Blogs from Mombasa, Coast Province, Kenya, Africa - page 7

Heute steht der zweite Besuch eines Dorfes an. Eigentlich hatte ich mich für Shanzu entschieden. Doch als ich in diesem Dorf ankam, musste ich feststellen, dass die Infrastruktur besser als erwartet war. So habe ich mich entschieden, in ein anderes Dorf zu gehen und bin in zwei altbekannten Dörfern gelandet: Mutomondoni und Mikanjuni. Schon letztes Jahr habe ich hier Kleider verteilt. Bevor ich jedoch Shanzu verlasse, hatte ich noch die Gelegenheit das "Shanzu Educational Centre" zu besuchen. Hier erwartete man sofort eine kleine Spende von mir...... read more

No trip to Mombasa is complete without a train trip on the romantic (i.e. old) Rift Valley Railroad to Nairobi. We got first class sleepers for the trip and had to accommodate a tight schedule. The train only goes on certain days, and since we'd arrived on a Thursday, the next train out was on Sunday evening scheduled to leave at 19:00 and arrive at the Nairobi train station at 08:30. Hakuna Matata. Our flight back to Doha was on Monday afternoon at 14:20. Assuming the train would be 3 hours late arriving, (after all, this is not the German Railways) we would still have plenty of time to make it to the Nairobi airport. We had a double compartment with four sleeper beds between the three of us. We could lock up the doors and ... read more

We could not find a reasonably priced beach location nearby to Mombasa, so we asked the airport taxi driver for a recommendation and he took us to the New Palm Tree Hotel. Many places jack up their prices by over five times between Christmas and New Years time! We needed some rest time, to get over some cold and flu symptoms. W.. and N.. had both been harbouring cold/flu like symptoms during the Safari and E.. finally succumbed to it in Mombasa. We ended up spending lots of time in our hotel room and the wonderful roof garden / courtyard. Walking around the old town part of Mombasa is similar to Stone town in Zanzibar. The Swahili influence is very strong, and Fort Jesus, that was built by the Portuguese in their vain attempt to hold ... read more

Since our last blog we continued teaching at the orphanage in Nairobi. We were teaching the same group of 5 boys and like to think that we had a positive impact! They seemed to enjoy our last day, when we provided them with lots of nibbles and a movie to watch on our laptop. It really was sad to leave them, they were great boys and had the best manners of any kids we had ever seen! We got so attached to them after only a few weeks, god knows what we would be like if we were here for longer! Before we headed to the coast we met up with a few other volunteers for a meal at the popular Carnivore restaurant. The food was great and we got the opportunity to try ostrich and ... read more

Sorry it's been a while since I last wrote. Things have been ploding along and have fallen into a rhythm so I haven't noticed the time passing. At this time I've been in Vipingo for 8 weeks, and have 2 1/2 weeks left. It one sense that feels like a long time, but the past 2 months have gone by so fast that I know 2 1/2 weeks will just fly by. I was lent a bicycle in my second week, and it's made getting around much easier. The road is like an obstable course, and you're constantly dodging rocks, potholes, and the occasional goat. I think all the askari (guards) at the gates recognize me now, and the always have friendly words for me when I pass through. In terms of nests the last while ... read more