Comoros is a country made up four volcanic islands. Previously a French colony, the country gained independence in 1975. The island of Mayotte never declared independence and continues to be governed as a French territory to this day, though the UN and Comoros consider the island a part of Comoros.

The small country of less than 800,000 inhabitants is very poor with with no major resources. The population is almost completely Muslim (besides some Roman Catholics on Mayotte).

Coming from Madagascar, I had three days before my return flight to explore the country’s largest island, Grande Comore.

Arriving in the late evening I noticed as we were landing that there were no lights at all. Electricity is precious and expensive. I went through immigration and got my entry stamp. Passing through customs a lady seemed shocked when I answered “tourism” to her question that another lady came over to further interrogate me to be sure that I wasn’t actually doing business. Once they were satisfied they marked a large “X” on my bags with chalk. I was free to enter country 113!

I found a man holding a sign with my hotel name on it and assumed it was the shuttle only later to find that he was just a regular taxi. Well done!

Our drive to the hotel was a bit stressful as the road was unlit and lots of people just walked around on the side of the road in the middle of the night.

The Retaj Hotel is quite basic but it did have a sea view and wifi.

Grande Comore Tour

The next day I met my driver from last night for a tour around the island primarily to go through the mountain and tour the northern coast. The drive was quite relaxed and pleasant. The road quality ranged from good to awful especially as we got further away from the capital.

The higher up the mountain, the less populated. Near the highest point there was a military base and the occasional mango picker. The driver stopped next to a guy who offered him several fresh mangoes. Then we gave a group of students a ride down the mountain. The communal atmosphere was really impressive.

There were some enjoyable views from the road especially overlooking the vast fields of volcanic matter. They actually process the stone for construction purposes.

Abandoned vehicles of all shapes and sizes littered the side of the roads. Stripped of everything except the shell, these relics waited to rust away and for nature to swallow them up.

On the east side of the island we started seeing some beautiful beaches with small villages and massive baobab trees.

We stopped at a rock formation that look like an animal’s backbone. I walked into a field with some cows to take some pictures.

We then went to Lac Sale a huge volcanic crater filled lake offering ocean views from its ridge. I hiked around the ridge of the crater and enjoyed the views of the coastline. On one beach women were washing clothes.

Near Chezani, the main town in the northeast of the island, we stopped to see a distillery. Built in colonial times, it is still running with updated equipment. They also produce and sell vanilla extract. I visited their small museum and animals. The young boy explained that they were creating bungalows for tourists.

We continued around the northern tip of the island closer to the coast and arrived at another beach with some significance as a prayer area. There was also a ramshackle resort made up of a bunch of bungalows.

Passing back through Moroni, we concluded the tour.

Moroni

The next day I toured the capital by foot. A brief walk from the hotel and I was in the center of town. There is a main market selling all sorts of nicknacks and goods. The smell was a bit unbearable though.

The banking center is nearby with all the main branches located in a square.

Right down the street is the National Museum. The ticket seller was really friendly and collected a small amount for the entrance. The museum consisted of two rooms of poor quality displays of geothermic science, handicrafts, huts, canoes, and stuffed animals. The most interesting item was the giant stuffed Coelacanth fish which was caught off the island in a freak accident.

I then went by the port where fishermen were trying to sell their catch of the day. I asked a fisherman if I could take a picture and he angrily said no. Apparently locals don’t like their picture being taken. A large ship was wrecked right in the mouth of the fishing port where the oldest mosque of the country overlooks the bay.

On the way back to the hotel I passed some government buildings like the Parliament House, the Supreme Court, and Tourism Office. My guide explained that many of the buildings were constructed by the Chinese like the empty Parliament House, several main roads, and the telecom building among others.

Overall I felt quite safe walking around. Even with half the population in abject poverty, the atmosphere was rather relaxed and orderly.

The next day I headed back to Madagascar. During breakfast I met a Chinese guy who is working on a real estate project with an American of Comorian descent. They seemed quite perplexed on what I was doing here as a tourist by myself and asked me what there was to see on the island. I told them about the sights to visit and also about how you can climb Mount Karthala.

My driver took me to the airport with several unplanned stops and one extra passenger who I chatted with and found out he spoke excellent English. He worked in the airport security and explained how he got accepted to a scholarship in Australia but his country didn’t approve so he couldn’t go. He didn’t seem too thrilled with his current job or the government in general.

At the airport we exchanged information and I went through the security check. He was not working yet, so one of his coworkers searched my bag. The process was a joke. The guy was on a scavenger hunt to try to find something he could confiscate, literally going through every pocket of my bag. Eventually he found my sunscreen bottle which was over the 100 ml limit and his eyes lit up. A large toothy smile appeared on his face.

“This you cannot take!”

It’s the little victories that can brighten someone’s day.

I was off to Nosy Be and then onto a tour of the Seychelles.