Mombasa tales

This weekend I have finally fulfilled an ambition I have had since I arrived first in Kenya: visiting Mombasa! Yes, it’s true that I have already been there, but at that time I was having meetings and formation lectures, and having an insight of the GVI project in Nyali, so I actually didn’t have any opportunity to see the city. Hence, I took the first opportunity I had to go up to this city of suggesting name.

Fort Jesus, lookig after the entrance to the port of Mombasa

I have had the chance to see Fort Jesus, a fortress made by the Portuguese after the first visit of Vasco de Gama to the city, and which has gone through a history of sieges, slaughter, betrayal and greed. Surrounding the fortress you can find the labyrinth of narrow streets that form the Old Town of Mombasa, a puzzled chaos of Portuguese, British and Arab architecture, absolutely lively and charming. The rest of the Mombasa island is deeply more chaotic than the old town: ample streets and avenues are crowded with a multitude of pedestrians, bikes, motorbikes, matatus, buses, cars and tuk-tuks (a 3-wheeled car, used like a taxi), making the traffic of the city an absolute nightmare for any foreigner.

The Old Town

I also explored Nyali, the posh suburb of Mombasa. This is where most of the wealthy inhabitants of the city live, and also were a lot of expensive tourist resort are placed, besides Nyali beach. However, this doesn’t mean that there is not poverty. Just the opposite: in between the mansions and cool buildings, hundreds of poor persons live in small metallic houses, in small slums (where GVI works).

Nyali beach, meeting point for both tourists and people from Mombasa... in separate areas.

Nyali is a source of amazingness. This is the place where the Somalian pirates come looking for a quiet retirement when they have earned enough money, where hunger and poverty inhabit door-to-door with western-style supermarkets, cinemas and shops. Mosques are abundant, but you can also find a small aquapark, a golf ground and even a brand-new enormous hinduistic temple…

The temple... inside it, you feel like on the other side of the Indian Ocean

Welcome to Mombasa! Welcome to Africa!