Monday, September 17, 2018

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Sept 17, Monday...
Started this morning hoping to get a massage but high tide wouldn’t let it happen. Martha, my beach masseuse could not be reached on the beach from our hotel due to the tide. Oh well, I joined our group for breakfast and enjoyed pastries, bacon, fruit and oatmeal.

John Renouard, our WHOlives host, had consulted with us about our opportunity to actually see the well produce clean water before we left Kenya- so, we have opted to forego one day of safari and travel to the well site as the men begin to drill.

On our way to the drill site we stopped by the Fort Jesus Museum. “Built by the Portuguese at the end of the 16th century, Fort Jesus, Mombasa, bears testimony to the first successful attempt by Western civilization to rule the Indian ocean trade routes, which, until then had remained under Eastern influence. The design of the fort, with its proportions, its imposing walls and five bastions, reflects the military architectural theory of the Renaissance. Its structures and subsequent transformations, reflect the interchange of cultural values and influences between and among peoples of African, Arab, Turkish, Persian and European origin that fought to gain and maintain their control over this strategic port. “

We toured this stunning museum and I could only image what stories these walls could share. As we made our way through, I met Joseph, a local artist who works with ink. He had no business card but was willing to write his contact info and Instagram name on a piece of paper ... the only thing about that was his readiness to write the information on back of a beautiful piece of his work- and give it to me. I wouldn’t allow it so I paid him for the art work done on a white sheet of printing paper.

Once we left Fort Jesus we made our way to the health center to check on the drill. Thr Gingles, and Jonathan Lee who is on our trip for the Young Living Foundation, got to push the drill, as the drilling process began.
We learned that the drilling could take a day or two, especially after several small parts were found to have stripped and the drillers were stuck waiting on a part for an hour or so.

We left the drill site knowing we would return on Wednesday.

The traffic in Mombasa beats Houston traffic hands down, drive time here gives a whole new meaning to the concept. In Mombasa you not only have stagnant traffic but many people on foot or on cycles and stagnant, dusty air. Due to the drive time traffic, we were delayed getting back to our hotel and the beach until after dark - thus no beach frolic for me. Dinner had an Asian influence with spring rolls and stir fried veggies and a cabbage dish that was superb. We all stayed up for some of the evenings show which featured an African acrobatic troupe... think cirque de soleil. Then, early to bed because our safari starts early in the morning! #younglivingGingles #WHOlives #Mombasa #Kenya #FortJesus #

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