Sunrise over Comoros

Comoros claims Mayotte (as in the map) but Mayotte is firmly under the full control of France and shows no sign of any interest in joining poor, chaotic Comoros.

Comoros is, I’ll bet, one of the least known countries on earth. It’s quite small, about the same size as Mauritius with somewhat fewer people – under a million scattered over three main islands.

Comoros is another poor, former French colony struggling to try to create a successful island economy and viable state. After independence in 1975, Comoros suffered three decades of dictatorships and turmoil with almost annual coups or attempted coups.

People on two of the three islands were so unhappy that they begged France to take them back! France refused. The political situation has apparently improved in the past few years.

We landed in Mutsamudu on the sleepy island of Anjouan. While they were not accustomed to tourists, we received a friendly greeting at the pier.

We were such an oddity that we were photographed by some people who found us novel.

Most adults were not keen on being photographed but these village kids seemed delighted to be the center of attention.

Left: Comoros is overwhelmingly Sunni. Right: Narrow walkways in the old town of Mutsamudu.

View of our little ship and the poor city of Mutsamudu from the citadel.

Goat posing on a mountain in the center of Anjouan island in Comoros.