I still remember! My hands and finger-tips still remember! What used to line in store for us on our first sojourn to the most preserved guinea forest of Liberia in West Africa. Having left the ancient city of Cairo, it was the first time our school was embarking on an excursion outside Egypt. We touched down at the Roberts International Airport in Monrovia at 10:00am local time on a Friday, to meeting very warm reception of enthusiast. As I leaned through the window, I began to imagine what beholds our visit. As I descended from the aircraft to the scorching of the sun, I quickly put on my hat in the full glare of our crew. We exchanged pleasantries and proceeded to the immigration desk. Already, our host were waiting at the arrival lounge and we moved towards our buses. Then we set for Ganta, a renowed city in Nimba County. As we journey through the countryside, we sang epic songs and cheered ourselves along the way. While on motion, we noticed enclaves of montane forest lying in the far-away mountains, including belts of dry forests and savannas. I was particularly fascinated by the exceptional diversity of these forests, with very high rate of endemism. We travelled for three and a half hours before reaching the Gola National Forest, one of the world’s most preserved forest and still intact, with semi-deciduous and moist dense evergreen species. On arrival, we alighted from the bus and were welcomed by the director and staff of the national forest. What a beautiful scene to behold! The wonders of nature indeed! After a brief orientation by the director, we began our quest to probe into the deep secrets of the forest, accompanied by some staff. During the course of our journey, I noticed very unique species of animal that are quite new to science. I came across eight dragonfly and damselfly species, six butterfly species, three frog species and two mammal species. With no further hesitation, I took out my digital camera for a photoshoot. While enjoying the trek, we came across several hunters with their locally-made gun hunting for animals. I found several huts and farm houses along the forest-path, while others locals were busy roasting meat. After about two hours of intense walk, we decided to take a rest at a nearby farm-house. I noticed my colleagues panting for water and longing for food. After about half an hour, we continued our sojourn into the deeper parts of the forest. I was amazed seeing three species of monkey, drill, African golden cat, Gola malimbe, Liberian mongoose, African civet, giant forest hog, speckle-throated otter, seven species of duiker, three species of pangolins and water chevrotain. These animals were roaming freely in their natural habitat. What a beautiful biodiversity hotspot I could imagine! I had to pluck some leaves of various trees with my bare hands including patches of mangrove along the coast and near the mouth of rivers. I was fascinated by the mangrove ecosystem, various crustaceans, and young fish swimming through the transparent swamp waters. Going further, we were able to see varying degrees of rubber plantations, oil-palm plantations and mining activities deeper areas unimagined. Canoe-paddlers were amongst a great degree of people filing sands by the shore. I remember speaking to a lumber man who rallied at us but was fascinated by our adventure. He couldn’t speak English but was rather passing his message through sign language. As scared as others were, I walked up to him while attempting to use the sign language too. While smiling, he offered me five medium-sized fishes directly purchased a fisher-man nearby. My colleagues were happy seeing the manner I was able to interact. Cheers and encomiums filled the air, while chatting along the way. Lastly, we arrived at the scene of three intersecting rivers and crossed over using canoes from local fishermen. Our six-hour visit ended by 6:00pm local time as we headed for the nearby main road where our buses were parked by the side. On our way to the hotel, glamorous discussions engulfed the journey. I saw how exhausted my colleagues were, nevertheless, I was happily narrating my experience to the whole team.