MOMBASSA KENYA ….. “HAKUNA MATADA”

So we continued south for the past two days along the coastline of Africa heading to Mombasa, Kenya. We left Seychelles with beautiful weather but by the second day we hit some rough seas … catching the tail end of an East African monsoon. We are still in the season of Monsoons here … ( The Kuzi Winds ) … cooler winds blowing from the Southeast (April to August ) … which bring “long rains” … there is another monsoon season ( Kaskazi ) Nov to Dec … those are the “short rains” and intermittent.

So here we are in the ocean with the African winter monsoon ( we are upside down again … being south of the equator ) The crew is prepared to handle it but I have a better appreciation for “batton down the hatches” as they cleared off all the outdoor furniture and strapped down anything that does not move. All outdoor decks were closed off … passengers provided little paper bags … “just in case” … as we rock and roll our way through the Indian Ocean. We woke up in Kenya bright and early Wednesday morning and the weather system had improved.

So we docked in Mombasa … sounds like a character in Lion King …. it’s actually a very active port on the east coast of Africa … and was briefly the capital of Kenya at the turn of the century. ( For 18 years ) Today Nairobi is the capital … following its independence from the Brits in 1963.

Kenya is a country of 225K square miles ( about 15% smaller then the state of Texas ) … population 50 million … and has some of the best wildlife in Africa … considered “the place to go” for the “Best Safaris.”

…. neither of us have been to Kenya and as usual … I knew nothing about it … but for whatever reason I think “Lion King” …. And when we docked and got off the ship we were greeted … “Hakuna Matada” along with a serenade of the Elton John song by out tour guide … I knew we were in a special place.

Our first impression in the port blew me away. Of all the ports we have been …. and by now we have racked up a few …. It was by “far and away” the nicest greeting we have gotten. Everyone was “genuinely” smiling … happy … excited to see us.

Locals in native clothes were dancing and playing music … this has been the case in other ports … but there was an elevated sense of genuine happiness …

they had a few military greeting us and tv crew doing interviews … I guess the locals will get to see my face on TV … stayed tuned for the morning headline of “Good Morning Mombasa” …

So here we are on this little island … 5 Square miles… connected by a bridge to mainland Kenya and everyone seems happy.

Once we started driving around we could quickly see that there is a strong Arab influence. Given the close proximity to the Middle East countries … it does make sense … but being geographically challenged it took a trip around the world to figure out this continent and seaport stuff.

“Little old Oman” that seemed to be asleep or maybe something more sinister… “devoid of people” when we visited … controlled Mombasa on and off for centuries. Much of the Arab community live in Old Town … with beautiful carved doors and moorish architecture. Today many of the descendants are known as Afro Arabs.

Mombasa was founded around 900 AD. Named by the Arabs … “Manbasa”… it was the center of Arab trade until the 16’th century … They traded ivory and slaves … slave trade was not just to other parts of the world but there was also an active slave trade within Africa. It was a “prosperous” trading town recognized as a “strategic location” on the eastern seaboard. So as the word got out … both “prosperous” and “strategic ”… others come knocking at the door.

Mombassa was continually fought over … Arabs, Persians, Portuguese and Turks …. until 1895 … when the Brit’s did a power play … took it all over … making Mombassa the capital of “East Africa.” So the area had lots of turmoil … the name Manbasa ( the original Arabic name ) was nicknamed “ the Island of War. ”

Today Mombassa is a population of 1.2 M … the second largest city in Kenya. It is a city dominated by Christians 56% from its colonial era and Islam 37% from the Arab influence. The port continues to be a major hub … shipping fruits and vegetables from Kenya … and neighboring countries … Tanzania and Uganda. They were connected by rail during British occupation and today there are still a few remains of Colonialism.

The welcoming entry or “gateway” to the city of Mombasa …. As a major shipping port it was used to welcome royalty … the large simulated elephant tusk entrance was created for the visit from Princess Elizabeth in the 1950’s. And that is a story in and of itself …. she arrived as a PRINCESS and left as a QUEEN. ( King George, her father, passed during her visit. ). The welcome entrance that had been constructed was so well received … a permanent landmark was created “welcoming everyone” to the city.

We toured the rest of the city to see how people live … places of worship, schools, hospitals and parks. I was struck by how many people were walking on major roads … and they looked like some pretty long distances. It turns out only 7.5% of the population in Kenya own a car … the cars are typically used and brought over from Japan. But most walk, use bicycles, Tuk Tuks and motorcycle taxis.

And all this walking has given them some big benefits … it is believed that because most do so much walking at such a young age they more efficiently use oxygen … They also have a genetic predisposition towards lean bodies and light legs that help them with distances. Kenya has the fastest “Long Distance Runners” in the world and these characteristics are considered key contributors.

And there is a training facility in western Kenya, Itan, that attracts athletes from all over the world.

… the country is fascinating … so much more here than I ever realized. Africa has over 3000 languages …. 1/3 of the world’s languages. Kenya has 68 languages …. Two official languages … Swahili and English. “Swahili” is more widely spoken ( 200 million people ) … and is another word I love … first coming across it in Girl Scouts many decades ago.

Swahili ( “Kiswahili” locally … means “coast” … for the east coast of Africa. ) It is a “Bantu language” …. comes from the indigenous people of Africa ( the Bantus ) and has been influenced by the Arabic dialect … it is spoken in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Africa is also known for beautiful wood carvings …… a tradition that goes back centuries …. the east coast is known for animal carvings … the west coast for carved tribal masks. Mombassa is known for having one of the largest Wood Carving Factories … and we were offered a chance to take a tour. So off we went … both Tom and I had an image of a large warehouse with an assembly line of carvers working at a work bench doing their thing …. well boy were we in for a big surprise.

… off into the woods we go … this is going to be a really “authentic experience”…. With the trees right there …. they have plenty of wood … and the guys ( it was all guys ) can carve away.

At first my radar went up … where are they taking us? … but there we were with this very happy group of carvers …. I thought … this would not be a bad way to make a living …. sitting on the ground in nature … carving all day in your own little lean-to.

….. most were carved from ebony and one piece was more beautiful than the next. I knew we needed to support them so “I HAVE TO” buy something😜 ….

Kenya turns out to be an amazing country … it’s woodworking to the world’s best long distance runners to the incredible wildlife parks. It turns out Hollywood gets it to… many films have been based on life in Kenya … “Born Free,” “Out of Africa” and the country provided the inspiration for the animation of “Lion King.”

Hells Gate National Park located in the southwest part of the country is known for its beautiful rock formations and the inspiration for “Pride Rock” in the movie.

and the “Kenyan Rift Vally” … an intercontinental ridge system running north to south through the country … known for its lakes and escarpments ( … “escarpments” ???? … new one on me … are steep slopes and long cliffs ) … it is a natural habitat for lots of wild life … and the inspiration for the backdrop of the film.

I loved these movies and Simba always puts a smile on my face ( Simba … means lion in Swahili ). Though our time was brief … it seems Kenya is a special place. The animals are happy and so are the people and as it turns out …. It is right up there with some of the world’s “happiest people.”

Seems to me … The world needs a little more “HAKUNAMA TADA”

NEXT PORT …. ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA DAY 146

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