We got up early and took a tuktuk to the ferry. Mombasa is situated on a peninsula/island so we had to take a ferry to get to Diani. Along for the adventures were Whitney, Halley and three med school guys from Ireland. The tuktuk ride was so great, it took me for my first venture through downtown Mombasa. Throughout this whole adventure, it became clear to us that Nyali (where we're living) is a much more civilized region of Mombasa. Downtown was very crowded, dirty and rundown with a slew of specialty shops. It is always interesting to see a store (in a cloud of dust from the unkept roads) selling couches or jeans in such dirty conditions. Cleanliness doesn't seem to be a factor around here. We arrived at the ferry and paid 400 shillings ($4.00) for the 30 min ride (a ride which would have costed ten times that in the US).
Being at the ferry was an experience similar to arriving at the Nairobi airport; I was out of my element entirely. It is nice to travel in a big pack like we were (6 of us) but it almost draws more attention to us; as if we're a crowd of two-headed squawking wildabeasts. Never in a way that makes me feel uneasy for my safety, there are guards heavily sprinkled all over this city (which is comforting) and the people want your possessions more than anything else. But its a very awkward thing to feel. The crowd to hop on the ferry was HUGE, easily more than 1,000 people. We were honestly the only white people on board. Holy dose of minority! Most of the people seemed to be quite poor as well, those are the ones that tend to stare excessively. I usually really like eye-contact, but in these situations I tend to avoid it. When I did glance upward for a split second, I instantly felt a minimum of 7 sets of wide-piercing-eyes on me. You just know they are really trying to figure you out, more than just a quick glance. The people in Nyali notice us more easily than other Kenyans obviously, but they don't stare like these people do; they are always very friendly saying "Jambo" as we pass by.
But the crowd at the ferry was very intimidating. There were a few times when I would meet someone's glance and smile and say "Jambo" and they would always smile back at me, but initially it is hard to know how to react. I wish I knew exactly what they were thinking as they looked at me -probably 'how many shillings is she carrying' for many- but its more than that. The way we (as a human race) view skin color is astounding to me. Both white and black people have their stereotypes and they are often so far off. EVERY SINGLE worker here at elective africa is amazing. They are so kind and helpful, they laugh at our silly questions, and mother us through our culture shock! They accept us. They come from a much different background, but they are so happy to get to know us even just for a month! I will never forget them! I suppose the workers here are educated and pretty well off compared to the majority on the ferry, that could be the difference.
We hopped off the ferry and walked up this little hill to the region where the Matatu's are in excess. Betty (who has taken on the role of mother duck and who is absolutely one of the most amazing people I have ever met) gave us detailed instructions on how to get to Diani Beach! We bargained our way down to 70 shillings ($0.70) for a 40 minute ride and all 6 of us scooted inside.
The matatu's are one of my favorite parts so far, just because using them is a part of the culture. It's their mode of transportation. I'm sure that many people from home would not feel comfortable riding in them (they're stuffed, smelly and not exactly ideal in any sense of the term) but they are authentic and, to me, that is the neatest thing. At this point we don't necessarily stick out like sore thumbs either. I think they appreciate that we are living the way they do. People often help us too if we get confused or if we are getting ripped off (for instance one time we paid $0.50 when $0.20 was more reasonable -haha big difference right? one Kenyan thought so enough to tell us about it!)
After accidently walking when we were supposed to hop on another matatu (they don't always bring you that close to your destination), asking for help from a private clinic along the walk, and hopping back in another matatu, we made it to the beach. The beach was really neat (and really tourist-y...we became less and less of a minority as we got further from the ferry).
There were vendors along the fine white sand. They were fun my first day but holy smokes jiminy cricket they get super annoying. They don't leave you alone. You might say "no, I don't want that" and they say "looking is free" blah blah blah. So not to give them false hope, we stop being friendly from the get-go. One time this man approached us with his wad of keychains he sells (MANY people sell keychains) and he gave us his whole speal and we just ignored him, all six of us pretended we just didn't hear him. haha so then he proceeds to say "go back to your homeland" -this became a joke phrase for us.
Another time a man approached us and we just kept walking by, he ended with "have a good day" and I (just out of habit at this point) responded with "no thank you" ...he laughed and laughed and said "no thank you, don't want a nice day" and he let us pass without too much hassle.
We spent some time enjoying the view of the beach and Whitney and I went for a little swim in the Indian Ocean! It felt sooo good (as always) to remove the day's filth and cool off from the hot, sticky humidity.
The goal of the day was to eat in this cave restaurant but we didn't want to travel back to Nyali in the dark, so the plan was to get an early dinner around 4:00 pm. We arrived at the area only to find out the restaurant doesn't open until 7:00 pm. We were REALLY bummed to miss out on such a cool experience but we found a restaurant called Forty Thieves at a resort instead (with really great pizza). With a re-boost of food, we began our journey home. With all the mishaps on the way there, it took us about 3 hrs to get all the way there, but we were MUCH more efficient on the way home and made it back in a little over an hour!
Traffic is CRAZY here. Absolutely nuts. There are security guards all over the place, but nobody enforces any road laws. People pass into oncoming traffic, swerve in and out, and drive really really fast. On our way back from the ferry (which was in a tuktuk) we were at a standstill in traffic in downtown Mombasa. These two little boys approached the side of the tuktuk and put their hands out as if I had something I wanted to give them. I said "samahani" which means sorry and soon traffic started to go again. We were in an area with two lanes in each direction and we were on the inner lane. The little boys rushed away back to the edge of the street RIGHT as the traffic started up again with a screeching start. The image is burned into my memory, this little boy barely made it through without getting smoked by oncoming traffic. Holy smokes, I just about screamed!
Edwin (the main owner/operator) of elective africa was at the complex when we returned and he took us out to a really neat hotspot in Mombasa (along with the other wonderful staffers Betty, Sylvanos and Jevis). There was a 'Mombasa's Got Talent' competition going on there. There were some really good dance routines and other talented acts. One Kenyan got all dressed in coyboy attire and sang to Shania Twain! I was so surprised to hear such things! haha
It was a long and busy day where we were really immersed in the culture! It was great, a very unique day!
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