Comoros Islands

Mayotte

Our next stop was Mayotte, a territoire autre-mer of France. Mayotte is part of the Comoros Islands - a small cluster of islands between Madagascar and the African continent. We arranged for a van and set off to explore the island. Our first stop was the Guerlain Ylang Ylang plantation, where the essential oils of that fragrant plant are distilled to serve as one of the base elements of many famous perfumes. We were surprised at how small the factory was, and how simple the distillation process is. We then drove down along the western coastline to a small bay where sea turles gather. I brought my snorkel gear, but found the waters to be too turbulent with sediment to see any of the turtles. Bummer! A few of our fellow cruise passengers had better luck. That was followed by a very tasty seaside luncheon with a tropical theme, topped off by a dessert of creme brulee a l'essence d'ylang ylang. Yum! We headed back to the ship and set sail for Zanzibar.

(l-r): Guerlain Ylang Ylang plantation; The distillery; Baobab tree

At Sea

A couple hours after we left Mayotte, one of the two main engines shut down, and we proceeded slowly at half-speed on the remaining engine. Within a couple of hours, the problem was fixed, but unfortunately a similar problem developed with the other engine halfway through the night, further delaying our progress.