Thanks to all of you for posting comments. Sorry I can not respond to them sooner!
I decided it was high time to take a short vacation after working so much. Unable to find a flight with my friends to Lamu, I booked a flight to Mombasa for the weekend to check out the coast of Kenya by myself. Mombasa holds a special place because we were denied entry with Semester at Sea in 2001 after the September 11th attacks. The Kenyans will tell you that the pace of life in Mombasa is a little slower (probably due to the heat) and the coast is the location of the true Swahili culture. I can attest to both. The beaches north of Mombasa do not match up to those of Virgin Gorda, Barbados, Hawaii, Brazil, Costa Rica or the Seychelles, but then, I have high standards for beaches. My guide told me to visit the southern coast next time. For a tall American, blending in was tough and I was taken for a tourist by every street peddler in the city. The constant harassment and scamming usually does not bother me but here it detracted from the experience. Some of the trip highlights include, a walking tour of the Mombasa island, a day in the WhiteSands resort and a boat trip on a refurbished Arabian dhow. It was tempting to join up with a band of Somali pirates but I chose to return to Nairobi.
Here are more pictures…
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=nat.robinson&target=ALBUM&id=5275206951436060929&authkey=Z7fxekrsg5w&feat=email
3 comments:
Hope you didn't walk barefoot on that beach, doubt they pick up after camel droppings!
At least you can say you've been there now. Sounds like it didn't live up to the expectations, but it's another place you can say you've been.
Ran into my friend Niraj at Black & Decker today. He mentioned he had gotten an email from you, and he has just been lazy in responding. I don't know if you are coming back to the states for the holidays, but if you're not, he will be in Kenya during that time. Sounded like he was ok with meeting up with you at some point. I think he said he was going to be in Nairobi for 2 days during his trip over there.
Anyway, hope things continue to go well. Enjoy the heat...it's freakin' cold in Baltimore.
Nat, I hope you're enjoying your long and extravagant vacation in Colorado. Thanks for leaving your buddies at GBF (me and Eliot) out to dry on this KDA investment.
Can't wait to get out to Kenya. Hopefully, I'll see you in Nairobi!
Vinay
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