Barefoot in Madagascar: Adventures in an African Rainforest

I stood on the side of a dirt road staring at a wall of trees and vines in front of me. As lightning bristled across the night sky, the pitter patter of rain served as a background to the blaring ring of cicadas who dutifully announced the arrival of that night’s thunderstorm. The warm air became thick with moisture, and the sweet smell of chocolate drifted from the tens of thousands of cacao trees growing across the valley landscape. As a nocturnal lemur called somewhere in the distance, I took off my shoes, clicked on my headlamp and followed my guide barefoot into a sacred rainforest.