Wicked places in Africa

In Ghana they have this wicked tradition that you can get buried in a custom made coffin looking like anything: Cola bottle, airplane, camera (Canon is preferred), cinema projector, lobster, shoes - only the imagination is the limit. Some are made by the coffin maker just to have on stock, while others are ordered to size and style. People choose either something related to their profession in this life or something they want bring into the afterlife. A colourful full size coffin (or casket as they are called) cost from USD 500, and then comes the shipping - unless you plan to use it right away.

We normally don't encourage travellers to have their picture with captured wild animals, but this is a different - and wicked - story. The crocodiles in the pond in Paga is considered sacred and have an unspoken agreement with the caretaker, that they will get a chicken, if they do not eat the tourists, who pose for photos with them. So besides the entrance fee, you also have to pay for a live chicken, which the caretaker will cycle down to the market to buy. Inside the enclosure the caretaker will lure one of the crocodiles onto dry land. You will then get placed at the back legs of the full size crocodile, while you have your photos taken. The crocodile seems to know the routine, for (thankfully) it doesn't move much. Well, that's until the photo session is over and the crocodile gets its reward. The chicken gets thrown in its direction and with lightning speed catch it and swallow it whole.

Liberia's bloody history is largely a result of inequalities and hostilities between an elite of freed slaves, who settled around Monrovia, and the poor indigenous population living upcountry. Things boiled over in 1980. A group of petty officers led by master-sergeant Samuel Doe entered the Executive Mansion under cover of darkness and found President Tolbert in his pyjamas. He was executed on the spot, shot in the head several times and disembowelled. Ten days later, thirteen senior members of Tolbert's government was tied to poles on the beach below the mansion and executed in brutal fashion. Once the firing party had done its job, bloodlust took over and soldiers fired hundreds of rounds into the lifeless bodies, while a crowd of thousands cheered them on. The Mansion's bloody history have lived on, with rumours of both Doe and later Charles Taylor participating in ritual killings and cannibalism while acting as presidents. Little evidence of the beach's bloody history is left, but it's a compulsorily stop for anyone seeking to understand Liberia's recent history.

Before 1998, pretty much no-one lived in the plains between Isalo National Park and Tulear. Since the discovery of Sapphire, several towns have appeared and the area has become the "Wild West" of Madagascar. People are attracted here seeking fortune, something that only a few will ever find. They work in the mines and only get paid with whatever they dig up, much like during the gold rush in Northern America. The biggest town of these, Ilakaka, has evolved from a gathering of wooden sheds to a town of over 20,000 people with shops, brothels, places to gamble and even some big mansions for the few that did find their fortune. Security has improved a little but it is still definitely not a town to linger in and even better to be avoided all together at night since the crime rate is very high.

Do you have an unused ship and would you like to cash out on the insurance premium? Then you would not be the first to dump it along the Cap Blanc Peninsula south of Nouadhibou claiming that it have sunk. The biggest ship at the tip of the Peninsula have finally been moved and the beach is cleaned, but plenty of wrecks are still left. The largest concentration is found just south of the shipping port, between Nouadhibou and its satellite town of Cansado. A dozen wrecks line the coast here within a few hundred metres of dirty beach, just below the ruins of an old French gun position that protected the bay against the Spanish colony of Western Sahara. Authorities might question why you would show the rest of the world this grim reality of their country, but most likely, you will be able to visit uninterrupted.

This natural phenomena is exactly as the name suggests, some dirt dunes in several hues of ochre. Because of its location on the southern tourist loop, it attracts a huge number of holidayers from the resorts. There are boardwalks, viewing platforms and souvenir shops. A bonus is the enclosure with giant tortoises.

The bay at Tamarin is a feeding ground for dolphins and sometimes humpback whales with babies too. Usually, it's the smaller spinner dolphin in schools of 20-60, but there can be up to several hundreds. If bottle-noses show up, the spinners take off. Local boatmen offer trips where you either just watch from the small motorboat or they drop you with fins and mask close to a school. The dolphins swim slow enough to follow them and the curious ones can get real close (no touching of course). Due to sensible regulation, it’s only permitted to go in the morning. Go as early as possible (preferred 6 am) to escape the crowds, for in high season there can be as many as 50 boats slowly following the dolphins. Some tour operators offer the dolphin swimming as part of a half day trip with island visit to Ile aux Benitiers and some snorkelling.

In 1984 the Belgian artist Jean Verame painted with the help of the local fire department (and 18 tonnes of paint) the rocks in various colors. They create a psychedelic piece of art, which you can marvel at from both the distance or up close. You can even climb it.
The rocks have since been repainted.
No are no entrance fee and you can just roam freely around.

From one of the old town squares (Place des Ferblantiers), and especially from the square's rooftop terraces, you have a great view of a somewhat unusual sight - a long row of stork nests. The white storks are lined up on the ancient Palais El Badii overlooking the town, and it is pretty amazing to see the giant birds nesting and fly right over your head. And you cannot help thinking that there must be a truckload of babies delivered to Marrakech with that many storks around...

In the dry southern Morocco, domesticated goats have developed the skills to climb the branches of argan trees to munch on the fruit. It's a sight to behold.
An interesting fact is, the goats eat the whole fruit, but don't digest the nuts. Those are then collected afterwards to make the very sought after argan oil, which is used in expensive cosmetics or as a delicacy.
Along the road frequented by tourist vehicles between Marrakech and Essaouira, opportunistic farmers have set up fake tree climbing goats to charge for photos. Don't be disappointed because the real ones do exist in Morocco.