Comoros has grown on me this past year.
My very first trip to the country was during a muggy-buggy-soon-as-you-step-off-the-plane-you-are-dripping-wet hot week in November 2013. I was unprepared for the heat and the bugs and the rawness of the country. Since that first trip, however, the raw beauty and friendly demeanor of the country has worn a soft spot on my heart for the place. While the country has a long way to go before I can recommend it as a vacation spot--its a nice break from the 'hustle and bustle' of Tana.
In the superb The Zanzibar Chest, Aiden Hartley recounts climbing a volcano in Comoros and looking down on the island: “the beauty made me catch my breath.” His description of the beauty there is apt--when I first stopped off the plane I couldn't stop thinking of Kauai's near-identical verdant north side.
Some links on Hartley's book:
Unfortunately, as one of the poorest countries in the world (an an island at that)--much of this beauty will never be appreciated by the outside world. Couple this economic isolation with the fact that they have suffered through more than 20 coups since independence and you start to get a sense of the country's challenges
Anyway, I wanted to share some photos/observations from a recent visit.
For insight on Comoran poetry--check out my post
here.
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A great reliable driver. Laly can be booked directly
or through the Hotel Itsandra |
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| Who knows how long this airplane has been ensconced in the dirt at the airport? Same goes for the old helo. |
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| Superb sunsets from the Hotel Itsandra |
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| The port of Moroni |
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| How the fish gets caught |
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| Skys the limit |
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| Belle Plage--if only they could keep the occassional diaper from washing ashore |
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| Inside the boat |
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| Downtown public beach--nice little restaurant not picture on the left |
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| Sometimes the cards don't fall your way |
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| Add caption |
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| Shipwrecked boat--it's since been swallowed by the ocean |
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| What are you looking at? |
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| Le fin du jour |
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