Blogs from Mombasa, Coast Province, Kenya, Africa - page 22

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Africa » Kenya » Coast Province » Mombasa February 6th 2006

Hi everyone, After a few very long flights I made it safely to Mombasa. This isn't going to be long, but I just wanted to let you all know that I made it here safely. It still doesn't seem real, except that I'm sweating buckets. It's quite hot and the buildings don't have ac. The group I'm with is great. We're staying in a couple houses just down the street from Fort Jesus (a fort built by the Portugues in the 1500s). The view of the Indian Ocean was breath taking. The sky is clear blue and the water is just like the blue in many post cards. Walking around this area though, you can tell it's poor. It's kid of weird. Gotta go now. ... we're going for a tour of the city. I'll write ... read more
Mombasa
View from the balcony of the SIT house
Swahili door at Fort Jesus

Africa » Kenya » Coast Province » Mombasa November 15th 2005

We arrived at the airport and the transfer to Mombasa was straightforward. The difference in the humidity was astounding as we exited the plane. So moist and the air was damp. We found our guide and I jumped in with a liverpudlian couple. The driver was a real tall athletic looking Kenyan. He was a good man it seemed. A wealth of information about Mombasa and really well informed on the English premiership. He was also bemoaning the tribal rivalries that undermine the Kenyan national team. The journey involved crossing a ferry out of the city and we were driving through very busy rundown areas with a Muslim feel on our way out of Mombasa towards the tourist resorts of Dinah beach on the Southeast coast of Kenya. We arrived at the Papillon hotel at about ... read more
A Baobab tree
Me
The pool at the hotel

Africa » Kenya » Coast Province » Mombasa January 14th 2005

Tiwi Beach Oct 27 - Nov 12 The eight hour bus ride from Nairobi to Mombassa was grueling; unsealed roads, a very bad driver, no bathroom and no food stops. Actually, there was a road-side stop to buy live chickens!? At the Mombassa bus stop, we were used as bait by the bus company owner to catch a thief who was harassing us moments before. We had to stand in a busy sidewalk and wait for him to approach again as the owner and a security guard watched from inside the terminal. Very strange indeed. Unfortunately, he didn't come back. We had no accommodation booked in the city nor at our destination of Tiwi Beach (all the phones on the beach were down for days). After our short introduction to Mombassa, we decided that to wing ... read more
Tiwi Cottage
Water Frisbee
The Security Staff

Africa » Kenya » Coast Province » Mombasa September 9th 1993

Zanzibar, a small island off the coast of Tanzania, had captured my imagination ever since learning about the exotic spice island in my history class. As if the prospect of going to this tropical paradise wasn't enough to feed my fantasy, an opportunity to travel there by traditional motorized, cargo dhow boat was more than I could resist. Eager to escape the stinking cesspool of Mombasa my travelling companions, Pamela, another Aussie, Will, from the UK and I arrive early at the dock for our voyage. ‘Excuse me, which boat is going to Zanzibar today?’ Pamela asks a grimy African wearing a well worn grease stained T-shirt who stares at us blankly. Appallingly, Pamela points at all the boats and yells ‘Zanzibar, Zanzibar’ as if he is deaf. After much gesticulating with his peers, we find ... read more

Africa » Kenya » Coast Province » Mombasa August 12th 1275

On my way back home to Baghdad, our captain informed us that we had the opportunity to make one more stop for trade; Mombasa. The city was founded by Arab traders who intermarried with local woman to create a predominately Muslim community. The population identifies as Shãfi'i Muslims, and through some early exchanges for basic goods I sense their integrity and feel that they are people of good spirit. Its key exports are coconut, ivory, sesamum (sesame), and mill. The city and its traders play a key role in the exchange of goods in and around the Indian Ocean. It is centrally located on Eastern Africa, making trade easy to and from Egypt, Arabia, India, and even Indonesia and China. Both raw materials and luxury items are harvested and manufactured here, including Persian rugs and cotton ... read more




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