East Africa Tour Part 6 – Mombasa

We arrived on the train from Kenya as described in part 5, and took a taxi to the excellent Tamarind Village Hotel situated over a bridge from the city centre.

Mombasa is on the Indian Ocean north of Dar el Salaam in Tanzania and just south of the Somalia border. We struck lucky with the hotel – a ground floor apartment with its own with terrace and garden and just a few metres from a lovely swimming pool overlooking the ocean.

Mombasa Old Town

Next morning we headed into the old town. We travelled by tuktuk ordered on Uber. How times have changed!

I adore this form of transport so synonymous of South East Asia. You feel part of the orderly chaos as your driver winds through the heavy traffic. Magic!

After purchasing a few souvenirs we went for a wander. Fort Jesus is the number one attraction here, constructed by the Portuguese in 1593. We decided not to visit the inside due to a) it being a bit pricey and b) you had to pay by an app called epay rather than cash or card, a result of too much pilfering by staff.

After a pit stop for mint tea, we unexpectedly picked up an unofficial guide who showed us the complicated route to the bustle of the spice market.

I love markets (non-livestock varieties that is) and Mombasa’s was great to saunter round.

After lunch by the ocean we hailed another tuktuk and were soon back in the pool.

Mombasa Beach

Our last day saw us visit a nearby beach by tuktuk, our recurring transport of choice. White sands, palm trees & camels!

The tranquility was punctured somewhat from constant hassle from beach boys selling sunglasses, massages, jet-ski sessions, camel rides, coconuts, melon, shell jewellery and ice-cold drinks. We managed to shrug them off eventually to enjoy a dip.

It was then time for lunch on a terrace overlooking the sea. A spot that will live long in the memory.