Fri 13th I’m glad I didn’t realise it was Fri 13th because Ali at Petleys wished me luck and said he’d pray for me as I’d chosen to go with a terrible bus company. Anyway, I didn’t have an early morning tea at Mangrove as they hadn’t opened before I caught the 06:00 ferry to Mokowe on the mainland. 10-15 minutes to get there. I had a cup of tea and we departed at 07:15. Cost of the bus trip was 800ksh.
I knew the journey would take longer with the detour through Mpeketoni. Last year that detour added nearly an hour but only 30 minutes this time as the whole road has now been tarmaced. A comfortable trip; I had a front seat. 7 hours to Kilifi. Quite long due to lots of stops. One security stop…that was ok. A long stop to load a dozen bags of charcoal.
I was dropped before the Kilifi bridge. Walked to Nuus for a tasty mango juice. Went on to Titanic htl and checked in…a nice room on the 3rd floor. 1,200ksh excl breakfast because I knew I could have a much cheaper one at Village Dishes. I walked to Kilifi club near the mouth of the Creek for a couple of beers; went to Village dishes for dinner, then to De Coffee pub for a night cap and to check they would be showing the FA Cup on Saturday.
Sat 14. I found a cyber cafe to print off my Multiple entry visa for Kenya for the next year. I did some basic shopping for shampoo, toothpaste and body lotion. I took a boda to the beach and relaxed. Walked to B10 and saw that the beach bar I liked is no longer operating. The tide was coming in so had to walk to Salty’s along the road. Very windy and not tempted to go for a swim. Had a couple of beers but price has gone up from 300 to 350. Back to the hotel for a shower; dinner at Village dishes; watched FA Cup final at de Coffee which is just across the road from the hotel.
Sun 15th. Met up with Maina for breakfast then caught matatu for the hour journey to Nyali. I had already arranged with Mwangi to stay at Bustani apts again…..5th time to stay there I think. Apt 29 again but have also stayed in no. 41.
I went shopping for provisions at City Mall…Good value silverside steak..600ksh for a kilo..2pds……..lasted 3 meals. Nice to be able to cook for myself in the apt. Went to Maasai beach bar and listened to some good live music.
Mon 16th. Took the matatu into Mombasa City. Went to Queens cafeteria for tea n mandazi and to thank Ali for my comfortable stay at Sea Shells Inn on Lamu. I went to immigration and had them put a Stamp in my passport for the multiple entry visa…..much better than carrying a paper copy around.
The next couple of days were spent going for a coffee. More shopping. The beach was only 6 minutes away. On Tuesday I, with some difficulty, booked my SGR ticket to Nairobi on line I needed the help of a travel agency at City mall. That was for Thurs. Just a relaxing time in Nyali. The apt was very comfortable. I had hoped to meet Christina, an old school friend of Karen’s from Eastbourne who was staying at Voyager beach resort just around the corner, but that didn’t quite happen. And of course there was the customery visit to Rubis ( Kenol in Dad’s day ) for a cheap beer. I ate a pack of ten sausages for dinner…hmm, rather a lot, but figured it was food to last me the duration of the train journey !!! Having packed, I was ready to be collected and taken to the SGR at 06:00 the next day.