Pekeangu

Jumamosi 18 septemba

KiSwahili word of the day is: pekeangu. alone. As in "unasafiri pekeako?" "ndiyo, ninasafiri pekeangu." I travel alone.

Safe and sound in Berachah Guest House in Mombasa. I have a really nice room with a window and a television. When I spoke in KiSwahili to the man showing me the room, he moved me up to a better room in the front of the hotel with the TV, which I didn't watch but really appreciated his consideration.

I am listening to the call to prayer coming from the mosque accross the street. I also met another woman traveling by herself. She is from the UK and older than I am. She was telling me about hiking Mt. Kenya with her brother and we talked about porters. She specifically wanted to climb Kenya and not Kili, because Mt Kenya can be climbed without a guide and porters. BUT going up, she saw this other group with the porters carrying wheel-suit cases on their heads going up- disgusting. I can't beleive that people would make the porters do that.

I sat next to a woman with a very animated baby the whole bus ride. The baby didn't cry once. Maybe almost half of the 8 hour bus ride was spent with the woman feeding her baby. Sweet but awkward.

Really no problems with the bus ride though. All of it was paved and minimal traffic.

Jumapili 19 septemba

KiSwahili word of the day is "mnara" for minnarette (unfortuanately I cannot spell in my native language...)

Made it out of Mombasa on a matatu to Kilifi, only about an hour and a half. I finished seeing the ruins and snake park and my hotel, "Dhow's Inn" is so nice!

The snake park in itself wasn't that great, but my guide was very animated and dedicated to the care of snakes and stopping snake trafficking. He was an undercover agent essentially. 007 Kenya. His role is to catch snakes that have come into people's homes to hunt and release them again into the wild far away from homes. He also has been very involved in catching people who illegally export snakes to other countries. He goes undercover to find the people involved then notifies the government. Unfortunately, it is hard to get the government to actually take action so he has been frustrated. Most often snakes are exported to Germany, now there is also a growing demand from Japan.

I also learned that all snake antivenom in East Africa is produced in South Africa. And considering that black mambas, green mambas, and other fun poisonous snakes are endemic to this area, creating a factory in Kenya that would manufacture antivenom could be very lucrative. For a green mamba bite, you have 40 minutes to get the antivenom but for a black mamba, 15 minutes only. Crazy! My guide's dream is to open an antivenom factory with a snake-park and a clinic that specializes in treating snake bites. Hope the best for him.

I also saw the Arab ruins. My hotel was actually in Mnarani, on the other side of the river from Kilifi, and was named for the minaret at the ruins.

The Arabs caused the birth of KiSwahili and traded clothing and other goods for hides, iron ores, and slaves. They converted many Africans to Islam, so the ruins at Mnarani are of ancient mosques.

I also learned about mkilifi, the tree for which Kilifi is named. Drinking a tea made from its leaves is said to cure 40 illnesses, including malaria. The leaves taste bitter like quinine.

I learned also that before the Arabs, Africans worshiped the Baobab tree. Even today some people come to slaughter animals at the trees and place coins inside it. I got to taste the baobab fruit, which was really dry and sour. It was disgusting. He said it is good for pregnant women and tastes good on fish; its probably high in vitamin C. The shells of the fruit can be used to make drums or mouse traps. It can also be used to make soap and shampoos.

My guide was really great. He also told me a lot about the history of the area and issues today. There is a lot of malaria in Kilifi, because of the creek. The hospital there gets additional funding for this reason so my guide says the Kilifi hospital is better than the one in Malindi.

At dinner I fed feral cats and made a new friend who was very eager to show me the beach at night. Thanks, but no thanks.