Comoros - December 2018

The top of the crater

There is very little information available on the Internet about the Comoros.  I knew that there was a mountain that I wanted to climb, and whales to watch.  Unfortunately, it was not the time for whale watching and the boat trips were very unreliable.  I tried to phone the embassy of Comoros to find out about a visa, but seemingly they have disappeared off the face of the earth...

I phoned two travel agencies and was told that "no one goes to Comoros".  I phoned a visa agency and the lady had to do quite a bit of searching since they’ve never tried to get anyone a visa to enter Comoros.  Finally I was told that I could get one at the airport.  Voila!

I started to question if this is such a "touristy" place and googled again.  Politically it was  unstable and in 35 years there were 25 wars.  The fact that there was a volcano to climb convinced me to proceed!

25^th December:  I was packed and ready 7 hours before my flight.  I then bit into an ice lolly - causing my front tooth's crown to come loose!  Thank goodness this was not going to be a romantic getaway!  At the airport I got a nasty surprise.  Because it is Christmas, all the exchange agencies are closed, resulting in a very knotted stomach!  

Maurice and Maddy

26^th December: After a 14-hour flight, I arrived in Moroni.  To my horror I discover that there was no ATM at the airport.  I was "Euro"-less, toothless and the heat was unbearable.  I was definitely the ONLY tourist at the airport.  Fortunately a NGO worker offered to borrow me the 30 Euros, but her hotel was too far from mine..  The next moment a miracle happened!  The hotel management has sent a driver and I was able to borrow the money from him.

We stop at an ATM on our way to the hotel and my driver tried to cheat me.  I learned what the exchange rates were, so I considered myself to be very streetwise.  The driver told me that his friend would take me to Moheli  for the day.  Since my plans were to stay in Comoros for 6 days, it seemed like a grand idea and I took down his number.

But at the hotel I am told that he overcharged me for the taxi, and that it was impossible to travel to Moheli and back in one day!  I felt rather disappointed and fell into - thank goodness for an aircon!  At 23h00 there was a knock on the door - the manager brought me a huge plate of cooked chips, raw pasta, vegetables and eggs to take on the hike the following day. 

27^th December:  My driver arrived 10 minutes early.  There was no other choice but to take the heave plate of food with.  I was only given 1,5 litres of water but decided to take another one just in case.  At the drop-off point, there was no sign of my guide.  The driver  had no airtime to contact him!  Miraculously, he appeared 30 minutes later.  I handed him the heavy plate of food and explained that it was with compliments from the hotel manager.  I was pretty unfit and it was past humid!  After an hour my guide offered to carry my 3 litres of water, and I regretted not taking more.  I declined his offer to carry my backpack – I needed the exercise!

Life saving water

We reached the camp after a 3-hour hike and after hiding our gear, we were off to the highest peak.  If it was not for the fact that we did not have enough water with us, I would have insisted on hiking to the top the next day.  According to him, we were lucky to get a clear sky day without rain.  I was pleasantly surprised when we finally reached the top.  I hauled out the South-African flag and tried my best to smile without showing the gap in my teeth!  I felt like "Jane" when I swung through some trees in order to reach the crater below!

After 6 hours, we finally got back to the camp and I pitched my tent - whilst Maddy and a friend enjoyed the huge plate of food. I was extremely worried about the water situation and I asked Maddy's friend if he had spare water.  I thought that if I got lucky and he had water I would just need to boil it first.  Much to my surprise he presented me with a fresh 1.5 litre bottle - By now I was extremely worried about the water situation and asked his friend if he did not have any spare water – expecting to boil it!  Much to my surprise he pulled out a 1.5 l bottled water and I quickly gulped down at least half of it!

The campsite

28^th December:  I was all packed by 5:00 and after enjoying a cup of coffee, we started our hike.  The mountain was very littered and I decided to return again to clean up.  I badly needed to rest so we only picked up litter from the camp going down.  When we reached the village, there was no driver waiting and Maddy's phone battery was dead.  We walked to Maddy's house where his wife kindly forced me to eat some very dry cake, which I washed down with the water I had left.  She got hold of the hotel manager and they sent a driver to pick me up.  After a rejuvenating shower, I collected boiled water from the restaurant so that I could prepare myself a nice cup of coffee - fortunately I always have my coffee mix with me, everywhere I go!

Maddy having lunch

29^th December:  I did absolutely nothing all day, except for a bit of reading and playing cellphone games. 

30^th of December:  Because we were not going to spend the evening on top of the mountain, Maurice (a guy that I met the day before) and I set off for the mountains by 2:50.  This time I gave all my luggage to Maddy to carry.  I picked up litter whilst Maddy and Maurice went down the crater.  During our hike we picked up 5 large bags of litter.  Strangely, it took the same amount of time going up the mountain as descending. 

On top of the highest peak

We followed "Jeep" tracks filled with scree the entire way.  After 12 hours, I was back in my air conditioned room.  This was definitely not the most exciting hike ever and my feet hurt like crazy! 

It broke my heart to leave this kitten behind but at least his mom was there