Taking on more than I should have

One week in and 513 am. Plan is now to leave for Mombasa mid day and then tomorrow leave for Lamu by bus. It was a suggestion from Christine who used to work for Aviawest. It's an island 6 hours north of Mombasa. Looks lovely. Yesterday the sun was hot and the wind was steady. Diani beach is known for it's kite surfing. Unfortunately my zeal for a bit of color has me red and sore on my shoulders and back. Try to put on a backpack with Burnt shoulders. My young friends from Norway suggested a hostel in Mombasa. will take a video of the ferry once I return it is quite surreal how many people can fit on the boat amongst the cars and trucks. See my YouTube channel.



Now it is one week and realizing this is only one country. There is still Tanzania , Mozambique that is in the end of the rainy season and then Madagascar. Yes 4 weeks seems simple but I worry I will not be able to do them all justice. The people of Kenya are kind and warm.

The travel, people, and experiences on this trip will all be worth it.


It is time to watch the sun rise now.
And feed the monkeys

The day was amazing.
I went with Christiana Ashild , sam and Adam to mombasa. It was hot and amazing at the same time. You can quickly get tired of the barter game. Everything is more due to being tourists. Locals would pay 20 and they would tell us 250 for the same trip. That is painful so we go back and forth and still end up paying 50. Lucky we had Ashild she is a rock star at negotiations.





Mombasa the old city close to fort Jesus. The alleys snaked through the city. Colors and locals wondering around shopping the smell of spices , fruit and even garbage filled the air. Old down is a must see. Unfortunately we did have a local who had become our uninvited tour guide. We wanted to make our way to the spice market and he took us the wrong way to make "business" was a little frustrating but we did bump into a fruit market. Got some lovely mangos and tomatoes, cucumbers.

Location:Kenya

Monkeys at Diani beach

Lovely night with my new friends. Berend , from holland , Andy from Switzerland , both kite surfers. Sam and Adam a brother and sister from windsor but really from slough. England, and two very engaging young women from Norway. Aaustld and Christiana. Berned Came to kenya with a holland charity Kwale school for mentally disabled children. He did a nursery and built a fence. He is 18 I was quite impressed.


Having to pass the time at the bar due to the gadgets all being out of juice. Well I decided that the beer would be nice on a hot day. Well it was and before you knew it there were 8 of us from all over the world swapping stories and experiences.

The monkeys had shown up. Andy said this was on there schedule we all took our turn feeding them.



Feeding bush babies

The night was over at 11 pm the air was still hot. My room has two single beds with feeding mosquito nets. The room is on 4 brick posts over 8 feet from the ground. The sides are made with a mesh so if you were not wrapped in palms and brush you could see everyone around you it's like one big window.
Slept with no sheets the temp was perfect for sleeping. Woke up at 530 am as usual. Actually was the best sleep so far. Even the monkey took the night off. Have to keep my gear in the bag they have a pension for small items. They really like pills I was told. Little monkey junkies.

After a cool shower. Off to the beach.


Below is forty thieves beach bar that may be fun later in the day.


I was told last night that the beach boys are out in force later in the day so a walk along the beach is perfect. I was approached by Tobias once I hit the beach. Jambo. Well after a suggestion I go snorkeling for 4000 ksh. We walked together and he spoke about his life in Kenya. Asking more and more questions. It was enjoyable once you meet here in Kenya and put the business aside you can find out so much about the culture. Tobias is a very colorful character and is a local acrobat is a team that perform is the local resorts.


I have noticed that there are a great deal of locals running on the beach. Exercise is very important here on the coast. It is a even mix of Christian and Muslim. And they seem to work and live in harmony. Mombassa caught me off guard when the call to prayer came over the speakers yesterday. It was in Swahili that to was different for the experience in the middle east. I saw several women wearing the hijab.
Breakfast of mixed fruit which is the best value at 100 and a bottle of water.

I have one full day here so plan to make the best of it.

Location:Ukunda Kenya