This beach is WAY better than winter!
Trip Start
Nov 01, 2006
1
14
Trip End
Jan 01, 2007
Mombasa, Kenya
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Yesterday was David's birthday, and in honour of that...we did very little! Much the same as days previous (we actually went out to celebrate on Friday at a local bar called 40 thieves). What I think made it so nice was that while I was out for sunset run on the beach I saw a bar that was literally 100m down from our place right on the beach that we had just assumed was another local shop. So, David and I went for a evening drink there, and the invited us back for a small fire right on the beach a little later. So, after dinner, joined by two Dutch women in their 30s who we met while eating,
we sat on the beach next to a fire, not a single cloud in the sky under a full moon and talked with 2 Kenyans that run the bar. It was simply amazing. The Dutch women have explored so much of the world, and the 2 Kenyans provided such amazing insights into local culture - they are both politically aware, very intelligent, Muslim and young.
One of the guys, Mohammid Ali (I kid you not) is 29 with a 6 year old daughter. He got into that conversation by first talking about how in Kenya if you have money, hakuna matata (no worries), but if you have nothing, Africa is your personal hell. He described how his wife was in a car accident 3 years ago, and that because they couldn't afford a blood transfusion that she needed and the operation that was required, she sat in the hospital for hours until she died...now his daughter has no mother, and she has to grow up in a country that is likely to treat her the same way. Astonishing...we were left simply speechless thinking how is it that a few thousand shillings can mean the difference between life (and the positive impact on a child) and death...at such a young age. Is life now worth so little? Can anyone say that your life is not worth the expense? I think Romeo Dallaire, Rt. Lt-Gen. from Canada said it best in reflecting on his experiences in Rwanda during the genocide - "Are all human equal, or are some more human than others?". Is it simply money that defines our place in this world? This is something I've been thinking so much about lately, reflecting on the structure of our society and what changes need to take place to create something that includes ALL and provides an environment of dignity, respect, opportunity and security.
I know that David was quite content with how his 29th birthday concluded, and I'm happy to have been a part of that.
I write this now from Mombasa, having returned here on our way northward to the small resort/fishing village of Watamu. Like Lamu further north it's really the epicenter of the merging between muslim and Christian traditions. I am looking forward to witnessing this integeration and seeing how well it has played out - perhaps the future of our world depends on lessons learned from such places.
As a further update - it has been confirmed that David and I will be returning to Canada earlier than expected. Work is building up, and we are finding that keeping on top of things is difficult and realistically we are simply making the new year more difficult and stressful for ourselves if we are to continue with our original plan. As such, we have changed our departure for Dec 13th from Nairobi (formerly Dar es Saleem) and will be back in Guelph the evening of Dec 14th, more than 2 weeks earlier than planned. I'm feeling pretty good about this, I'm very excited to get back and see many of you again, get back into working full-time, integrating lessons learned into my life. I also think that if I spend much longer on the coast you won't recognize me as I darken by the minute - It's only been 3 days and I still have 10 to go!
One final note: I have just today confirmed that I will be concluding my Africa adventures on the coast south of Malindi (right near where I just was). This will be the first time that David and I have parted company while here, and I'm very excited to spend 4 days in a cottage with 4 others - 2 Dutch, 1 French and 1 fellow Canadian, only 2 of whom I have met. These are the sort of times that I most look forward to, and it will be hard to not count down the days to getting there. Until then, the adventure continues...
