Adventures in Africa: Mayotte

This morning I was feeling a little better, and although I did not eat a lot, I did have a bit of an appetite for breakfast. I found all the ants in the honey amusing. I may be in France, but it is also the tropics.

I fly to Reunion late this afternoon, so I planned to explore more of Mayotte this morning. I wanted to visit Grand-Terre and Mayotte's capital of Mamoudzou. This time, however, I made sure I was confident about the shared taxi and indeed I walked over to the airport and easily found one. For €2 the taxi took me to the port, where the frequent ferry is only €0.75 for pedestrians. 

The ferry itself is a nice way to enjoy Mayotte, since for the duration of the about 20 minute ride you can sit out on the upper deck and take in the views as you travel between Petite-Terre and Grand-Terre. 

There is an unimpressive tourist office near the dock, as well as a more interesting market and a variety of other shops and transportation infrastructure. 

Also, Mayotte has its version of the sign I had seen two days ago in Comoros--asserting that Mayotte is French. 

I visited the market and bought a couple bananas, which seemed like a smart thing to be eating given the state of my stomach. 

I spent a little while around the water here in Mamoudzou, but not that long. There was not anything in particular I wanted to see and I am still low on energy, so I was not overly ambitious. 

Shortly after noon I caught the ferry back to Petite-Terre and then again the shared taxi was easy enough to locate and ride back to the airport. I ate lunch at my hotel and sat in the restaurant basically until it was time to go to the airport for my flight. Even though I sat for a couple of hours, I could not finish the meal I ordered, which is extremely unusual for me. I did, however, eat more than I had since Monday and anyway it was probably smart to sit there and take it easy. Especially since I was sick, I was happy enough with what I had been able to see and do in Mayotte and hopefully preserving energy will allow me to enjoy Reunion.