Well, we are enjoying it. Sailing around the island we stop to snorkel, dive and swim as often as we can. Sadly, we only scheduled our stay here for approximately one week* (no one told us it was going to be this great!), so we are rushing things a bit, trying to see as much as possible before we leave. The most impressive area is the S-Pass. So called due to the pass “snaking” itself like an S, with 50 meters in the middle of the channel and shallow, stunning coral-reefs on both sides. As the S-pass is completely exposed to the elements, stopping here requires calm conditions. And we nailed it! We sailed up to a mooring early in the morning to an absolute mill pond! So excited where we to jump in the crystal-clear water, that only after we had lowered the dinghy, donned our snorkelling gear, and was about to hop in the water for several hours of submerged fun, did we realise – we haven’t eaten a thing! Still donning wetsuits, masks and snorkel, we hurried in to the galley, whipped up a couple of sandwiches, gobbled them down, then jumped in. Luckily, we did have the wherewithal to at least take off the fins before this short interlude. Mayotte is French. Like, “tres” French.
It is an actual region of France, albeit a very remote one. They use the Euro, serve Duck a’lorange and Côte de Beuff (a nice change from BBQ goat in Tanzania) have boulangeries, and only speak French. And I do mean only French. Whilst I still remember a few phrases from my high school French, I didn’t think “un autre vin rouge, s’ill vous plait” would get me through the check-in procedure. Thankfully the old-fashioned phrase book has given way to Google Translate, and so the check-in process went as follows: I wrote my purpose of business in English on my phone, handed the phone to the official, who read, mumbled something indiscernible in French, nodded and gave a “Uhu. Oui. Dacor”. Then he wrote something in French and handed the phone back to me, so that I could mutter something equally indiscernible (one is not to be outdone by the French, no matter the topic) in English, nod and give a “Aha. Yup. Gotcha”. And voila – check-in completed!
Never have we met such incredibly helpful people. Several times when asking someone for direction, the answer has been “You know what? Hop in my car. I’ll close the office/shop for a few minutes and just drive you” (all in French, accompanied by explanatory hand gestures, of course). And as such we have been driven around and given some great local tips along the way.
A note must be mentioned about safety. The populated parts of Mayotte are two islands: Grand Terre and Petite Terre (Large and Small Earth), which are connected by a frequent ferry service. Our time on land has largely been on Petite Terre, where the yacht club and check-in official are, as well as a good selection of restaurants and boulangeries. We have been given strict warnings that if we are to visit Grand Terre, we should only do so after 9am and be back before sundown. Under no circumstances should we be out in the dark there, as there tend to be riots and unrest at nights. (This small detail could be a contributing factor to the lack of tourists I suppose…). One could ask (as we did) why this don’t occur on Petite Terre? And the answer is that 30% of the inhabitants here are part of the French Navy! Well, that would be a bit of a deterrent, wouldn’t it? That also does explains the frequent sightings of strapping young lads (and lasses) with an impressive amount of abs, pecks and biceps… which one would notice if one was looking… which I am not. Promise…!
The Yacht club is super social and a wonderful place to meet other yachties. Here you can daily meet and shoot the breeze withlocal sailors, long term cruisers who are “stuck” in paradise for unknown and equally unimportant reasons, and cruisers en route to the next destinations (like us). All while being served a cold one by manager, Jean Pierre Bourgeot, a French four-time Tour de France participant, who is incredibly helpful to yachties, and does not charge a scent for us mooring in “his” bay.
As our time here is nearing the end, we are right now busy bunkering, provisioning and scouring over weather forecast before we set out on what could be our most challenging journey yet. The notorious Mozambique channel! Here’s hoping for fair winds and following seas!
Anecdote: Talking to our son in Wellington this morning he said “you keep saying Mayotte this and Mayotte that. You don’t have to go on about it, I know it’s your yacht”. Funny those young ones…
The reason for only scheduling such short stop is that our kids are flying to meet us in Cape Town for Christmas. For us to get to Cape Town we need to cross two notorious waters: the Mozambique Channel and the south coast of South Africa (including Cape of Good Hope). We reluctantly leave Mayotte so soon in order to have ample time for many possible safety stops along the way.
