Last day in Mombasa


Yesterday was the last day of the working party and it was a fairly easy day. For the most part it was a discussion of recommendations made over the first two days. The work day finished with some endless discussions about the semantics of various paragraphs in the report that will be submitted to the Scientific Committee. A tedious task but one that is very necessary to avoid any future problems.
The working party hard at work

I was invited to have dinner outside the hotel with the participants from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). Earlier in the day I had some discussions with one of the guys about where to go and we decided on a steak restaurant. This decision was, however, vetoed by one of the older guys who wanted to go to the Tamarind Restaurant. The Tamarind is probably the most expensive restaurant in Mombasa and is a seafood restaurant. I wasn't overly keen but had to go along with the plan. I nipped back to my room quickly to collect some extra cash and as soon as everyone was ready we piled into a taxi to make the 8km journey to the restaurant.
The entrance to the Tamarind Restaurant

The Tamarind really is a nice place with a beautiful view of the old part of Mombasa. During the day lunch is served on a large dhow but we had our dinner on the land. The prices were rather shocking! I was tasked with choosing the wine for the evening and I settled on a KWV sauvignon blanc which at R290 a bottle was half the price of a similar Simonsig sauvignon blanc. The wine was deemed good so I was very happy to get away with taking the cheaper option. For dinner I had ostrich fillet served with mashed potato, four baby carrots and the most delicious strawberry and chocolate sauce. The cost was R280. The Frenchman had a dish called a Zanzibar casserole which was a plate of all sorts of seafood but included crab, lobster and shrimps. The Italian had a crab curry and the Dutchman had a whole grilled parrotfish. We added another bottle of wine and two bottles of water to our bill which came to a whopping R1600 (including the service charge). Of course the bill was split four ways so my meal cost me R400. I was so glad that I had gone back to get some extra cash and so was the Frenchman because he didn't have enough cash on him. It was a nice evening though with good company, good food and a splendid view so I didn't mind too much but I will definitely not be going there again unless I find a sponsor .

 Mombasa from the Tamarind Restaurant

Inside the Tamarind Restaurant

Despite the late night I was up early this morning and for the first time this week actually saw the sunrise. I also spent some time watching some beach seine fishermen pulling in their net. Unfortunately they landed the net where I could not see the activities but it was nice to watch what I could see.
 Beach seine fishers hauling in their net and a pirogue fisherman in his boat.

Mombasa sunrise

This morning's meeting is just a discussion about the development of fisheries plans in the various countries of the region. It should finish at lunchtime. Then I will need to pack up my belongings and make my way to the airport. I will fly as far as Johannesburg tonight and will get a flight to Durban tomorrow morning.

It has been a pleasant week with interesting discussions about fisheries and I have had plenty of socialising. As always though I am looking forward to going home.
Location: Nyali Beach, Kenya

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