I knew my decision to stay in Kilifi last night would create an early morning wake up and a bit of a manic rush around Mombasa but I'd rather be in one of those kamikaze mini vans during daylight if I have to get in them at all!
I picked my seat tactfully by the window so I could have a nice breeze whilst trying to sleep. Good intentions but I didn't plan on the low ceiling or the guy sat next to me trying to read his newspaper with a greater wingspan than that of an albatross. I needed my helmet, with every bump my head would hit the wall and ceiling so there was no chance for some shut eye even with me using a MTG t-shirt as a cushion.
As soon as I got into Mombasa city I was out the van and into a Tuktuk. It was like the amazing race and it was half 9, I was supposed to be checking out of my hotel at 10. I had already missed the deadline for my free breakfast of hot goat's milk and oily egg...shame.
I arrived at the shop and the wheel looked and felt decent. I'm not going to really know until I get riding but at least it looked fresh and with a bit of luck, it'll take me all the way to Lesotho with no more problems. I bought some spare spokes, inner tubes and a new chain. The inner tubes had a different valve on so I will have to continue to look for an adaptor in future towns, my best bet is probably Dar es Salaam. I have another chain that a fellow cyclist gave me way back in Wadi Halfa but it was used so it was best that I got a new one. I'm surprised how long my current one has lasted, its been with me since Greece so talk about a ticking time bomb!
I got back to the Hotel just before check out time and as I was the only one staying there, i was pretty sure they wouldn't need 3 hours between check out and check in to clean my room, so I was given some extra time to leave. I'm not really a fan of rushing to pack up but it was ok as I didn't have much to pack but i did need to pump up the tyre and put him back on Nigel. I ended up leaving the hotel at half 10 which I was pretty happy with.
I thought I should make the most of being in Mombasa as I hadn't had chance to the last two days so I cycled to the coast and followed it around to the ferry terminal. As I cycled to a photo spot I bumped into two Germans that said they saw me on Sunday. Olof and Annika were driving around with a guide and they said they saw me on the "death road" disappear behind a lorry en route to Mombasa. It's nice to know that some people are looking out for me even if the truck drivers aren't!
From there I carried on to the ferry terminal, I had timed it perfectly. The ferry was free for cyclists and waiting to be filled. There was a huge queue of cars waiting and once they've put on as many cars as they're allowed, the heavily laden cycles go on and then finally the walk-on passengers. I pushed Nigel on with some of the locals that were carrying all sorts produce to the other side. Nigel looked naked compared to the amounts the other bikes were carrying. This gave me a lot of faith with regards to my wheel. Granted these bikes weren't travelling quickly across a bumpy 3000 miles but they were carrying probably twice as much as Nigel and coping well.
The ferry took a few minutes and I somehow managed to get myself off of it pretty quickly considering the mass bundle that occurred. From the ferry port I had a straight road down to Diani to Camp Kenya. The road was good and it wasn't as short as I thought but I managed to find the Head Quarters straight away and was welcomed with shock and surprise. They were all very interested in my ride and I had pictures with a few of the staff that will be displayed on Camp Kenya's Facebook page.
Camp Kenya is a great organisation that specialises in providing camps and excursions for volunteers that do all sorts of work in the community. Nicola, one of the staff took me to a nice bar called Forty Thieves on Diani Beach and on first sight of the beach I was a little taken aback. It was absolutely stunning. The beach last night was good but the presence of the restaurant opening on to the huge expanse of pure white sand made this one just a little better.
We had some food after I legged it past the sleeping camels and took a quick swim in the beautifully warm clear sea. I had fallen in love with a woman and her name was Diani! When we got back to HQ, Camp Kenya had kindly organised for a lift for myself, Beirdre and Nigel to their local camp down the road in Muhaka Village. I met the boss Simon who had been contacted by my friend Sharon who works for Camp's back in England. He was great and I was pretty much given the place do what I liked. Accommodation and food all provided, he said I could come and go as I pleased and once again I have fallen on my feet with the hospitality and kindness from initial strangers.
I didn't really have a clue what to expect. I had envisaged some sort of Army barracks with only the very basic facilities. As I arrived the volunteers were all in the common area and I was taken on a quick tour by one of the camp's staff, Mustapha. The place was great, 3 big dorms, nice toilet and shower block, large kitchen and an open planned common area with sofas, pool table and fridges for the volunteer's extra food. It was all set in the undergrowth as well so if you imagine a nicer "I'm a celebrity get me out of here" camp, then you wouldn't be far off.
All the volunteers were very nice...and young. I didn't realise I was going to be entering an under 20's only club but luckily I like to think of myself as a social chameleon so I had no problems with conversation. The truth is, I'm still living a teenage life and I'm probably more of a child than all of them but if you're 27 and they know that, then it can seem like you're trying to hard so I just kept myself to myself to begin with.
The majority were very clever kids fresh out of private school and on their gap year before they go to university. I think if I had gone travelling before university then I definitely wouldn't be a proud owner of an Engineering Degree (or have any debt!) There were around 12 volunteers, all having stayed for different amounts of times and some in transit from Tanzania etc but there was still a great atmosphere. Apparently they initially joked as I wheeled Nigel past them to my Dorm about me having cycled from England. Instant respect points from the group when I told them I had. It's nice to tell people now what I've done as before I know it, i will be back in England and all this would be in the past, so I'm making the most of it now.
The guys were working on some good projects from painting the local school to fixing up a single mother's house. I would've happily helped out if I was staying longer but I really needed to have a rest tomorrow. After dinner we all sat around talking. The fight for the floor always makes me laugh but as these guys were well educated everybody was given their turn and listened to. I was dropped with the statement that I looked like James Blunt. I'm not too sure about it personally but the hair does give the resemblance although my voice is much better...
I enjoyed just sitting around and chilling. The last two days have been amazing and that's probably down to the abnormal amount of public interaction. Despite travelling 10,000km, I'm still sat around talking to English people! It was good though and I had to take a minute to soak it all in. Not just soak in where I was and how far I've been but how much can change in a day. I woke up in Kilifi with so much to do and here I was now, sitting with 12 other people in the middle of a forest talking about how long it takes to get ready for a night out! (2 minutes)
I went to bed after a failed attempt by two of the guys to catch one the camp's cats and put it in the girls dorm. Did I feel 18 again? No. Despite my story's of doing stupidly ridiculous things that only a 9 year old would do, did I feel like I was 8 years older than most of them? Yes.
This being said, I made sure I did not use the term "when I was your age" or "in my day..." and thankfully they are a great bunch so I'm not left out of the conversations like an old biddy because they're actually interested in my "war stories."
I must dedicate this day to my main man Abdullah Salem for making Nigel's back wheel quiet again (and hopefully indestructible) and my friend Sharon and the people at Camp Kenya. I can't begin to tell you how much I'm looking forward to doing nothing tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment