caves, narrow gorges, up ladders attached to rocks, rope bridges with plenty of hauling, squeezing and crawling up vertical jagged rock. Harnesses are used over sheer drops, and footing is never sure. The Petit Tsingy is less harrowing, but not all that easy. The Tsingy were once under the sea. The ocean submerged the rocks, then retreated, repeating this over millions of yrs. The limestone was dissolved and sculpted by the water; rain seeped into the porous stone corroding it into the knife-edge formations visible today. Guess which one I / we did! We met a woman and a little girl, that we had seen on the river, with their catch of giant catfish on our way to climb up and down, squeeze through gorges, cross bridges and climb ladders exploring the heights of Petit Tsingy for 2 hr. with our guide Julian. The first of 3 challenging days for me. We met a big green gecko (it was not selling insurance), and had our first look at an elephant foot plant. Day 6 A long, bouncy drive in the convoy to Morondava, a coastal town home to many of Madagascar’s 18 ethnic groups or tribes. Known as Malagasy they speak dialects of a language of Malayo-Polynesian origin. Their culture reflects their roots in Southeast Asia and East Africa. The influence of Arabs, Indians, British, French and Chinese settlers is evident. Official languages are Malagasy and French. English is becoming popular. Back at “Baobab Alley” we saw the moon over the trees in the east and the sun setting in the west. Day 7 We had an early flight east across the island back to Tana where we did a city tour including the Rova, (the Royal Palace) built in 1864 for Queen Ranavalona II by the Scotsman, James Cameron. We saw the national snack of Koba, a pate of rice, banana, and peanuts wrapped in a banana leaf for sale, a type of poinsettia blooming bright red, and orange and yellow flame vines. Then we drove 3 hr. to Andasibe. We had a zebu burger in a former train station where the toilets were in a train car. At our hotels we had lovely large rooms all the way with mosquito netting, of course. This evening we walked in the forest looking for nocturnal creatures and found a boophis tree frog, a leaf tail gecko and a boophis veridus frog. Day 8 On a 3hr. AM walk in the mountainous forest of Andasibe National Park we found wild coffee, strangling trees, and—after leaving the trail and slogging up and down the mountain—indri lemurs and Diadem golden sifaka lemus. Lemurs, the oldest living primates on earth, are found only on Madagascar and the nearby Comoros Islands. Adorable, fuzzy animals that abound here with no big cats or wild dogs to hunt them. There are 105 species of lemur now recognized with new species being found every year. Many are extremely rare and on the verge of extinction. From the smallest primate in the world, Madame Berte’s mouse lemur (1 oz) to the indri (21 lb.) to dancing sifakas bouncing across the ground, bamboo and brown lemurs; they are very social with long limbs, flexible toes and fingers, long noses, and like all great societies are female dominant. The indri, was named by mistake by Pierre Sonnerat, a French naturalist. His guide saw it, and shouted in Malagasy “indri”, which means “look at that”. Sonnerat assumed the guide was saying the name, and ever since the largest species of lemur has been known as the indri, even to the Malagasy. They live in the tree canopy, stand 3 ft. tall with a short tail, black and white markings and pale green eyes. While other lemurs grunt, the indri “sings" an eerie, wailing sound between the song of a whale and a police-siren, that carries up to 2 mi. across the forest.
 Madagascar separated from Africa before lemurs evolved. Their ancestors must have crossed on floating vegetation early in primate evolution and became isolated, then evolved into different species, many are endangered. By the time Europeans wrote the natural history of the island in the mid-1600s, 15 species of lemurs had already become extinct. In the PM we had a 22 sec. canoe ride across the water at an island Lemur Sanctuary. They will not cross the water. Black and white ruffed and common brown lemurs jumped on our shoulders, heads and backs. On an inner island while sitting in our canoe we saw eastern grey bamboos, common browns that jumped onto the canoe to check us out ,and Diadem golden sifakas dancing sideways along the ground. We then drove 3 hr. back to Antananarivo. Day 9 We drove 4 hr. to Antsirabe On the way we stopped at a reptile reserve where we saw a tenrec which looks slightly like a hedgehog and can vary from a 1/10 oz. pygmy to the 1.4 oz. Talazac’s shrew tenrec with 30 known species. Madagascar has half the world’s chameleon (self-camouflaging creatures) population from the world’s smallest (the size of a fingernail) to the world’s largest (the size of a cat). We got close to the Parsons (male) and the Parsons (female) and a number of Panther chameleons. There are over 360 reptile species, such as boa constrictors, with new ones still being found, about 300 frog species in an array of colors from the blue and green Mantella Baroni frogs to the orange Mantella frog and leaf tailed geckos. We saw a green male and a grey female Highland chameleon walking on a branch, a cocoon with a large newly sprung Comet Moth that will live for 1 wk., and a green elephant ear chameleon rocking back and forth as if it could not decide if it should go or not. Many of them seem to do that when they start to walk. On the road again, we stopped at a roadside stand selling woven raffia items, a place selling wooden musical instruments, one selling colorful handmade wooden trucks given to boys so they don’t cry when circumcised at age 5, and stands selling vegetables. Antsirabe, the second largest city founded by Norwegian missionaries in 1856, is home to Madagascar’s brewing industry, hot springs and thermal baths. Its name means “where there is salt” honoring its many hot springs and thermal baths. Many locals are of Asian heritage. Day 10 We visited some artisan shops before continuing south. This was a fascinating experience not only did we learn how zebu horns are made into spoons, but how ingenious the Malagasy people are. Everything they used was a recycled object from an old sewing machine motor to run the homemade polisher to pads cut from jeans for smoothing, etc. etc. We were amazed at every step of the process. Other handicrafts were intricate embroidery with the back as perfect as the front. We also saw many poinsettia shrubs in various colors along with other flora. It was here in the Royal Palace Hotel that King Mohamed V was exiled by the French occupiers of Morocco in 1953 with his family for 3 yr. after he refused to abdicate his throne. In a square nearby we saw the Fahaleovantena (meaning Independence) Tribes Monument featuring the head of a zebu and names of the 18 official tribes making up the Malagasy population. Madagascar is one of the top producers of gemstones in the world. At a Gem Gallery we saw displays of cut and uncut gemstones including celestite and amethyst. On the way to Ambositra, the home of the Zafimaniry tribe famous for its Malagasy wood carvings, we had to stop for zebus crossing a bridge, as well as, a vehicular traffic jam. Out of the window I saw two little kids. The girl was pouring water over her head to wash her hair. In a small village we were slowed by a funeral procession. On to Ranomafana National Park for the night. In Malagasy Rano means “water” and mafana “hot.” The town was named for the hot springs discovered 100 yr. ago. Day 11 We spent 4 hr. trudging through the rainforests of Ranomafana National Park. A cloud forest with high levels of biodiversity that came to world attention with the discovery of the golden bamboo lemur in 1986. The Park was established in the early 1990s to protect the newly discovered lemur, as well as the very rare greater bamboo lemur. Over 90% of Madagascar’s wildlife is endemic and can’t be seen wild anywhere else on earth. This was my 2nd challenging outing trekking up and down many rough hewn steps and off trail through thick foliage going from 2625 ft. to 3300 ft. But we were rewarded with beautiful flora, many species of ferns, the rushing water of the Namorona River, blue coffee plants, an unusual fern both when closed and open, and a view of the park from the highest peak. We stopped at an old moss covered family burial site (loved those short stops). We found red-bellied lemurs and actually saw very rare greater bamboo lemurs. Our Malagasy lunch was cassava leaves, pork, white beans, rice, and zebu. Romazava, the national dish, a one-pot meal of zebu, pork, chicken, onions, tomatoes, spinach and garlic in a sauce is eaten with rice which is a staple. They also enjoy chicken, root vegetables and noodles. We walked to the hotel past bags of charcoal and produce stands stopping to visit a silk weaving center, crossed a rickety bridge to a natural spa and back, and bought some Koba at a roadside stand. Remember Koba is a pate of rice, banana, and peanuts wrapped in banana leaf. It is brown and gooey and looks terrible, but tastes chewy and good. Exotic flowers graced our hotel. Malagasy flora are known for their medicinal qualities. Most famous are the aloes (over 34 species), baobabs (7 species), the periwinkle (anti-cancer), cacti, bamboos, ferns (over 100 species), palms (over 170 species), orchids (over 1000 species). That night we were to walk on the edge of the park to search for nocturnal creatures such as the tiny mouse lemur, but it was pouring rain. We all decided it wasn’t worth the effort. Day 12 Leaving the park we stopped for another look at the Namorona River that rushes through the forest of rare precious-wood trees like pink ivory and rosewoods (so called because of its smell when cut) palms, and bamboo. On our way to Isalo we stopped at the Monday Irondo Market where we saw pigs, clothes, meat, and a myriad of items for sale. Rice paddies dotted the land, while a man rode on a wooden plow behind his zebu. In Ambalavao City we watched paper making at Papier Antaimoro. The bark of the Avoha tree is boiled, cooled and dried, then pounded to pulp, spread, decorated with real flowers, and finally dried in the sun. Here we saw an orchid tree and beautiful yellow datura flowers. Next we enjoyed the ringtail lemurs at Anja Park and had a picnic lunch before arriving at Satrana Lodge in Isalo the home of the Bara Tribe. Solar and generators are the sources of power. Like many places we stayed, electricity here is only available from 6AM to 9:30AM and 5PM to10PM. Day 13 We drove (even through a small river) to Isalo National Park that covers the entire stretch of the Isalo Massif, a large mountain chain filled with huge dramatic wind eroded sandstone sculpted rock formations that form a Jurassic style landscape, plains, valleys, canyons and waterfalls. It was created in 1962 to preserve its ancestral beauty. It is sacred to the Bara people who have for centuries entombed their dead in cliff caves, blocking the entrance with stones. The body is wrapped in a large silk sheet called a “lamba mena.” Traditional Malagasy clothing is the lamba, a wrap round sheet often printed with designs. Lamba mena (red Lambas) are for special occasions and use as burial shrouds. After a few years, the family goes back to the tomb and changes the sheet to a new one – a custom known as “famadihana" (placing or turning of the dead), and the person is taken from a temporary to a permanent tomb in the cliff caves. Ancestors are believed to be the link between the living and the Supreme God. Adherents of the religion observe various taboos called Fady to avoid the disapproval of their ancestors. Fady differs from village to village even family to family. Foreigners are exempt from fady, but it is kind to avoid offending people. One fady is to point with the forefinger. One must use a bent forefinger, with the others folded into the palm. If you forget, it is polite to apologize. Malagasy combine various Christian faiths with traditional religions’ beliefs. Two groups have adopted Islam. We walked much of the day through stunning and colorful sandstone rock formations and saw elephant foot plants, turtle rock, Drosera natalensis a carnivorous insect eating plant, crocodile rock, a plant used to make lotions for the women and for babies heads, skull rock, and the colorful metal coffin of a child of a wealthy family at a cave tomb. For me this was the 3rd and final hard day on trails climbing up and up to see views that make you glad you did it. Then down on steps worn into the rocks with some flat areas on mostly shadeless land to where a waterfall flows into a deep green pool. Then hiking down, down past a 5 ft. termite mound to a wooded area for lunch with dozens of ringtail lemurs. We even spotted a white Verreaux sifaka lemur in a tree. Knowing my limits I eschewed a 1½ hr. round trip hike to the black pool in the PM and stayed with the lunch staff, one of whom later walked me back to the parking area—another ½ mi. of rocky path. My total trek for the day was 5 mi. round trip. Miloudi said I might have made it with help, but it would have taken me forever. We ended our day watching the sun set through Rock Arch. Day 14 We drove to Tulear through the land of the Mahafaly tribe. We saw people panning for gold and precious gems, a rhum distilling operation, and the fancy tombs of the Mahafaly and other tribes along way. Passing through villages with rickshaw traffic jams, we arrived at Ifaty, the coastal home of the Vezo people and an endangered coral reef. This area is very dry and dominated by a “spiny forest” of cacti and other plants that thrive in arid places. Our hotel the La Mira was on the beach on the Mozambique Channel of the Indian Ocean. Day 15 At our hotel we had a Kalanchoe plant, a baobab with velvety brown fruit, and a lovely nameless flower. Walking to the fishing village of Abolomailaky we met a woman on the road with a type of mud pack on her face to protect and soften her skin with her little girl. There were women with baskets and bundles on their heads and a bus full of locals the roof piled high with bags of charcoal. We walked through the village to the ocean where we saw a fisherman and 2 small boys pulling in their net and walked back to our hotel on a very rocky beach. In the PM we walked on the beach and frolicked in the surf before watching another colorful sunset. At 6PM we had a singing and dancing show by a group of young people from the village. The girls wore lambas and traditional hair styles. Day 16 We went back to Tulear to fly back to the Gassy Country Hotel in Antananarivo Day 17 We left Tana arriving home after 29 hr.of flying, airports, bus and car time. Madagascar is a place like no other with its great beauty and impressive diversity of people, geography, wildlife, and culture. It is one of the most unique destinations left on the planet. Scientists discover new species every year. It is now considered a gene bank of biodiversity for humanity. Time feels altered on Madagascar, as evolution and extinction seem to be coinciding.

Undiscovered Destinations is a great company. We have gone with them twice in 2018, are set for January, 2019 to the Voodoo Festival in Ghana, Togo and Benin. We are looking at their catalog for more options in 2019.