I had been in Madagascar a couple of weeks already, doing plenty of Lemur-spotting, canoeing, hiking and sitting in a really hot, uncomfortable truck for hours at a time.

After exploring some of the more remote parks, it was time to head to one of the most accessible and most popular areas of Madagascar – Isalo National Park. The route there was mostly flat, dry grasslands with the occasional red dirt village here and there. Getting closer we reached Ilakaka, the Wild West town of Madagascar. Back in 1998 sapphires were first discovered here, causing somewhat of a mining rush for the Malagasy people.

With such possible rewards came plenty of risks, as violence in the area had also seen a sharp increase. That first sapphire discovery had been years earlier but the lure of sapphires remained in the area. I didn’t see any sapphires as we drove through Ilakaka to Isalo but there was a certain vibe of uneasy excitement to the area.

At dinner just outside of Isalo a few of us met our local guide for the next day. He’d be taking us on a morning hike then a afternoon hike to a natural swimming pool in Isalo. Sounded like great fun as he also guaranteed some Lemurs.

The next morning comes and the small group of us were enjoying breakfast. Typical fare in Madagascar – eggs, dry toast, bananas and tea. Oddly our driver / guide, Claude, was missing from the morning meal. We figure he slept in since the local guide would be picking us up soon for our hike. But after 20 minutes, half an hour, we began to wonder. The town seemed eerily quiet too, not a lot of commotion going on in the streets.

Finally after almost an hour of waiting Claude appeared but he seemed shaken up a bit. After a bit of back and forth we figure out that our local guide – Jacques – will be along shortly. When asked why he is late, the answer wasn’t clear,  Claude didn’t want to tell us something. Finally we find out – one of Jacques’ brother had been beheaded by bandits the night before!

What the??

Out here, not far from the Wild West sapphire city of Madagascar, violence had reared it’s ugly head. As Jacques’ brother was on his way home the night before he was approached by two men. These men demanded he give them his Zebus (local humped cows). Since he used these Zebus for farming his fields, they were his only source of income. It is how he supported himself and his family. So he refused. They used a machete to chop off his head.

Jacques and many villagers had been at the funeral that morning. But he was adamant about taking us on our hikes that day, apologizing for being late. We wanted to give him time to himself, however it was also clear that the few dollars we’d provide him for his services were too valuable for him to give up.

It was a pretty sombre start to the day. One of those events that helps put everything into perspective and helps you realize how privileged ‘we’ are as travellers. We learned a lot from Jacques, who had a huge passion for the park and natural environment in which he lived. He was an enthusiastic guide even during such a time of grieving. We managed to get some smiles out of him and a few laughs. As hard as it was, it was nice to see that life goes on.

The next day, it was time to move on from Isalo. As we left, we found out that for some Malagasy tribes, in particular the Bara people, stealing Zebus is a rite of passage. For a young man to become an adult they must steal Zebus from someone else. It seemed more like a case of greed here, as such violent acts were not the norm. Perhaps it was an overflow of the nearby sapphire city and wild west atmosphere that had cost the life of an innocent farmer.

I never did find out if they had caught the people who beheaded Jacques’ brother or what would happen to them if they did.