Small Islands off the coast of Africa that is a hidden gem.
First and foremost, this country does not have a significant established tourism industry. A company that I used for all my bookings and the rough itinerary was Adore Comoros.
Jon, who is the owner, is a great man who is from the United States but grew up working in Kenya. He was pretty knowledgeable of the island and worked to put the tourism industry on the map. I can tell you that he has done a great job as all the suggestions he gave me were very accurate, and I was happy with the accommodation on the Grande Comoroe (the main island) and Moheli (a bio reserve island). He can put together long or short trips for you, and is very good about responding and understanding certain people’s budgets. To get in touch with him please email- Jon Hildebrandt- jon@adorecomores.com.
The island is a former French colony that has a very interesting language- Comorian. If you can speak some French, Swahili, and Arabic, then you can most likely at least communicate a little in this language. French, of course, is the language of business that most people use, but I found that when I moved around to different parts of the islands, some people would speak some of the languages by themselves vs. others.
Living in cities most of my life (for work), it is hard to appreciate or get good sunrises and sunsets, either because of the buildings or just lack of time. Even though I am not a beach or ocean person, there is nothing that I love more than a sunrise and sunset out at a beach or overlooking mountains. They may be some of my favorite types of landscapes to photograph. Comoros was no exception to this rule as no matter where I was on either of the islands, I always got a spectacular sunrise and sunset and even started experimenting with black and white photographing on these. Sometimes that beautiful orange-red sun beaming off the water is just what you need to start off or end a perfect day.
As one of my favorite activities to do in countries is go to rural villages and take cooking classes. My guide gave me an opportunity to do both as he took me to his village and introduced me to his family, and I cooked with him and his mom. I have a newfound respect for how hard it is to prepare Comorian food as it is a time-consuming process, but they are usually trying to feed large families.
Walking around the village was a great experience as I got to meet some of the locals and scare some of the kids who took one look at me and ran!!!! Nearby we went to some mangroves to see some of the nesting birds!!!
Even outside in my beautiful accommodation in Moroni (insert https://grande-comore-moroni.goldentulip.com/en-us/), I came out on the first evening on my way to dinner to this huge turtle just moving slowly, eating the grass outside my door. I named him Yertle and saw him around several times on the property over the next week, so I believe this was his residence.
Through the week on both islands, I was introduced to different types of architecture, from French colonial to stone houses reminiscent of Stone Town in Zanzibar. Many of the islands in the region were, of course, colonized by the French, but even before the French arrived, the Muslim traders set up outposts in the region and combined their architecture with that of the local architecture.
The landscapes on both islands were terrific. On the island of Moroni, you can be on top of the highest peak overlooking the Indian Ocean for one minute, then hike down to what looks like a jungle area and go north to what resembles parts of savannah grasslands. On Moheli, the whole island is a biosphere reserve, and it resembles more of a tropical jungle with some of the most pristine, untouched beaches you will find anywhere.
One of these places with a wonderful beach is Laka Lodge which is one of the most beautiful accommodations on Moheli Island. Walking out of your bungalow, you are met with some of the most spectacular landscapes you will ever see, and if you are lucky, the family of Lemurs will come out to greet you. This is where I spent New Year’s, and as it was my first New Year’s in recent memory, it definitely did not disappoint, especially with the oversized meal we ate with the local staff.
For Laka Lodge- Click Here
Everywhere in the world you go, you can see children and adults playing soccer. It is one of those sports that require just a bit of ingenuity in order to have a great game. I found these kids on Moheli Island playing a pick up game…
The Cheeky Lemurs that live in the Bamboo at Laka Lodge- No one knows how they got there, some say it was from trading ships, others say they have always been there (even though Madagascar is the only country with an indigenous Lemur population).
Different Bats are also native to the islands, and some can have massive wingspans. While most of them come out at dusk, it is hard to get photos of them with the sun going down. Many of them roost in trees, and I was lucky enough to have a few roosts in the tree next to one of my accommodations, but they were somewhat too hidden to take good photos of.
As I sat having breakfast one day, I noticed a hummingbird buzzing around, trying to get photos of these guys are difficult, but I tried my best.
The capital of Moroni is not a huge capital at all by any standards. The population rests between 150,000 to 200,000 inhabitants, and most of them are Sunni Muslims (as is the whole country). The Bazaar/Medina/Souk area has been around for centuries and has a very similar feel to the shopping area of Tunis in Tunisia. It was not a busy day while I was there, so I was able to get a lot of photos of the winding streets and all the old architecture, which also had a tincture of French influence from colonial times.
As I left the main island of Moroni for a few days to go to the reserve island of Moheli, I was highly excited as they have a massive population of nesting Green Sea Turtles that come up on the beach to lay eggs. It also has a sizeable population of the Hawksbill Turtle as well as Dugongs that inhabit the waters around the island because of its pleasant climate. I was lucky enough to stay in a bio shelter right near the beach where the turtles lay their eggs.
At night I was woken at about 11:30 night as we had to wait in the dark of night in order to see if any would come up to the beach. We had no light; we didn’t peep a word and just waited and listened in hopes of one of them moving up to lay eggs. Sure, enough, after about an hour, we heard one start digging (I did not take photos because of the flash); however, we used a soft white light and listened to her lay eggs, and she struggled to dig, breathing hard and furiously in order to dig a hole as deep as she could. We finally left her alone, although we never got too close or made any noise. Only approved lights should be used with animals at night and they should never be shined at their eyes or face.
The following day, I woke up to get sunrise photos, and in the distance, a friend told me that there was another turtle laying her eggs in the bushes. Sure, enough, it came out slowly, and I followed her (never to impede her path) through the beach, leaving her prints in the mud and into the ocean. It took her about 30 minutes or so as she was quite tired, but the pictures came out tremendous.
The local villages here strive to keep the beaches as clean as they can and respect the wildlife, which I find great as they know that tourism will bring benefits and these turtles, with all the pollution in the world as well as humans impeding on their territories are suffering as much as other sea life.
To put another rarity in wildlife into my resume, as I went out to do some snorkeling by Laka Lodge (insert website), I noticed what looked like a soccer ball in the water, but as we got closer in the boat, we turned off the engine, and it was a mating pair of turtles!!!! This is something that some people go their whole lives without seeing, as it is very rare. We were careful not to get too close, so we were not to disturb them, but it was a sight that I was extremely happy to see!!!
The Snorkeling of Moheli Island
As my time on Moheli came to an end, I went back to the main island to see my favorite spinner dolphins in action again one morning before I left on a plane out. I tried to catch as many of them in the air as I could, but they are extremely fast and extremely unpredictable out of the water, especially when they are swimming in their pod….
In the end, I had a blast on this island as my itinerary was perfect- it mixed up a little bit of city, a little bit of water, a little bit of jungle, a little bit of snorkeling, and a lot of food! Even though it is a small island, there is plenty more to see as it is still being developed….and maybe that is what makes it so special!!!!
3 responses to “Comoros”
glad to see your travel journals again!
Thank you. It has been a rough year at work and so busy, but I will be taking the next 14 months off to travel and will not work, so more to come!!! Hope all is well!!!
Great photos and write up. Thanks for sharing the adventure.