Mount Choungi

Having grown up in the Alps, Miss Austria gets anxious when there’s not a mountain nearby. It was therefore one of her highest priorities to find something to climb in Mayotte. On our second afternoon, driving towards a small southern town called Chiroungi, we could see a large and looming anthill in the distance.

We pulled over for lunch at the (one and only) bakery on the island, Boulangerie Artisanale. It is run by a couple of burned out French expats, Guillaume and Yann. They made us feel at home, fed us like we were old friends, and told us their tales of adventure. Guillaume once lived in the United States and was proud to reminisce about his participation in the L.A riots of the early ‘90’s. He claimed that he may have killed a man at the time, wasn’t really sure, didn’t want to find out, and came to Mayotte to escape the possibility.

Not quite sure how to respond to this news, talk quickly turned to the anthill. “Mount Choungi!” everyone in listening distance chimed in. Learning that it was both the highest point on the island and possible to climb, Austria promptly informed us that we were hiking it the next day. Guillaume, inspired by the enthusiasm, cleared the plates, motioned us to the car, and we were off to see the trailhead, all part of the trek prep.

At 3:30am the next morning--because, according to Austria, “we have to do this right!!--our alarms went off and it was time for our sleepy heads to scale the famous Mount Choungi. We had all brought frontal headlamps and by 4am-- in the pitch black--the hike had commenced. Fortunately, in the dark, we couldn’t tell that the trail was nearly vertical. Only being able to see five feet ahead of us anesthetized the fact that we were climbing tree roots at a 90 degree angle.

By 5:30 we were catching our breaths at the summit. The sun hadn’t started to rise, so we had time to get ourselves in the right position for the best show of the day. And what a show it was! From the highest point on the island, we had a grand panoramic view: the Mozambique Channel on one side, the Indian Ocean on the other. We waited as the sun began to shine on the place, little by little, bringing light to a quiet, dark, sleeping land. By the time we started our trek back down several hours later, Mayotte was on fire under a bright summer sun.