Lets Go To Boueni

Last week-end I went to a small town on the south-western part of the bigger island of Mayotte called Boueni. As I live on the smaller island of Mayotte, this trip gave me the opportunity to see the difference between the two islands.



A few minutes after exiting Mamoudzou and the cities filled with poor people that are the suburbs you get to see some nature. The smaller island is not as green as the bigger one because a lot of trees have been cut down to build roads and housing. You don't get the pleasure to drive under the trees. The bigger island doesn't have a lot of inhabitants so you can drive for a while before seeing any house. It is always quite fun to think about the life of the people you pass by, some of them have never been to the smaller island even though it is so close. Whenever you start to be hungry don't hesitate to stop when you see some boueni (woman in the local language) selling some food on the side of the road, you will find some local vegetables and fruit and they will be cheaper than in the city even though they come from the same place. In a way the smaller island is quite urban, I really like what the bigger island offers in comparison.



I stayed in a small hotel called “Le Soleil Couchant”, the owners were very welcoming and for 30€ I got a nice wooden bungalow. I had to share the toilets and the bathroom but for such a cheap price there was no reason to complain. I didn't forget to spray some mosquito repellent because I didn't want to fight with mosquitoes when I was having diner or when I was chilling on the terrace of the bungalow. There was no need to go far to have diner, the hotel was also serving food for an excellent value for your money; I ate a great crab cari that filled me up real nice. To be fair I mostly concentrated on the crab and left the cari on the side. I really enjoyed myself when opening the crab without the tools because there is no better noise when I am eating crab than the sound of shell breaking under my teeth. I took my time to eat this crab that had claws as big as three of my fingers. I would have gladly eaten a second one but one had to be reasonable and the home made chocolate mousse was a great way to fill what space was left.



In the morning I tried the home made mango-vanilla jam for breakfast and then went for a walk on the beach. Boueni doesn't have the most beautiful beach in Mayotte thus it is not packed with people but it is still worth a look, I was almost alone on that pretty beach. Close your eyes and think that you are on a sandy beach with colours varying from brown to light yellow. There is no one around you, the only sound you are hearing comes from the wind and the waves, the water temperature is 28°C and the sun is gently heating your body. I don't know anyone who wouldn't want to be there and the people living there know that very well. It is a great place if you want to be alone with nature.



Scuba diving was my end of the week end activity. On the way to the diving site we saw what looked like a fin. We first thought it was a guy snorkeling but no one was convinced. Everyone was curious so we headed the boat were the weird shape was, it could have been a dolphin or a shark. It was neither, once we were close to the shape we found out that it was a turtle or to be more precise it was a dead turtle with no head, no legs and no tail. The poor one had probably been eaten by a shark who couldn't eat what was in the shell because its mouth was too big. The diving instructors knew someone who was studying turtles and they wanted to bring the shell back to the shore but where could we tie something with no head or legs available. We then tried to get the shell out of the water but it weighed a ton and with nowhere to properly grab the thing it was almost impossible. We decided to keep the shell steady for a few seconds so that I could take some pictures to bring to the one making the study. This dead turtle didn't stop me from having a great dive because I forget everything when I am underwater.