Forestry official would not have cleared us for entry. We are registered and must promise we wont take any sapphires with us. We have Camping Equipment and enough food and water for three days. A dozen young men will be our porters. Itll be tough going all the way to the mines. And some of the porters say itll take six hours to get there. Weve already been warned that this will be anything but a normal hike. Over the village of and save a base seems like The Last Outpost of civilization our group attracts lots of attention white people are a rare sight here. Why i. Want. To. Tell you a Blue Sapphires were found last year in the Nature Reserve of
a candy cane i mean since then Tens Of Thousands of prospectors have poured in from all over madagascar all looking for sapphires although this activity is illegal. Supplies and mining gear have to be carried into the area on foot. Not only our luggage but also the equipment for the people working in the mines. That are used to the fires too bu
the past people came here to pray for the forest is something like now that the mines have been discovered everyone is going to find saw fires. every year in from. the trail seems never ending and the porters say we ll never make it to the mines by nightfall. we ve been walking for six hours and they reckon that at our pace we d need twice that time. so we have to spend the night here. and. we set up our tents our guides say we ll be safe here. but. most of our porters originally came to this area because of the gems but they say they earn more in the long run as carriers. if
a half hours we reach the edge of the woods and a holy place. the people of madagascar are identify sacred areas in their forests here they make small offerings of branches or food. it didn t he said it would target in the past people came here to pray for the authorities but now that the mines have been discovered everyone is going to find saw fires. and you. get the trail seems never ending and the porters say we ll never make it to the mines by nightfall. we ve been walking for six hours and they reckon that our pace we d need twice that time. so we have to spend the night here. and. we set up our tents our guides say we ll be safe here.