This week's remote destination- Living in the Comoro Islands

by Harriet and Martin Ottenheimer/Sail-World Cruising on 17 Mar 2009 The Comoro Islands are a potential cruising stop for cruising sailors who opt to avoid the Red Sea route from the Pacific to Europe, and Harriet and Martin Ottenheimer lived there for 18 months. They described their experiences to Escape Artist:

The first thing that strikes the visitor to Anjouan is the sheer beauty of the island. From its stretches of black, sandy beaches to its nearly mile-high central peak--often shrouded in mist--the island is truly a tropical jewel set in a sparkling sea. Anjouan is just one of the Comoro islands, and it was our home for a year and a half in the 1960s.

Located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, halfway between Mozambique and Madagascar, the Comoros are an archipelago of small volcanic islands.The four main islands are Grande Comore(seat of the capital, Moroni), Moheli, Anjouan, and Mayotte.

In the 1960s the Comoros were still an Overseas Territory of France, administered by a French High Commissioner.They were more isolated than any place we had ever been.To travel there, we had to fly from East Africa to Madagascar first.There were no direct connections from Africa to the Comoros, not to mention Europe or Asia.

Although the Comoros had been active participants in a thriving Indian Ocean maritime economy for centuries, European colonization had left them isolated and disconnected from the rest of 20th century life.

When we arrived in the town of Domoni on the island of Anjouan, there were no hotels, restaurants, electricity, or running hot water. There was one narrow, twisting, mountainous paved road, a handful of cars, one radio, and a public telephone at the post office (that worked sometimes).

In spite of the lack of amenities we set up housekeeping and settled into a wonderful way of life, learning the language and the culture of our hosts. On warm evenings, sitting out on the second-floor balcony of our coral-and-stone house with our new Anjouanese friends, looking out over the Indian Ocean and watching the water sparkle in the moonlight, we easily forgot about all of the technological comforts we had taken for granted in the United States. Our new home boasted so much more to delight the senses.

Anjouan is a lush tropical island with a volcano at its core. Rare, colorful birds abound, Livingstone bats (found nowhere else in the world) thrive in the mountainous fern forests, and furry, large-eyed lemurs can be enticed into sitting on your shoulders. The luxuriant growth of wild tropical plants combines with cultivated farmlands to provide spectacular vistas at every turn.

Breadfruit, taro, manioc, pigeon peas, coconut, mangos, avocados, lychees, papayas, citrus fruits, and more augment cultivated mountain rice to provide daily sustenance.Ylang-ylang, basilic, and jasmine flowers perfume the air and together with vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves provide cash crops for export. Cattle, goats, and chickens, supplement the wide variety of fish available in the ocean waters.

Small rivers cascade down the mountains, splashing over waterfalls on their way to the seashore, providing fresh water as well as popular spots for doing one's laundry.

While small farming villages in the mountains have houses made primarily of thatch, larger towns along the coast, such as Domoni, have multistory stone dwellings, mosques with tall minarets, and cool narrow twisting streets. Seen from the sea these coastal towns--set against a background of verdant mountains, with the smoke from cooking fires drifting over the rooftops, and the aroma of fragrant tropical flowers permeating the air--evoke the adventures of Sinbad the Sailor. This fabled traveler probably visited Anjouan over a thousand years ago when the islands were a major link in the Indian Ocean's maritime trade. We found evidence of this trade in an ancient stone house in Domoni where the whole ceiling of one room had been inlaid with small porcelain dishes; the dishes turned out to be 17th century Japanase Imari ware.

Local elders also spoke of the ancient trade, with stories about Indian Khotias--large multi-masted sailing vessels--visiting the islands, and of Comorians sailing throughout the Indian Ocean, engaging in trade and amassing great wealth for their marriages. By the 1960s, motorized vessels and air transport were taking the place of traditional sailing vessels as the major mode of transportation between the islands and the rest of the world. Still, there were a few small Jahazi--single-masted sailing vessels--plying Comorian waters, bringing passengers and goods from one Comorian town or island to another, occasionally sailing as far as Madagascar.

The rhythm of daily life in Domoni was influenced by the closeness of the islands to the equator, where the noontime sun is high and strong. People rose early in the morning to go to the fields to tend their livestock and crops or go to small factories to prepare ylang-ylang, cloves, vanilla, and other commodities for export.

To read more of the Ottenheimers' experiences in the Comoros, go to the Escape Artist website

Information about the authors, Harriet and Martin Ottenheimer:
Martin Ottenheimer is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Kansas State University. To see other publications by him go to his website

Harriet J. Ottenheimer is Emerita Professor of Anthropology & American Ethnic Studies at Kansas State University. To see other publications by her go to her website

Facts about the Comoro Islands:

The Comoro Islands consist of four main islands: Grande Comore (Ngazidja), Moheli (Mwali), Anjouan (Ndzwani) and Mayotte (Maore). Formerly a French colony, the islands are now independent, except for Mayotte which is an overseas territory of France and a naval base.

The islands are volcanic and Mount Karthala on Grande Comore is still active. They are mostly protected by coral reefs and the surrounding seas are rich in marine life. The coelacanth, a 350 million year old species of fish believed to be extinct, was rediscovered in Comorian waters.

Most yachts who visit the Comoros are sailing between Mauritius and East Africa, the islands being very conveniently located on that route. The underwater scenery is their prime attraction.

Country Profile
The islands were originally settled by Malays, Africans and Arabs, then by prosperous refugees from Persia who created their own sultanates. In the seventeenth century European and American pirates such as Captain Kidd used the islands, but during the nineteenth century France's influence increased until in 1912 Comoros was declared a colony. This lasted until 1975, when the islands gained independence, but political instability persisted between the islands, with reluctant power sharing. As late as March 2008 the African Union had to be called in to resolve a political crisis. Most Comorians live at subsistence level and many work abroad. The export of perfume from ylang-ylang, jasmine and orange trees is important, as is vanilla, cloves and pepper. The population numbers over 750,000 and are a mixture of Arab, African, Malay, Malagasy and French origins. Most are Muslim. French and Arabic are official languages, with Comorian, a language closely related to Swahili, widely used. Moroni on Grande Comore is the capital.

Climate
The islands have tropical climate with a hot and humid wet season from November to April, and a cool, drier season between May and Octo