Ladies Only Weekend in Mombasa
Trip Start
Sep 03, 2006
1
15
29
Trip End
Apr 22, 2007
Where I stayed
Diani Beach Resort & Spa
Mombasa, Kenya
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Before we left, Dan and Chris met us at Habesha, this FABULOUS Ethiopian restaurant sort of by Laura's house. Actually, it's down the road (not Ngong) from Java by my house, so it's sort of in the middle of my house and Laura's house. Anyway, we met for dinner, and then they dropped us off at the Coast bus station. That was a VERY good thing cuz it's located in the shady part of town, by River Road. It was really sad saying good-bye to Dan - I didn't realize it until he sent me a message after I got home, but that was the first weekend I've been away from Dan. The bus ride was long and mildly uncomfortable, but I sat with Chelsie and learned all about her life. It's really interesting. She's very Christian, but not in a bad way! I adore her!
When we arrived in Mombasa it was POURING rain. Absolutely horrible, considering everyone told us that Mombasa was flooding and people were having to evacuate their homes. I honestly thought we were going to have to leave right away. But the travel agents - Jessica and Susan - picked us up from the bus station and we took matatus to breakfast. At breakfast we saw these MASSIVELY HUGE spiders! It was horrible! I tried to take a pic but it didn't work out so well. We bought veggies from the veggie market and then random stuff from the store, and then we went to our cottage. Seriously it was amazing. I cannot believe how beautiful it was. From the pics, I don't know if you can tell that, but we were in awe at how lucky we were. Especially for so cheap! 800 shillings a night, per person. Although apparently it should have only been 600, but the travel agents charged a steep fee. But just having our own place was so wonderful. I really miss that about the States. I love my family here, but I wish I could live on my own.
Anyway, we all sort of just relaxed all day and we finally made it to the beach around 530 or so, right at dusk. Then Momma called and I was happy and we talked for an hour. Because I was on the phone, I didn't have to talk to any of the obnoxious beach boys selling their wares. But right after I got off, one came up to me and told me he loved me and kissed my hand. So I went home! And Chelsie and Kara cooked an amazing fettuccine alfredo dinner for us. We had an early night. Oh, and colobus monkeys and regular monkeys were just chilling outside our patio. And there was bat poo on my mosquito net. Not in it, just on it. Always fun. That happened to me last year too.
We woke up a little early the next day and I showered with a millipede. Jessica and Susan stopped by for a visit and we spent about 2 hours on the beach, just hanging out. We went swimming - it was so wonderful! Except Chelsie neglected parts of my back for sunscreen and now I have random burns across my back. We ate dinner at a place that took TWO HOURS to bring out four orders of chips (french fries) and a plate of salad and one of kachumbari (onions and tomatoes). That was frustrating. Ashley had 4 Redd's though so she was mildly intoxicated. And that was pretty early in the afternoon! We went back after that, and I'm not quite sure what we did. I think we may have gone out to the beach again. Oh wait, we did. And the guy that kissed my hand the day before found me again and followed me around, so I told him I had a boyfriend (mpenzi, in Kiswahili) in Nairobi ("Nina mpenzi katika Nairobi), but he said that we were in Mombasa, and what happens in Mombasa, stays in Mombasa. He also told me he thought mixed babies were beautiful, and he wanted to have children with me. Don't worry, I was with Laura and Ashley, and it was daylight, so nothing happened!!! But I did find cool shells and he gave me a funny shell-collector made out of a plastic bottle cut in half and using seaweed as strings. I accidentally left it there though.
Laura and I made the tortellini and pesto that Grandma sent me, along with cabbage/tomatoes/onions/carrots and rice. It was actually very good! We went out to Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves that night, but it was depressing cuz there were SO MANY white people there! So we just had a few drinks and left around 1130.
Then, on Monday we woke up and hung out at the beach again. We had to be out by 2, so we couldn't stay out long. We walked out really far during low tide though and collected shells with crabs in them. I played with them for about an hour. So easily amused! Then we got into Mombasa and had dinner with Susan and Jessica, and we met their hot brother (they're sisters). The bus was 45 minutes late, so I was sort of pissy when it came. But the ride itself wasn't bad, until 3am when a woman started yelling at a guy sitting next to her, then punched him in the face! Apparently while she was sleeping, he attempted feeling her up. What's worse, he was the conductor for the bus! Yeah that was bad. But the rest of the ride was fine!
So that's my Mombasa trip in a nutshell. Sorry, kinda boring, but it was so relaxing at the same time!
