Blogs from Mombasa, Coast Province, Kenya, Africa - page 16

Hi everyone. Sorry it's been so long between updates! I planned to do it last weekend and then found I had 20 emails and spent 2 hours sorting them out so gave up on the blog! But here is the next exciting installment of my trip. Being rainy season, nothing overly-exciting has really been happening. Any volunteer trips that we've had planned for the weekends have been cancelled due to bad weather and New Hope are all cooped up inside as the field is flooded! However, there a couple of events I would like to tell you about... A couple of weeks ago I went to visit another project in Magongo (a suburb of Mombasa) that is essentially a sports project where the volunteers teach football and basketball to kids of all ages at a ... read more

First of all the bad news. Just as I had finished uploading the photos for my last blog, the memory card in my camera became corrupt (how does it even do that?!) and I've lost every photo that I've taken so far. :-( I guess to look on the bright side I've still got 10 weeks in Mombasa to catch up but it still kinda sucks. Thank you to everyone who has emailed me or left comments, I really appreciate hearing from back home and keeping in touch! I had a Club Sandwich (chicken bacon lettuce tomato) earlier to make myself feel a bit more at home! But anyway... On Saturday morning 11 of us made the 1 hour matatu drive from Mombasa, across a ferry and down the coast to Diani Beach. It is possibly ... read more

Ahh... After a 18hrs train ride from Nairobi.. limpeh is now in Mombasa, on the east coast of Kenya, facing the Indian Ocean.. Train ride to Mombasa Train is overnight train.. MWF Nairobi-Mombasa TuThSa Mombasa-Nairobi.. leaves 7pm.. if no delay.. 1st class ~3500ksh (2 to a cabin) 2nd class ~2500 (4 to a cabin) 3rd class (seats only) ~600 (i think) meals included in 1st and 2nd class.. but you can opt out (i opted in and bought 2nd class, and the meals aren't terribly fantastic.. not worth the 1100ksh extra at all.. so if you dun really fancy the restaurant car experience, just bring your own food and opt out)... Train is very slow, compared to 8hrs bus ride by bus.. mostly becos it stops so very often to wait for other trains (cargo) ... read more

Well here I am. Mombasa. The last 7 or so months have built up to this and now I'm finally here. Weird. The journey over was relatively uneventful. I had to check-in my hand luggage at the last moment as I wasn't allowed sun cream on board the plane with me so I spent the first journey with just the bare minimum and Nairobi airport was a little complicated to navigate but I arrived in Mombasa just 1 hour later than my expected arrival time (this was due to a cabin crew member at Nairobi not turning up!). Isaiah (the assistant in-country coordinator for i-to-i) picked me and another girl, Karen, up and brought us to the Mason hotel. It's a reasonably nice hotel - has a shower and a Western-style toilet anyway! Another two ... read more

hey all just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that i am still alive. Kenya has been amazing! we just finished our 7 day safari through Masai mara reserve and all the parks in the rift valley. We've seen so many amazing things : lions devouring a water buffallo, a cheetah with 3 cubs, elephants, leopards, rhinos, hippos, crocs, and have taken hundreds of pictures ( i'll send some of the best as soon as i can). We have rented an appartment on the coast for the rest of our trip ( for about 5$ a night) and plan on diving and relaxing on the beach until we go back to nairobi on saturday. i wish you were here, ~Paul... read more