Mayotte, French Comoros

Mayotte, is an overseas department and region and “single territorial collectivity “ of France. We will let you decide what the heck that means. Bottom line, we don’t rack up another country for our visit here since it’s part of France. That being said, we still got off the ship took a tender to the dock in the Bay of Mamoudzou on Grand-Terre, waited with many interesting locals (see photos) and took the ferry (.75 Euros roundtrip) to Peitte Terre with Tim and Krista.

Off the southeast coast of Africa in the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, we were there. Mayotte is 144 sq miles with 310,000 people. So, what do they speak here? French is a second language after Shimaore, Kibushi sakalava, and Kibushi antalaotsi with most of the population being Muslim. Yes, communicating could be a little challenging. There are other islands of Comoros that are independent, but Mayotte is still French. Much of Mayotte is covered by dense tropical vegetation with a volcanic mountain range runs through the center of the island with protected natural reserves full of indigenous flora and fauna. There are sago palms, a vitally important tree whose dried fruit is a key ingredient in the traditional porridge and many endemic plants for medicines, cosmetics, and perfumes.

We also spent some time in a restaurant (that was not open … realized after we didn’t see a server the entire time) and then time walking around part of town and in a large market next to the pier that had clothing, shoes and fresh produce and spices. Overall, a relaxing day without a tour and that was fine as we spent most of our time taking in the views and observing people.Lue lisää