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This month we embark on a fabulous journey taking in a canoe trek from Texas to Mexico, Buddhist retreats in Java, a Catholic pilgrimage in Portugal, mystical masks in West Africa, and fire-walking in Greece.
We begin with Christina Chang as she takes
us to the Greek town of Serres for the
annual fire-walking festival of the Anastenaria
which commemorates a church fire in 1250. Legend
 tells that villagers heard the church icons groaning
amid the flames and those who went in to rescue
them emerged unscathed from the fire. The fire walkers
are therefore thought to have passed down to them
protection from the fires. During the festival
mystical music from lyres and drums are played
and sheep are sacrificed for a later feast. Villagers
pass through the church with their holy icons
during the day. As evening approaches the villagers
prepare themselves for the fire walking ritual.
Zay Harding embarks on a journey which takes
him through the Rio Grande, America's second
largest river. Starting at Santa Elena Canyon,
Zay paddles his canoe through Texas and
into the Mexican city of Boquillas. The
trip cuts through five canyons and 300 miles until
finally ending in the Gulf of Mexico.
A must place to visit in West Africa, Dogon
country boasts some amazing scenery stretching
100 miles from north to south and can sometimes
take up to ten days to travel across. As Islam
 moved south through Africa, the Dogon people sought
refuge here moving up through the plains nearly
700 years ago. Each year during the months of
April and May, the people of Dogon celebrate the
Fêtes des Masques - a colourful and mystical
display of music and dance celebrating the harvest
and remembering the dead. Justine Shapiro gets
into the spirit as dancers adorn various masks
integral to Dogon culture, some of which signify
the passing of knowledge and others whicj protect
against vengeance. The Dogon remains one of West
Africa's most resilient cultures.
Next, we accompany Megan McCormick as
she visits the famous pilgrimage town of Fatima
in Portugal. Megan stumbles upon a supermarket
for the religious trinket shopper and picks up
a 'Virgin Mary Snow Glow' for her sins. Rather
than finding a sleepy cosy little town, Megan
is surprised by the commercial feel to the place.
This is an especially holy place for Catholics
and Megan passes pilgrims on their hands and knees
as they make their way to the church steps.
 The holy city of Borabadur on the Indonesian
island of Java is where we join Megan on
her next trip as she explores the meanings behind
this huge Buddhist retreat. Nestled within a glorious
rainforest, Borabadur is inlaid with thousands
of beautiful carvings depicting the Buddha's life
and his travels from the physical to the spiritual.
Andrew Dado goes to northern Botswana
to join the start of the safari season in Chobe
National Park. With the help of a guide, Andrew
goes in hot pursuit of the elusive animal by investigating
lion tracks. They finally manage to catch sight
of the magnificent beast rounding off a memorable
day and a truly fantastic month to travel the
world. |
