After a good night’s sleep, I feel ready to take on Comoros: today we have a tour around the main island, Grand Comore.
Breakfast
But first, time to fill our bellies.
While I hate being presented with a buffet for dinner, I am rather partial to a breakfast buffet.
David’s breakfast of fried egg, potatoes and beans.
The restaurant is full of sparrows nesting in the rafters and hanging around waiting for the opportunity to grab a few crumbs.
They are really quite cheeky, swooping in on abandoned plates as diners leave the tables to refill their coffees or whatever.
Island Tour
We make an anticlockwise tour of the northern part of the island; but first we travel a short distance south along the west coast.
Iconi Cliffs
It was here, in the 16th century, that a number of local women threw themselves off the cliffs rather than allow themselves to be captured by Malagasy pirates to be sold into slavery.
Kavhiridjewo Palace
Strategically positioned on a rocky promontory, the 15th century Kavhiridjewo Palace was built entirely from lava blocks and still retains some of the walls and defence towers from the time of the last Sultan.
The Sultan was captured by the French and taken to Madagascar, whereas the Prince is buried here (the larger, more elaborate tomb) alongside his mum (the smaller, simpler grave at the front).
There are no rivers or other waterways on the whole island, and although there is one spring that feeds the capital, most people have to rely on digging wells such as this one in the Sultan's palace for their drinking water.
Spider
There is a legend attached to the Guardian of the Palace, the ‘humble’ spider: when the enemy wanted to attack the Sultan, the spider created a web strong enough to protect him. From that day on the Sultan vowed not to kill spiders.
My on-line searches suggest that this is a female Red Legged Golden Orb Spider, a rather large spider (it is a bit bigger than the palm of my hand) who weaves extremely strong webs.
Witchcraft Lake
In the old days, the people of Comoros strongly believed in witchcraft (many still do); and when the Sultan wanted to win the war, it was only natural that he consulted the local witch. The Sultan was told to kill his slaves and throw them in the lake for the spirits to drink their blood and the fish to eat their flesh, which he duly did (and he went on to win the war).
It is said that for many years, screams could still be heard until the whole village got together to pray for the lost souls.
Car Breakdown
As we go to drive away from the lake, the car won’t start. Again.
The driver fiddles under the bonnet of the car, but still nothing. It fires, then dies. I use the time to wander over to the lake again to take some photos of the egrets in the trees on the far side.
Still no joy with the car. The driver phones for a mechanic to come and have a look at it. We hang around, photographing more birds.
Pied Crow
When, after half an hour there is still no mechanic, there is only one thing to do: we have to make a sacrifice!
An hour passes. There is not much around here, and Yahaya suggests we have to call for another car and driver rather than wait for the mechanic. Of course, soon after the call has been made, the mechanic turns up! By this stage neither the driver nor the guide is anywhere to be seen.
The mechanic spends less than a minute ‘tinkering’ with the engine and once the other two realise the car has been fixed, we make a move!
Parliament
Politics of the Union of the Comoros takes place in a framework of a federal presidential republic, whereby the President of the Comoros is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. There are 42 members of parliament, none of whom are women. There seems to be widespread corruption, with the president giving himself a huge pay-rise as soon as he came to power, and all the important jobs going to his mates.
Friday Mosque
Today is Friday and we can hear the Muezzin calling the faithful to prayer.
Badjanani Mosque
Built in a unique Comorian architectural style, Badjanani Msoque (AKA Ancienne Mosquée du Vendredi – Old Friday Mosque) is a symbol of the rich cultural and historical heritage of the country. Originally constructed in 1427, it is the oldest mosque in the Medina in Moroni, although the minaret was added much later, in 1921.
Plateau Diboini
We drive across the island from the west coast to the east, over the picturesque Diboini Plateau with its seven cones of extinct volcanoes.
Mount Karthala
On a clear day (not today), you can see Mount Karthala from this point on the east coast. The highest point of the Comoros and at 2,361m, it is the largest active volcano in the world, as well as one of the most active. Over the years it has had a devastating impact on many parts of the country.
Mount Karthala hiding behind the cloud
Like so many of these type of disasters, the eruption of Mount Karthala has a bit of a legend attached to it: a tired and thirsty holy man wandered from home to home in the village looking for water, but everyone turned him away, apart from one old lady who was generous enough to offer him a drink. Complaining about the bad people of the village, the holy man insisted on taking the kind woman and her family with him when he left. Cursing, he turned to the volcano and with that the lava erupted, flattening the village they had just left.
Heroumbili
During one of the many eruptions (there have been more than twenty since the 19th century, the last one in 2007), the lava from the volcano reached the sea here and created an extension of the coastline land in the village of Heroumbili.
Reclaimed land on the coast
The village kids come out in force to interact with us.
We continue along the north-east coastal road.
Turtle Island
This small island has been given a 'protected status' to stop locals rowing across and 'harvesting' the turtles who nest here, or their eggs.
Kissing Rocks
In Comoros, strictly-followed tradition means that the first-born girl must be kept pure until her parents find a suitable husband for her. She is not allowed to have a boyfriend, unlike any subsequent daughters.
Legend tells of one such first-born girl, who had gone against tradition and her family’s wishes by secretly dating a young man. Hearing of her father’s arranged marriage to a suitor she did not know, she feared what would happen in the morning after the wedding night when all the male members of both families traditionally meet to inspect the bed sheet for signs of blood. She was very much in love, and not wanting to cause shame and embarrassment to her father, she and her boyfriend chose to jump to their death from the cliff.
As they kissed one final time, their bodies turned to stone. If you look carefully, you can still see them there now, kissing.
From the top there is a great view of the coastline below to one side and the mountains on the other.
The house where the daughter lived - now abandoned
On the road again.
Lac Niamawi, AKA Lac Salé (Salt Lake)
In the 16th century, an eruption demolished the city of Niamawi. In its wake, it left a crater that has since filled with salt water.
The lake changes colour throughout the day, from brown to blue to green and is said to have healing properties due to its high sulphur content. No one knows how deep the lake is. In 1977 a team of Belgian divers went down to investigate, but they were never seen again.
Lunch
Near Mitsamiouli we stop at a small restaurant called Mi Amuse, where we have lunch.
The food consists of barracuda served with sweet and ordinary potatoes, carrots, fried bananas and rice, with a side of pickled lemon and chilli sauce.
The restaurant, which is also a hotel, has a bar serving alcohol and a nightclub with lively music and dancing of an evening.
Baobab Prison
As baobab trees get older (this one is a few hundred years old for sure), they very often become hollow in the centre.
Hollowed-out baobabs have been utilised for a number of different things all over Africa, including as here, a prison
In the old days, wrongdoers were put inside this ‘organic’ prison for three days, with the added night time punishment of the only light being the moonlight shining down through the gap above.
Galawa Hotel
“Once upon a time…” Isn’t that how all fairy tales start? Unfortunately this story does not have a happy ending.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, this part of Comoros was a really ‘happening’ place, with a luxury hotel that employed 750 people and saw 350 visitors arrive twice a week on charter flights from South Africa.
Yahaya proudly tells us he worked here for ten years, and Omar was his boss then, as he is now.
At least the frangipani still flowers
After going into decline following neglect by the Comorian government, the hotel was razed to the ground by the French some fifteen years ago. Promises of renewed interest and investment from Dubai have not materialised and all hopes were dashed by the financial crash of 2008.
One of Galawa's three beaches, there was a popular beach bar here
Today locals enjoy the warm waters of the Indian Ocean at this site
They are even enjoying a little song and dance routine as they bathe.
The only evidence of the former leisure hub is the tiled fountain and a redundant gate (the gate doesn't actually do anything, as we can drive around the side)
Yahaya also points out the spot where the hijacked Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed in 1996.
Mtswamwindza Mosque
It was here that Islam was first introduced to Comoros in the 7th century. Mtswamwindza, whose real name is Mhassi Fessima embarked on a journey to Medina where he converted to Islam and then returned to his city, Ntsaoueni, and converted the people to the new religion.
It was only the second mosque to be built in Africa, and Mtswamwindza is buried here.
Rain
On our way back down the west coast, the heavens open and throw bucket-loads of water on us. Thankfully we are dry inside the car, albeit a little warm once we close the windows. The roads are horribly potholed from the frequent torrential showers.
Along the coast we see beautiful sandy beaches, mangroves and lava flows reaching the sea.
Note the abandoned hull of a car - the whole island is littered with such wrecks, just left where they lost their will to live.
Road side grocery store
Bad News
Later Omar meets us in the reception of the hotel to tell us the arrangements for our flight to Anjouan tomorrow. There has been a change of plan... Really? That seems to be the theme of this trip.
The domestic airline Int’Air Iles has two planes: one 28-year old Airbus and a small 9-seater Cessna. The government has taken the larger plane to Kenya. We believe (hope?) it is for servicing; as I understand both Réunion and Madagascar have recently banned the airline citing safety issues.
What this means for us, is that we will have to take a ferry (hopefully) to Anjouan Island tomorrow instead of flying; but we will not be able to visit Mohéli Island as planned because there are no ferries connecting the island. The former is not a big deal, but the latter is a great shame, as our stay on Mohéli was to be the main part of our trip and the highlight: that is where we were going to go whale and dolphin watching, see turtles lay their eggs on the beach at night and see the rare Livingstone bats as well a the maki lemurs.
Oh well, there is not much we can do about it, we will just have to make the most of our time on Anjouan. Omar has arranged for us to come back to Grand Comore one day earlier than planned, so that we can easily connect with the new departure date from Comoros, also one day earlier than planned. That means four nights on Anjouan instead of the planned two.
Dinner
The restaurant has run out of lobster (I was hoping to try the local speciality of lobster in vanilla sauce) as well as fries, so it is rice or vegetables tonight (we can't have both).
Chicken with mushroom sauce and vegetables
Beef in mushroom sauce and rice
Thank you to Undiscovered Destinations, specialists in adventure travel to unusual destinations (such as Comoros), for arranging this trip.
