Mombasa was nothing I expected. Various fires at the side of the roads and many homeless roughing it outside derelict buildings and shops that were close to falling apart. I wasn’t overly worried, but a hell of a lot of people were freaking out about getting robbed. It was quite funny to listen to. The bus was a wave of paranoia and bad jokes that did nothing to reassure anyone about the security of the minibus.
We then boarded a ferry to cross a river. We waited a half hour as the boat, if it can be called that, slowly filled up with people. then the driver said “this is wrong. This is taking too long.” Everyone’s paranoia went into overdrive. Our driver then got out to check with the ferry driver. The ferry was still filling steadily, and most people’s eyes were on us. The upper levels overlooked the bus. Lots of people were freaking out about people stealing our luggage or jumping on the bus, Predator-style.
The bus was boiling, and Sam(G) opened the window about half an inch, stuck his mouth out and sucked in air, obviously looking like he didn’t want to open it all the way due to the risk to personal safety. One man saw this, and was staring at him for a very long time.
The driver came back and told us they were about to get moving.
Some man in a grey hood circled the bus. I’m sure someone squealed. Then, all of a sudden, the ferry started moving. To slow down, it cut its engines and drifted in to shore on the other side of the river. Everyone freaked out when the engines cut out, they all thought they where going to be stranded in the middle of a river surrounded by potential criminals(I know, this seems a horrible way to put it, but enter the minds of thirty-one middle-class teens, in a small bus in the middle of a river)
We docked after little more than five minutes. Driving off the ferry, the driver swerved to avoid a pothole and ended up on a slope leading down into the water. The vehicle was at a 45 degree angle, and the minibus was extremely top heavy due to our luggage. Almost everyone was leaning to their left to counterbalance the bags! When the minibus finally got back on the road, we were welcomed by people selling knives, of every shape and size, at the side of the street. The bus had to swing from side to side to avoid the worst of the potholes.
At one point on our journey towards camp, a monkey ran out into our headlights and then disappeared into the foliage on the other side.
Welcome to Africa, guys.
We arrived at camp Ocean in Diani around 2:40 and were greeted by the camp manager and retinue, and various refreshments. It was quite dark, but we could make out crabs scurrying across the undergrowth and paths. We entered our designated rooms, small stand-alone huts, almost cottages, to find they were quite good. The were cleaned every day , and sure, the showers weren’t fully functional, the toilet seat had a piece missing from it, and several small animals had set up residence, but it was liveable. We slept well.
We then boarded a ferry to cross a river. We waited a half hour as the boat, if it can be called that, slowly filled up with people. then the driver said “this is wrong. This is taking too long.” Everyone’s paranoia went into overdrive. Our driver then got out to check with the ferry driver. The ferry was still filling steadily, and most people’s eyes were on us. The upper levels overlooked the bus. Lots of people were freaking out about people stealing our luggage or jumping on the bus, Predator-style.
The bus was boiling, and Sam(G) opened the window about half an inch, stuck his mouth out and sucked in air, obviously looking like he didn’t want to open it all the way due to the risk to personal safety. One man saw this, and was staring at him for a very long time.
The driver came back and told us they were about to get moving.
Some man in a grey hood circled the bus. I’m sure someone squealed. Then, all of a sudden, the ferry started moving. To slow down, it cut its engines and drifted in to shore on the other side of the river. Everyone freaked out when the engines cut out, they all thought they where going to be stranded in the middle of a river surrounded by potential criminals(I know, this seems a horrible way to put it, but enter the minds of thirty-one middle-class teens, in a small bus in the middle of a river)
We docked after little more than five minutes. Driving off the ferry, the driver swerved to avoid a pothole and ended up on a slope leading down into the water. The vehicle was at a 45 degree angle, and the minibus was extremely top heavy due to our luggage. Almost everyone was leaning to their left to counterbalance the bags! When the minibus finally got back on the road, we were welcomed by people selling knives, of every shape and size, at the side of the street. The bus had to swing from side to side to avoid the worst of the potholes.
At one point on our journey towards camp, a monkey ran out into our headlights and then disappeared into the foliage on the other side.
Welcome to Africa, guys.
We arrived at camp Ocean in Diani around 2:40 and were greeted by the camp manager and retinue, and various refreshments. It was quite dark, but we could make out crabs scurrying across the undergrowth and paths. We entered our designated rooms, small stand-alone huts, almost cottages, to find they were quite good. The were cleaned every day , and sure, the showers weren’t fully functional, the toilet seat had a piece missing from it, and several small animals had set up residence, but it was liveable. We slept well.
monkeys overhead.
In hindsight, we should have been glad to have the shower and the toilet.
I awoke at eightish to the sound of heavy rain. Stepping outside into the refreshing downpour and fresh air, I followed the winding path past several buildings not dissimilar to ours towards the breakfast table. When everyone turned up, we got a short briefing from the group leaders, ate breakfast and were left to our own devices. We got up, walked past the bar and out onto the beach through a small wooden archway decorated with flowers.
oh, hai. i was just on my way back from the middle-east...
Diani beach is Beautiful. Pure white sand for miles to either side, with palm trees hanging lazily over the beach. The water was clearer than anything I had seen before, and you could see the sand through the water for about twenty meters, before it gently disappeared into a light turquoise, which changed in colour the further it went out, before breaking over the reef in light waves. We spent the rest of the day in the sea and playing volleyball with the two lifeguards and haggling with the locals who gathered on the beach for that exact reason. one of them had a pair of magnificent white sunglasses, making me really tempted to ask him if he would sell them, but I never got round to it.
At lunch whilst we were eating, there was a scream, a little rustling, a loud thud and the reverberating sound of rubber. We had all been witness to a monkey falling out of a tree and landing on a tent, which sent the dogs crazy. It was one of the funniest things me or any of us had ever seen (no monkeys were harmed in this extract). Shortly afterwards, as I was walking back to the hut, a monkey threw some fruit at me from the top of a tree. I picked it up and chucked it back, of course.
hell yeah with a side of yes please?
After dinner, we started socializing with the other group – well, the girls, anyway. The boys seemed threatened by our presence, and kept their distance to make snide remarks from afar. Me and Sam (Nutt) started chatting with two girls from Stanstead. I bought everyone drinks(not really that big a deal, as each drink cost all of about 15p). Between the four of us, we had some hilarious conversations. It ranged from general stuff to the criminally insane, one of the topics being this.
We were talking about how rough Mombassa was, and I said
“that’s nothing though, really. Johannesburg is worse, roughness-wise”
and Sam Piped up(first time he had spoken in said conversation) and said
“oh, Johannesburg, that’s where they have anti-rape devices”
we all turned to him and in unison said
“What?”
we were all new to Sam’s conversational topics, but we would come to know them well by the end of the week. Sam followed this by spending half an hour explaining what they where. We left him with his new found best friend, Eppy, who was hanging on his every word. And went and sat at the fire that had been made on the beach.
When we got back to the bar, we had the girls give Sam a makeover, with bronzer, Mascara and eyeliner, making sure he looked very pretty before returning to the fire.
Whilst deep in conversation, one of our guys and one of the girls picked Sam up, an arm each, and dragged him around the beach. It was harsh, but hilarious all the same. We decided that the four of us would meet in the morning to see the sunset.
That night, Jean-Luc (bailey) thought it would be funny to go and jump on Jon (Patton)’s bed whilst completely naked, save for a baseball cap, tearing down the mosquito netting. At the moment of the traumatic attack, Mr. Griffiths walked in the room. Turning a paler shade of white, He left saying “I don’t want to know”.
All who witnessed it are scarred for life.
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