Maxine and Ray's trip 2022

 Mayotte is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and the coast of Mozambique. It is one of 18 regions of France. Although the official language is French, only about 60% of the population speak French. It's culture and language are more closely related to the neighboring Coromos Islands. Most people are of African descent and speak a local variation of Swahili. The larger island of Mahore where we visited is quite mountainous. The airport is located on the nearby smaller island of Pamanzi and can be  reached by ferry every 15 minutes.  Our boat tendered in the water outside of Mayotte. The harbor area is on the right side of the picture. Local dancers welcoming us at the dock. The island is very poor, although is much more prosperous than the Coromos Islands due to some  financial support from France. This situation has resulted in a lot of illegal immigration from the neighboring  islands, creating  a strain on local services and resources...

 We have stayed in Stone Town on the island of Zanzibar  before, so went for a jungle walk in the Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park nature reserve, rather than the city tour. Stone Town has a dark history, as it once was the center of the slave trade from Africa to the new world. Slavery was finally abolished in Zanzibar in 1908. Zanzibar has many old colonial buildings from it's days as a British colony, and lovely white sand beaches. A flame tree. City beach in Zanzibar. We drove across the island to the Jozani Nature Reserve which is home to the rare Red Columbus Monkey, the Sykes Monkey, large old Mahogony trees which are now protected, and a boardwalk over a  large Mangrove swamp.  Mangrove swamp. Can you tell which one is the Sykes Monkey? Sykes Monkeys Red Colobus Monkey The forest walk. We now have a day at sea before arriving in Mayotte, an overseas department of France.

We left Mombasa very early for the two hour drive to Tsavo East National Park, so we didn't see any of the old  buildings in the old town left from the early British colonial days. The drive was on a paved two lane road with fairly heavy traffic and frequent potholes to slow us down. There were many   crowded villages with makeshift structures along the road.  Since the large cargo seaport in Mombasa supplies several African countries there were also a lot of trucks hauling cargo containers on the road.  Typical structures by the road.  Tsavo East National Park spans 8,035 square miles. The vegetation is savannah grassland with thorny bushes, and some swampy marshland near the Voi River, with some scattered trees. The soil is very red, and the dirt roads in the park are  are quite dusty. At the end of our game drive in open air vehicles we were all covered in red dust!  Our driver loved to follow too closely to the other vans and cover us in their...

We are enjoying two relaxing days at sea as we head to Mombasa, Kenya. We arrive during the night, but are leaving the ship at 5:45 Am  for an all day safari at the Tsavo East National Park . So, we will be enjoying Christmas with the African Critters! We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas as we all appreciate the blessings in our lives! Love to you all from Maxine and Ray

Mahe is the largest island in the Seychelles, and it's city Victoria is the capital of the Seychelles. Victoria is a very clean picturesque harbor town. Settlement stretches along the coastal road for several miles from the city.  Victoria harbor where we docked.  Settlement of Mahe first began in 1771 with the French who started a spice plantation. With the start of the spice business it was decided that the north eastern side of the island offered a good harbor for ships to anchor, beginning  the site of present day Victoria. The plantation  was destroyed in 1780 when the French feared a British ship was approaching. Mahe became a British colony in 1812. The plantation site was  dormant until 1860 when the British William Green created a new 85 acre plantation called Jardin du Roi. The plantation is still in operation by descendants of the Green family, but more as a tourist destination than a spice producing business. On our day trip outing we first  dro...

 The Seychelles is an archipelagic country made up of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean off East Africa. It was uninhabited until explorers from Portugal, France and Britain began visiting the islands. It was first a French colony an then came under British control from the late 18th century until 1976, when Britain left. It has three official languages; Creole, English, and French The government has a president elected by popular vote  for a 5 year term. There are 35 members of parliament, 26 who are elected by popular vote, and 9 who are appointed based on percentage points received by each political party. The capital city is Victoria on the largest island of Mahe. We  first visited La Digue which is 10 square Kilometers, and the 4th largest island by area. It is the third most populated, with a population of around 3,000 people.. It was named after the ship on which naval officer Mac Joseph Marion Fresne arrived in 1768. In 1771 it was officially named a part of France....