Holiday in Kenya!

One of the children at
Summer's Birthday Disco

For two weeks now we are all on holidays and will return to Karamoja on the 11th of June. I spent the weekend after the conference in Jinja, Uganda, celebrating Summer's birthday by having a party Sat night. We had it at Sarah's house which was really great because then it could be a party celebrating numerous birthdays that had passed, like Miriam's and some of the kids that live at Sarah's house also. We played games with the kids like Capture the Flag and 3-legged races, then eating like kings (or queens) which is only right at a party and then having a disco and dressups!!! It was so much fun and a great way to start the break :)
 

On Monday I took a 16 hour bus to Nairobi, Kenya and was picked up by new and wonderful friends from the PEAR conference, Greg and Lisa. They are a young New Zealand couple working with the Christian organisation 'A-Cross' in Nairobi for a year, giving financial advice and accounting assistance to help them with financial stability. They are real cool cats and actually the best, as they came and got me at 11pm from the city centre and then brought me back to vegemite toast, yay! ice-cream and the comfiest bed in the world. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven :)

Tuk tuk taxi!

Souveniers

Old Town Mombasa

The next morning Lisa dropped me off at the airport and I flew to Mombasa, a coastal town on the Indian Ocean. A frequently hit tourist spot but as it is 'low season' at the moment I have had a good run of seeing the best places in a fairly inexpensive way. In July-August it is summer holidays for Europe and the US so they get inundated with tourists and everything skyrockets price-wise. So I think I came at the right time for relaxation.

I spent a day in Mombasa, got a guided tour around Fort Jesus and Old Town (fascinating architecture and rich history involving the Portuguese, slavery and the British conquest). The first time I saw the ocean (after 3 months of not seeing an ocean) I internally squealed (ok, so a little bit came out). It is so blue and beautiful, even though it is a different ocean and I am on the other side of the world, for a second I was transported home :)

Me and the Indian Ocean

Fort Jesus

Canon at Fort Jesus

  I then took the ferry and an African bus (squishy) called a matatu, for like 25 cents, over to my next destination, Diani beach. I thought I might run into some problems travelling alone but God has really, really looked after me. On the ferry I met a Kenyan woman called Pamela who lives at Diani Beach and so she helped me get to my hotel, I took the matatu with her and I felt so safe! The place I ended up at is <100m from the beach, has a pool and my room is nice, plus it is close to the shopping centre and everything I need but is still far enough off the road to be quiet and peaceful (maybe tranquil would be stretching it, but I am enjoying it all the same).

Monkeys at the hotel

Activities I hope to do in the next 4 days are; take a camel ride on the beach, go snorkelling and go to Tsavo National Park and see some wildlife. I may not be able to do all of my ambitions there but that's the aim.

This one sneeked into my room!

Export Ship - Mombasa