Comoros Islands
Comoros Islands
Today is Friday February 2 and we awoke to find ourselves moored off Mayotte in the Comoros Islands. At breakfast it was already 34 degrees and humid so we awaited the tender boats to take us ashore with some enthusiasm.
This soon evaporated when landed to find this French Protectorate dirty and very unattractive. By 10 am it was nearly 40 degrees and a warm drizzle did nothing to cool us, it was much more developed than we hoped with cars and lorries everywhere along with much dirt and general scruffiness. We found a Post Office, very French with long queues, to buy stamps for our postcards.
JB found an internet place where he could get 1 hour for 5€ so he was happy to sort though 147 emails received in a week. Why is there so much junk in my mail box offering to sell me stuff to make parts of my body bigger. Have they been peeping ? Sue decided to go off on an excursion organised by the ship around the inner sections of the Island. As there was no air conditioning or interpreter on the little bus JB chickened out and made his way back to the Saga Ruby for a BBQ lunch and a rest….
More from Sue on her return
We drove at some speed round the north of the island and yes there was a guide, a very attractive young man who explained all about the ylang ylang ( no it does not have a doubtful meaning!) and had lived for some time in Paris. Why on earth anyone would want to return to Mayotte from Paris is beyond me.
I have never seen such extreme poverty at close hand, the inhabitants live in tiny corrugated shacks, animals roam around the streets and there is rubbish everywhere. He explained that people have no environmental conscience so everywhere is littered with debris. We stopped briefly at a couple of viewpoints and yes the views were pretty but the litter of cans and paper was very off-putting.
We drove to a very scruffy beach bar where I was relieved to see that all the drinks were in cans. The sand was dark volcanic and I was not tempted to have a swim.
So that’s Mayotte, I don’t suppose we’ll ever come this way again and I for one will not be sorry!
Today is Friday February 2 and we awoke to find ourselves moored off Mayotte in the Comoros Islands. At breakfast it was already 34 degrees and humid so we awaited the tender boats to take us ashore with some enthusiasm.
This soon evaporated when landed to find this French Protectorate dirty and very unattractive. By 10 am it was nearly 40 degrees and a warm drizzle did nothing to cool us, it was much more developed than we hoped with cars and lorries everywhere along with much dirt and general scruffiness. We found a Post Office, very French with long queues, to buy stamps for our postcards.
JB found an internet place where he could get 1 hour for 5€ so he was happy to sort though 147 emails received in a week. Why is there so much junk in my mail box offering to sell me stuff to make parts of my body bigger. Have they been peeping ? Sue decided to go off on an excursion organised by the ship around the inner sections of the Island. As there was no air conditioning or interpreter on the little bus JB chickened out and made his way back to the Saga Ruby for a BBQ lunch and a rest….
More from Sue on her return
We drove at some speed round the north of the island and yes there was a guide, a very attractive young man who explained all about the ylang ylang ( no it does not have a doubtful meaning!) and had lived for some time in Paris. Why on earth anyone would want to return to Mayotte from Paris is beyond me.
I have never seen such extreme poverty at close hand, the inhabitants live in tiny corrugated shacks, animals roam around the streets and there is rubbish everywhere. He explained that people have no environmental conscience so everywhere is littered with debris. We stopped briefly at a couple of viewpoints and yes the views were pretty but the litter of cans and paper was very off-putting.
We drove to a very scruffy beach bar where I was relieved to see that all the drinks were in cans. The sand was dark volcanic and I was not tempted to have a swim.
So that’s Mayotte, I don’t suppose we’ll ever come this way again and I for one will not be sorry!
Labels: Adding more pictures
posted by Johnny & Sue World Travellers at
11:41
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