Madagascar paradise of flora and fauna

We could never have traveled through Madagascar without Green Pigeon Tours. The driver who drove us most often, Momi, was very skilled at negotiating what the Malagasy called roads, but what seemed like a series of potholes linked by some concrete. Our access to the parks and reserves allowed us to see a variety of animals, most particularly the lemurs. We saw approximately 10 of the 107 to 113 species. In addition, the explanation by some of the guides, most prominently Paul Malagasy, allowed us to get a better understanding of life for the Malagasy, and motivated us to continue reading when we got home. We appreciated the visits to the textile weaving, wood-carving and paper-making workshops. One workshop that was very difficult was the aluminum fabricating workshop. We were horrified by the working conditions. None of the workers wore protective equipment, including masks, hard hats or even shoes. It seems there was a complete lack of understanding of how dangerous the work was from our guide, who was not Paul for this trip) and most of the primarily British tourists viewing the work. It was a valuable lesson, although initially we felt angry because we never asked to visit this site, but it helped us realize there are almost no health and safety standards in Madagascar for workers.