My weekend in Mombasa

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After almost eight hours on this bus I have only just realised it has free wifi, not that it will hold for long enough to send anything through. We're currently in Nairobi for another half an hour to pick up other passengers then heading on to Nakuru. Not aplace i really want to be after the terrible tragedy yesterday! I was hoping we'd get back in time for a late dinner but it looks like it'll just be the biscuits and bread with jam that I managed to quickly grab before leaving Mombasa (wasn't clever enough to buy a knife though so we have some very sticky fingers haha). A group of other volunteers and myself spend the weekend at the seaside city of Mombasa. Which is an overnight bus trip leaving Nakuru at about 9 (two hours after we were supposed to, (Kenyan time is in a whole mother dimension!) on thursday night and getting to mombasa at about 630 in the morning friday. I've also come to the decision that Kenyan manufacturers don't really believe in installing suspension in their vehicles so it wasn't the best nights sleep to say the least! Haha But the hotel we stayed at, an Eco back packers called Stilts, was beautiful. We had three little tree houses, with monkeys clambering in the surrounding trees (and stealing ransacking your room for any food even if you just have a rubbish back with food wrappers!) and a lovely communal bar/reception which was also up in the trees. And only for 1000 Kenyan shillings a night which is equivalent to maybe $12 Australian!! It was on the South Coast on Diani Beach, which is about an hours travel from the city centre so on the first day we just spent the afternoon relaxing at the beach. Rode a camel!! Really scary when it stands up and sits down while your hanging on is back and not the most comfortable thing to sit on either haha but a very cool experience! On Saturday we headed into the city, a bit of an adventure trying to figure out the three Matatus we had to catch with a ferry in the middle but we made it in the end and spent the day exploring Fort Jesus and the Old Town. An area of tiny winding streets filled with a crazy mix of Arab, Indian and traditional Swahili architecture. You get an amazing sense of the history there and all the different cultures. Very glad we got a guide I think I could've spend days trying to get out of there myself! I am a terrible bargainer and spent probably double what I should've but did get some gorgeous African fabrics and other souvenirs, and more importantly plenty of photos to remember this beautiful city by!

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Photos

The beautiful Diani Beach

With my new friend 'Alex' the camel

Fabrics for sale at the beach

The 'head' of Fort Jesus

Streets of Old Town

Gorgeous finishes on the buildings of old town

The spice market in the heart of Old Town

The spice market in the heart of Old Town

In the trees at Stilts hotel