Day 11: Mamoudzou, Mayotte
As I mentioned in the introduction, Mayotte was originally part of the Comoros Islands, which was a territory of France. In 1975 the rest of the Comoros Islands became an independent country, but Mayotte decided to remain as a territory (technically an "overseas department") of France, so I don't get credit for a new country. I investigated the possibility of catching a ferry or flight to Comoros, but there are no flights, and Mayotte cancelled the ferry due to safety concerns. Comoros is one of the poorest countries in the world, and Mayotte is much more prosperous due to its status as an overseas department.
We didn't book a shore excursion on Mayotte, deciding instead to wander around Mamoudzou, the main town on the island.
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| Approaching Mayotte on the ship's tender |
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| Our welcoming committee |
The women on the island dressed in very vivid clothing, and a lot of them (although not the one below) wore a mud-like substance on their face.
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| Along the shoreline |
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| In the commercial district near the dock |
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| I was unable to confirm whether it was 100% rahissi |
We didn't wander very far from the dock area, as it was very hot and humid, and threatening to rain.
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| Note the mud (or whatever it was) on the women's faces |
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| Only 10,644 KM to Sydney |
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| Oy, is it going to rain |
The local market was located at the dock, so we took a walk through it before returning to the ship.
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| Your guess is as good as mine |
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| The blue boat is a ferry to another island that is part of Mayotte (not Comoros) |
For those of you wondering, it started raining on the island as soon as we got back to the boat. It eventually rained on us for about 20 minutes, which was the only rain we had on the entire trip.
Day 12: Day at Sea
Nothing much happened today, but here are pictures of some of the souvenirs that we bought on the trip.
Today, we found the following letter in our cabin, which provided a great deal of comfort (click to enlarge):
Day 13: Zanzibar Island, Tanzania
At one point in history the island of Zanzibar was an independent nation, but in 1964 it combined with Tanganyika to form the nation of Tanzania.
We docked today at the town of Zanzibar, the largest (and pretty much only) city on the island. Our shore excursion today was a visit to a "spice farm", to see how they grow various spices.
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| Our welcoming contingent at the pier |
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| Main market in Zanzibar town |
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| An apartment building in Zanzibar town |
The first stop on our tout was the ruins of the Maruhubi Palace, which was built by the Sultan of Zanzibar in the late 1800's. Although the ruins are only about 130 years old, they look a lot older--the weather in Zanzibar will do that.
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| A local resident |
Near the ruins was a small area resided in by boat builders.
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| Boat under construction |
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| Shop or residence of boat builders |
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| Apparently it was low tide |
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| Alternative (and not very well fed) local transportation |
From there, it was on to the spice farm.
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| Vanilla beans |
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| Cardamom |
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| Black Pepper |
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| Nutmeg |
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| A local climbing a palm tree |
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| Breadfruit |
After the tour, we were offered some fruit (peeled) which Brenda avoided, but I ate with no ill effects.
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| A local residence near the spice farm |
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| Another house |
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| Mama Nelson's Kiosk |
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| A former souvenir shop |
From the spice farm, we headed back to the ship.
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| A shop on the outskirts of Zanzibar town |
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| The local police station |
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| A resort outside Zanzibar town |
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| View of Zanzibar town from the shiop |
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| Artwork on sale next to the ship |
During the afternoon, Brenda decided to stay on the ship, while I caught a shuttle into Zanzibar town.
The old part of Zanzibar town is known as Stone Town, not to be confused with Stone Town on Mozambique island.
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| A nice hotel on the beach--Park Hyatt, I think |
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| A view of our ship from the beach |
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| Tourists on the beach, in the middle of town |
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| A street in Stone Town |
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| Forodhani Gardens, along the shore |
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| The Old Fort, built in the 17th century |
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| Another view of the Old Fort |
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| Inside the walls of the fort |
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| Along the shoreline |
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| Part of the Sultan's Palace |
Zanzibar is famous for its decorated doors.
Eventually I ducked into an alleyway to do some souvenir shopping. Fortunately, vendors in Zanzibar are not nearly as aggressive as those in Maputo.
Eventually, I made my way back to the ship.
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| Another view of Zanzibar town from the sip |
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| A dhow sailing by our ship |
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| Stone Town as seen from the ship |
Next:
Days 14-18 -- Mombasa, Kenya and Mahe, Seychelles
