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Published: August 11th 2010
After a very rough 5 and a half hour flight across the African continent, I looked out the window to see us flying over Lake Victoria and into Nairobi.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Kenya.”
I got my luggage without any problems and then found out very quickly that they drive on the opposite side of the road in Kenya when I put my bag into the back of the taxi at the airport and proceeded to get right into the driver’s seat. Oops 😊
I made it to the bus station in the center of Nairobi without any problems and took the 8 am bus from Nairobi to Mombasa. The bus ticket cost half as much as the taxi ride to the station from the airport. Oops.
I chose to take the bus because I figured I would have a better chance to see more of the country if I drove through it instead of flying over it, but I ended up asleep for most of the 8 hour drive anyway. Oops 😊 I had also hoped to see some animals on the drive, as the main highway goes directly through the largest national park, but alas, the only animal I happened to see was the crazy little boy sitting in the seat next to me. Haha.
On the drive, I could tell we were getting closer and closer to the coast as the dry scrubland of the savanna turned into lush green forests and palm trees. I fell in love with Mombasa instantly. The culture there is very mixed, and as I would find out later, the almost 2 million person population of the city is 40% Muslim, 40% Christian and 20% Hindu. The Arabian influence and flavor of the city is unmistakable and I loved it.
I also noticed how integrated the population was, which is something I really appreciate. Generally in Ghana, for example, the separation between the expatriate population and the Ghanaian population is apparent. In Mombasa, everyone rides the cheap public transportation and all of the different races live together in the same areas, which isn’t something you see everywhere.
They have something akin to the Ghanaian tro tro in Kenya, called the matutu. Again, it’s just a minibus with a driver and a conductor, and apparently, driving like madmen is a requirement for them in any country. 😊
They also have small lorries with three wheels that are used as another type of taxi in Mombasa, and I encountered the first woman taxi driver I’ve seen in any African country I’ve been to.
Once I got to the bus “stage” in Mombasa, I found a taxi without a problem (and got into the passenger’s seat this time) and en route to my hotel, stopped to buy a Kenyan mobile phone line. While I was buying the sim card and the kid was setting it up for me, a group of boys came over. I noticed they were chewing leaves, as I had seen a lot of other people doing. I asked about it, and they told me it was called mira, a leaf you chew that gives you the feeling that you’ve just had a beer. They gave me some to try, and with some hesitation, I tried it. It was the bitterest thing I’ve ever put into my mouth, and it didn’t do anything for me except make me want to brush my teeth. Maybe it’s an acquired taste? 😊
I continued on to the hotel and it was beautiful! I had no idea it would be such an amazing place. There were monkeys running around all the time and the beach was simply amazing - white sand, light blue water, and the occasional Somalian man and his camel, hoping to give rides for a small fee.
The hotel I stayed in for the first few days was called Severin Sea Lodge and in a way, it reminded me of the resort they stay at in the movie Dirty Dancing. Without Patrick Swayze, of course. 😊
Mombasa is actually an island, which lies in the Indian Ocean. It was quite chilly in Nairobi, but Mombasa was tropical and sunny for the majority of the time I spent there.
I found the food in Kenya much more to my liking than in Ghana, mostly because of the spices they use. So delicious! You can also drink the water from the tap in most areas, which was a nice surprise.
The currency there is the Kenyan Shilling, and the exchange rate was about 76 shillings to one USD. Trying to convert shillings to dollars always got me nice and confused. Due to the huge tourism industry they have in Kenya, things tended to be a lot more expensive than they are in Ghana.
I woke up to a beautiful morning on my first day. I hadn’t the slightest clue that a vote was taking place on Wednesday in Kenya to decide whether or not they were to write up a new constitution (they have had the same one since independence from British rule in the 60s). I had no idea that everyone stayed in their homes and hotels that day for fear of violence, and I think it’s probably better I didn’t know until after the fact. I have a feeling it would have stressed me out just a little. The vote was peaceful though, and the decision to adopt a new constitution was voted in. It was actually a very exciting time to be in Kenya, and everyone was proud of themselves for voting in peace. I particularly like this quote from the Daily Nation, Kenya’s largest daily newspaper: “Kenya’s new constitution won’t have much effect unless we Kenyans take a critical look at ourselves. As difficult as the journey to pass the new constitution has been, the ratification process was child’s play when compared to the fight that lies ahead.”
Anyway, the day the vote took place, most everything shut down, and the water sports office at my hotel was not functioning. I found a guy who worked at the hotel to arrange for me to do a snorkeling trip on the side, and I spent the afternoon laying in the sun and snorkeling. I was the only one on the boat, save for my Rastafarian boat captain and his friend, and the guide spent the day diving down to the bottom to pick up all shapes and sizes of sea cucumbers, starfish and shells for me to see. I realized that I’m not a very good snorkeler. I swallowed about enough sea water to fill a bathtub before I calmed down enough to be able to breathe through the snorkel. It was so worth it 😊
During my stay at Severin, I was asked nothing short of 30 times which flight crew I worked for. I was so confused. It turns out, Severin is the main hotel where flight crews stay when they come through Mombasa, and since I was alone, everyone assumed I was a flight attendant. Thinking about it now, I should have said I was from a crew, maybe I could have gotten some discounts?? 😊
The next day, I went on a tour of Mombasa. I had planned on chartering my own taxi, but when I was waiting for the car to come in the morning, I ran into two other people (crew members from Swiss Airlines) and we shared the car between the three of us. We went the largest wood carving village in Mombasa, we visited the Hindu temple, went to Fort Jesus and Mombasa Old Town. We got to see the Port of Mombasa, which is the largest port in Africa.
We also walked through the Old Town and went through the spice markets and produce markets. The Old Town is so so so Arabian, and I felt out of place not wearing a long dress and a veil. It was like walking through a Middle Eastern country and I loved it.
Fort Jesus is a fort that was built by the Portuguese in 1593, and it changed hands dozens of times over a few centuries. Arabs occupied Mombasa island before the Portuguese, led my Vasco de Gama, came and took it over. The people of Oman took back control of the island in 1698. Mombasa was a prized port, due to its location and its items for trade - such as cinnamon and ivory. The island changed hands between the Arabian people from Oman and the Portuguese 9 times before the British finally made claim to it.
In the car during the day, I heard all of the same songs that I listen to on the radio in Ghana. Don’t know why it surprised me?
In my hotel one of the nights, a group of Maasai herders came and danced for us. The dance was very, very interesting and it struck me as very primal somehow. All the dancers were wearing red cloth tied around them, and the dances consisted of a lot of jumping and a strange sound that came from the chest.
There are 42 different tribes in Kenya and the Maasai are the only tribe that have held onto their traditional beliefs and practices.
Swahili is one of the national languages in Kenya and I was told that it is a mix of Arabic, Indian languages and native Kenyan languages. The Swahili greeting for hello is jambo, and you hear it everywhere you go.
I also went on a nighttime cruise on an Arabian sailing ship, to have a 4 course meal and watch a historical show inside Fort Jesus. Our “sailing ship’s” motor broke down halfway to the fort, and we ended up being rescued by a wedding boat. Haha. The cake was good and the two man band was better than the one on our boat, so I have no complaints 😊
We arrived at Old Town just as the Muslim evening prayer was finishing, and at dinner I sat with an amazing couple from Germany.
The next day I went on a safari to Tsavo East National Park and it was an amazing, amazing, amazing day. I got up at 4 am and left the hotel at 5 am. I turns out I was the only one in my van, so the driver and I became quite good friends and he did anything I wanted, so if I yelled stop to look at a gazelle, he did it. I saw hundreds of elephants, tons of gazelles and impalas, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, warthogs, antelope, waterbuck, hartebeest, baboons, monkeys, a herd of hundreds of water buffalo, and LIONS! I wore a smile that you simply could not get off my face all day.
I ate lunch at the lodge in Tsavo, and watched 25 elephants bathing themselves and playing in the dirt in a watering hole 30 yards from my chair.
There are about 250 lions and more than 10,000 elephants in the park, and I learned that the giraffe is the only animal there that cannot make a sound. Tsavo is the largest national park in Kenya, and is separated between East and West by the highway. On the 2 and a half hour drive to the park, I saw a herd of elephants in the distance off of one side of the road, and I also saw a herd of camels, domesticated, of course. 😊 I was so excited before we even got there.
To see the animals in their natural habitat - playful and truly wild - was so exhilarating. I loved every minute of my day, and next time I come back to Kenya, I’ll bring my family to share it with me.
The night I got back from my safari, I met my friend Michelle at a hotel just down the beach. The next day was her Aunt’s wedding. It poured rain during the ceremony, but it was beautiful nonetheless and the reception and dinner were fabulous. They made me feel right at home even though I was a stranger.
I got up the next morning and watched the sunrise over the Indian Ocean.
I headed back to Nairobi on Sunday and spent the night in a quaint business hotel in the city center. I spent Sunday at a fair trade bead market, a Maasai market and I also got to see Karen Blixen’s house (from the movie Out of Africa).
My flight back to Ghana on Kenya Airways was delayed for 4 hours, and I took it personally that I could neither be enjoying Kenya or be spending the time of my last few days in Africa in my beloved Accra, because I had to wait restlessly at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi.
Instead of what I am used to - disembarking from a long international flight onto American soil, upon arrival in Accra I was still struck with same feeling of arriving home. I think I could get used to calling this place home. Only time will tell, I suppose?
I had an amazing, amazing time this week and I can’t explain the way it felt to see all of the animals in the park, swim in the Indian Ocean, or watch the last indigenous tribe in Kenya dance the way they have been for centuries. Mom and Dad, I cannot even begin to thank you for the gift you gave me in enabling me to take this trip. The only thing I would change about my week is to have had you guys there to experience it with me. Next time? 😊
Meanwhile, I’m missing you all.
Much love,
Cari
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AM Gladden
non-member comment
What an interesting time you're having!
Cari, I so look forward to reading your blogs! Your parents must be so proud of you. I've been contemplating a visit to Ghana this fall and developing some reservations due to discouraging comments other people here make about traveling alone and scammers, etc. (you know the usual generalizations by folks who themselves have never been). Anyway, reading your reports gives me confidence that I'll be just fine. Do you prefer Ghana to Kenya? Warm hugs, AM