Day 7 - 10 - Mombasa

The Hotel

The days at the Voyager hotel were purposely planned to be a recuperation after all the safaris we'd been to. We did anticipate that it would be early mornings and late nights when out in the bush so we added a few days at this resort in Mombasa dedicated to doing...nothing.

Several pool areas where waiters would come around and take orders. I've never been to a hotel where they serve you by the pool. Not that I complain it felt rather luxurious.

Our favorite "water hole" became the "look out bar" located on a cliff edge some 15m above the beach. Here we would spend our evenings sipping on some drink whilst digesting all impressions we had so far.

Look Out Bar

 I did at one point ask the bartender for a local drink. He turned up with a drink that was kind of brownish in color. When I asked what it was I got the answer. "Crazy boom, because everybody wants to go crazy" and then unleashed a big laugh leaving me with a mysterious brew.
Not sure what it was, but it was strong..even for us "sons of the north".
To be honest I only finished half of it as I feared that I otherwise actually might go crazy.
So for the rest of the time I stuck with old classics such as G&T and Cuba Libre...:)

Contemplating life and its mysteries

 It was at one of these sessions at the bar we sat and enjoyed the evening and had a quiet chat.
The kids were running around playing and we just enjoyed the evening, watching the sun set over the horizon as the warm ocean breeze gently swept in over us. At that very moment we unanimously decided that we'd never..ever travel to the Canary Islands again and cram ourselves with other sun worshipers.
We'd rather take a flight to Kenya and Mombasa if so only for the sun and ocean.
The combination of the hospitality of the people and the pure enjoyment at the hotel eclipsed any other place we'd been to.

The "infinity pool" was rather cool. It's placed in such way it gives an illusion that it continues out into the ocean.

The palm trees on the hotel actually had coconuts and everyday there would be someone asking if you want a coconut. That person would then climb up the tree using nothing but a piece of rope around his feet. As with all other things on the hotel it's free of charge as we had all inclusive, they don't expect any tip and will not ask for it. It's however customary and very appreciated if you hand over a smaller tip for their service.

The Beach

The water rises/retracts quite a lot due to the tides allowing for interesting walks on the beach discovering animals such as various crabs. The kids loved to walk around to see what new they would find.

Hiding among the cliffs

There is just as in most places people selling things at the beach, souvenirs, scarves, shoes and what not.

There's however a big difference from most places I've been to, they respect a "no thank you". If your're not interested they'll leave you alone. But first they will of course try to convince you that their product is worth inspecting. They work in a completely different manner than I'm used to, they start by introducing themselves and asking for your name and where you're from. They strike up a bit of conversation before going into what they offer. I much appreciate that method over someone pushing up something in my face. If you still turn down the offer they won't bother you,  in fact they remembered us for the days that would come greeting us when we got down to the beach.

Our daughter had seen how the African girls bead their hair and she also wanted a makeover. 

We where kind of skeptical to how that would go, we are not even allowed to comb her hair normally.

But this lady we met at the beach offered to make her hair and she convinced us it would not be a problem.

For an entire hour Freja sat silently in the shades of the cliffs without complaints and had her hair made...impressive.

Makover by Teresah

Some of the beach residents seemed to have a slow day and took our son on a walk around the beach during a low tide. They ever so carefully cleaned a path free of sea urchins and even carried him a bit when the water got a bit deep. It's this type of meetings with the Kenyan people that over and over proved how hospitable they are and they really care for the tourists. I did however tip them for their service since I think they deserved it.

Octopus eggs

Sea cucumber

This little video clip gives illustrates our morning ritual, me and Nemo would go down to the beach when the water was going out and see what new the sea had flushed in during the night.

Long breakfast, walks on the beach in morning, lazy days at the pool and bar hangouts in the evening somehow sums up our stay in Mombasa. We never bothered to go into town or take any excursion they offered at the beach we needed the lazy days after the all safaris we've been to.