Mombasa Vacation Highlights

Our afternoons in Mombasa were mostly free, and we loved having the opportunity to explore. We visited Fort Jesus, a historical site near the SIT office.

We were given a guided tour, which was cool, but our favorite part of the tour was the view rather than the history.

Another afternoon, we visited the Akamba handicraft workshop. Local artisans craft their products on site, and they sell them all within a warehouse. Everything has a set price (a set low price).

It was a welcome change from the ruthless bargaining that takes place everywhere else in Mombasa. Many of the things sold in the local stores are identical to the products at Akamba, but the prices are inflated considerably.

I’ve already decided to come back here with a credit card and stock up on Christmas presents. I have a feeling you’ll love this place, Mom, so maybe we can tack this onto the end of the trip after our safari.

Before visiting the Akamba site, we made a trip to a center for Cerebral Palsy and a center for Disability and Rehabilitation. The visits were really inspiring and provided us with a glimpse of a couple successful resources available to the people of Kenya. When we returned to our bus, we encountered a small roadblock:

After about an hour, the bus finally started and took us to Akamba! We’ve learned to be flexible in our schedule here because we seem to always run up against complications. This complication made for some great pictures at least!

The end of the week included a jigger removal session back at the SIT office. I lucked out--no little bugs in my feet! I think the group record was 7 on one foot.