Tues 28th Jan
Tanga
After morning coffee at 07:00, then breakfast at 08:00, we were given a lift by Bernard to Muheza. He wasn’t happy about it as the old Landrover needed work doing on it and he didn’t want any unnecessary trips. I could understand his concern as the road really is very bad.
I would’ve been happy to go by boda, but Mark would’ve struggled a bit, so it was very kind of Bernard to take us.
When we reached the gate/entrance to Amani Reserve we knew we had to pay our fee. I got out of the landrover quietly and went and chatted to the guard. Of course, speaking Swahili and using my charm I got a huge reduction for us. We paid about 14,000 instead of the full non residents’ rate of 26,000. So just over £4 instead of over £8.
At Muheza stand we immediately got into a dala and within about 10 minutes we were heading to Tanga. At Kange we opted for door to door service and got a bajaj to Ocean Breeze for 7,000Tsh.
I got room 119, the one I like on the corner with a long surround balcony. Then I went to the Tawakal offices just over the railway tracks to book our bus tickets to Mombasa.
I walked back and met Mark at Foodie Food. After the hotel I went to Mkonge, and there I met Hilal who I haven’t seen for ages because he transferred from the morning shift to the afternoon shift. I ordered a beer at 3,500, so only an extra 35pence at a top hotel.
I then rushed over to Splendid, although there was no sign of Adolf. From there it was over to SeaView to meet up with Mark and his friend Valerie. We sat outside at the back, which made a nice change, and being that much further from the road, it was a bit quieter. I had my usual chicken curry before going back to Ocean where we shared a small bottle of spirit.
Wed 29th Jan
Mombasa City
We took a bajaj to the Tawakal offices. Reporting was at 11:00 but we got there after 10:00, otherwise where to pass the time…? Instead of leaving around 11:30 we left more like 12:30. Everything was going fine until there was lots of smoke and the smell of burning from a back wheel. A brake pad was changed over 25 minutes and we continued the last 15 minutes to the border.
And then the fun and games really started. I made my way through the Immigration queue. Leaving Tz was straight forward. The fact that Holili had put in my passport and on the System that I needed to apply for residency, alerted the officer and he went with my passport to a superior.
I was summoned to the office area. The guy said that with an extension eTA I couldn’t cross back into Kenya as it was invalidated. On top of that there was the ‘Residency’ issue.
Then the guy got obnoxious. “We don’t want you here”. “Go home”. “Fly back home”. “You are not coming into Kenya”.
“I’ll put a permanent block so you can never come back to Kenya”. He was holding my passport; I was powerless. He sat back in his chair and bided his time.
I went back to the counter. I waited for 20 minutes. Mark messaged asking “‘Where are you’? The bus driver and conductor came looking for me to ask what the problem was, as the bus was waiting to leave. I explained. They went to talk to the officer; the message back was that I needed to hand over 200Usd. Of course I didn’t have it. I said I had 10,000Ksh on me. Driver told me to keep my mouth shut as he negotiated. 10K (about £60) was accepted; officer stamped my passport and threw it at me, hitting the glass window. I reached in, grabbed it and walked to the bus. I apologised to my fellow passengers for the delay. Mark was pleased to see me.
Uneventful rest of the journey, except it seemed to take ages crossing at Likoni. So, about 7:30pm when we arrived at Mwembe Tayari. I checked into Coast Safari at 1,800bob incl breakfast, and was given room 21 again.
I went to Moi Ave to get some cash and put some on mpesa. From there I went to Fantasy for a couple of beers and was joined by Mark and Lewis. Oh, I had the worst chapati ever for dinner. Then back to my room to sleep.
Thurs 30th Jan.
After a nice breakfast I went early to immigration to report what happened to me at the border. On the way there I discovered that the Fontanella restaurant was operating again.
The immigration officer listened sympathetically and even phoned his friend at Lunga Lunga to say that staff there should be aware of the correct entry requirements. I jokingly said that if he was ever visiting the border, could I go with him to get my money back !!
I went to the Fort Jesus area and relaxed for half an hour on my usual concrete bench overlooking the harbour. I only took 3 photos. I met Mark at Bon Appetit for a tea. We arranged to meet at 15:00 at Fontanella . We spent a long time there as we both agreed it was probably about the best place to have a relaxing drink.
I think John came to meet us at Jundan and I had a couple of samosas for dinner. By that time it was getting on a bit and I headed to the hotel via the off licence for a small County.
Fri 31st Jan.
I had an okay nights sleep and a good Coast breakfast. Popped into Ethiopian Airlines to say ‘hi’. Walked up Moi Ave. passed the Tusks, but I didn’t take any photos this time. I went across to a parallel road and stopped for 2 samosas.
Back to the room to find my washing had virtually dried. I called into Naivas across the road and bought a fruit juice and small packet of chevda.
Then over to Fontanella to meet Mark and Lewis. Mark went back to his room and I had one beer at Fantasy. From there it was a relatively early night catching up on my blog and doing a little bit of packing in preparation for going to Nyali.