Musings from Mombasa

I am really looking forward to going home tomorrow. Mombasa has been a comfortable last stop in the three-week trip but I am tired now and I miss my family and my pets.

Getting to Mombasa from Zanzibar was interesting. While I was still at the hotel in Zanzibar I received a message to say that my second flight, from Nairobi to Mombasa, had been cancelled. There was no need to panic as I was sure Kenya Airways would have made a plan. When I checked in at the Zanzibar airport nothing was said about the cancelled flight but I was given two boarding tickets. I had been moved to a later flight which meant quite a long layover in Nairobi. The flight to Nairobi was good and we even got to see Mount Kilimanjaro just before the descent into Nairobi. I collected my luggage and made my way across to the domestic terminal. When I arrived at the baggage drop counter the person there said that there was a seat on a flight leaving in one hour and would I like to get on that flight. Of course I said yes! I would definitely rather get to the hotel in Mombasa early than sit in the boring airport for five and a half hours. It wasn't too long and I was on my way.
Mount Kilimanjaro

I was met at the airport by the transfer service from the Voyager Beach Resort. They knew all about me thanks to Ramini (from work) checking they had the transfer arranged for me and then subsequently changing my arrival time twice. The traffic was surprisingly not too bad and we got to the hotel in about 45 minutes. It is such a pleasure to arrive at the Voyager Resort as I am a returning guest so they already have all my details filled out and I just have to sign the check-in form while sipping on a glass of fresh, ice cold fruit juice. I was shown to my room where I could unpack and relax for the afternoon. I had booked a twin room, as this was the cheapest option, but I really wasn't looking forward to sleeping in a single or three-quarter bed so I was very pleased to discover that at the Voyager a twin room actually means two double beds. My room didn't have a sea view but it did have a view of the garden and was in a quiet part of the resort.
 My room at the Voyager Beach Resort

The view from my balcony

 It is the rainy season here in Mombasa at the moment so I didn't feel too bad about spending long hours over the weekend in my room working on some of my other projects. I did manage to get to the aqua aerobics on both days though and that was fun. I also got in a 5 km run on the beach. The beach run is something I have not done in Mombasa for years because I would always get uninvited guests joining me for my run wanting to “practice the English” or exercise with me. This was so off-putting that eventually I just stopped running. After two weeks of doing no exercise though I really felt I needed the run so just decided to face whatever happened. And this time no one joined me! It was such a pleasure just being able to zone out and enjoy the run. I did get quite sun burnt in that short time though. When the doctor said that Doxycycline (malaria prophylaxis) would make me more sensitive to the sun he wasn't understating anything!
 There was time to sample the local beer.

 Time for a sundowner on my balcony to remind me of home.

The view along the beach at high tide.

Monday morning brought a new work venue and a new group of participants. I have a very good coordinator in Kenya and she has really got all the participants working hard. It is good when I don’t need to stress about whether the work will be finished in time. The group has been really great, very friendly and very efficient.
 The view of Mombasa town from our workplace.

A closer view of Mombasa town.

Back to the Voyager Beach Resort … The resort is themed on a cruise liner. All the staff wears naval looking uniforms and each night the ship “docks” in a different port. The buffet dinner is then themed on where the ship is docked. While I have been at the resort we have been to Lebanon, Hawaii, the Caribbean, Mexico, among others. So it was with interest that I saw one evening when I returned from work that we had arrived in Turkey. I had no idea what would be the main meat dish and I could not wait to find out. So with some rather unusual excitement about attending dinner I eagerly went to see what was on offer and it was roast turkey!!!!! Haha! I had to really stop myself from rolling on the floor laughing but I do appreciate their taking the literal road.


I am really happy (or maybe relieved) that my hotels got progressively better as the trip went along. I think I might have been a sad little bunny if I had started in Kenya and ended in the Comoros. So now for a week and a half back home before the next trip starts.

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