We left on Wednesday morning and returned home early Sunday morning. I think all but two teachers went so that meant there were about 35 of us. We took our own school bus and had two drivers to share the driving duties. Most of us has a seat to ourselves, so we had plenty of room.
On the way down we stopped for a late lunch at place called, Kikopey, known for roasted meat. I understand it is near a grazing area where they raise many animals. Our men especially were thrilled. There were many shops that were grilling meat: goat, beef, chicken, sausages. As a small group, you order the meat that you want and were served ugali, tomatoes and onions on the side. It was OK, the men were a lot more excited about it than the women. Roasted meat is a real treat and Kenyans don't eat it often.
When we arrived in Nairobi on Wednesday night we hit rush hour and were caught in a jam (traffic jam). When we got to the downtown area several of the younger men teachers spent their time standing in the back of the bus watching traffic out the back window. Welcome to the big city! I think everyone appreciated having an hour to find snacks, bathrooms and stretch.
We got to Mombasa about 7:30 am. They hadn't called ahead for reservations so the first order of business was to find a place to stay. I recognized that we were only a few blocks away from Susan and Mary's house the first place we stopped. I gave them a quick call and less than 5 minutes later Mary picked me up. I ended up spending the entire day with them. We had a great visit, ate PIZZA for lunch:), and went to a mission group to order furniture. The Brother than ran the mission was a friend of Susans. Both of them had worked in Kitale for a number of years. We had a wonderful visit and got some good information on nonviolent communication. On the way home we got ICE CREAM! Pizza and Italian ice cream on the same day. What a treat!
I spent Friday with my fellow teachers. As pedestrians, we rode across the ferry to the south coast. (The city of Mombasa is on an island. You drive over the causeway to approach it from the west, but must cross on the ferry to get to the south. To get to the north you can use a bridge. The beaches are both to the north and south.) We had a little excitement on the return ferry trip. It got caught in the current, traveled downstream and turned a 90 degree angle at one point. We were never in any danger, but many people were pretty nervous.
Just like many tourists, shopping, shopping and more shopping is what they were most interested in that afternoon. I trailed along listening to them bargaining. Once a price was established, I did purchase a couple of lessos (fabric used to cover their good clothes when they are working).
We got to the beach about 4:00 that afternoon. It seems that many Kenyans are afraid of the water. It makes sense: they don't have swimming pools and there is very little water in rivers, ponds or lakes for swimming. Even though I had a swim suit on under my clothes, we were only there for an hour so I didn't bother to take off my skirt. I was the first one in at low tide. I went back several times and told the men they needed to take off their shoes, roll up their pants, and come on in. Finally several did.
There was a small boat that offered to take us for a ride out to the reef. There were about a dozen of us that went. It was a glass bottom boat, so we were able to see fish, urchins, coral, etc. They were so excited and amazed. It was so much fun watching them. Francis, David and I were the only ones brave enough to go sit on top of the boat. I'm sure they all agree that I am pretty crazy not being afraid of the water and sitting on the roof of the boat.
Mary, Susan and I spent a relaxing Saturday morning chatting and eating. We left about 1:00 that afternoon and didn't stop nearly as often on the return trip. During one of our stops the biggest purchases were honey, woven baskets, and carved wooden spoons. I'm guessing there were many happy wives when their husbands returned home with gifts.
We arrived in Kitale about 6:30 am. I had asked the driver to drop me off at a gas station that is only two blocks from our house. His comment was, "Is someone going to meet you there?" I was going to just walk home. The people sitting around me wouldn't hear of that. "It's too risky," they said. I'm sure it wasn't really. It's a major, wide road in a good part of town. We walk on it all the time, but I did have a couple of bags. So, I called John so he could meet me. You could see and hear their relief when they saw John and our car. I don't think anyone at home needs to worry about me when I am with my fellow teachers!
Click here to see more pictures from Mombasa.
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