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I awoke before 7:00 and took my last shower before going home in the room's nice bathroom, and I shaved for the last time. There was a dead cockroach outside the bathroom this morning. Breakfast was included in the room price. I had juice, fruit, a spanish omelet, bacon, and a sausage. Then I asked the reception desk for the number to call to confirm my KLM flight home. They couldn't tell me, and called Kenya Airways to get the number. I waited a half hour for the answer, but heard nothing, and decided to go out and see Mombasa's main tourist attraction (apart from its beaches), Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. I wasn't sure this was a good idea, since I still had a long ride to Nairobi to make my flight tonight, and hadn't even checked the bus schedule yet, but I figured this would be my only time to see some of Mombasa, any other problems could be fixed if necessary. A cab driver said he would take me to the fort, wait, and bring me back for 500 Kenyan shillings. I got him to stop at a bank so I could change $70 in traveler's checks. I had the same problem as yesterday: the first bank wanted to see the receipts, so I went to the bank next door, which gave me no trouble.
![[ftjesus]](../images/coast/ftjesus.gif)
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| Fort Jesus |
An Indian cab driver took me to find a bus to Nairobi. We tried a couple of companies before settling on a 12:30 Malinda bus, which they said would get me to Nairobi around 7 PM. That would be fine, assuming I had a "good safari", as the cab driver put it, and the bus didn't break down or have an accident. He said I shouldn't worry about this too much, because another bus would help out in that case. But of course, I didn't have much time to waste if I were to catch my 11:05 flight. I paid 300 shillings for the ticket and 200 shillings for the cab driver. This was my cheapest bus ticket yet, in spite of the long ride, and I was hoping the bus would be ok. It wasn't a video bus, although I had never actually seen the TV used on the video buses I had taken.
It turned out that I was lucky: the 11:00 bus was not full, and I got on it. The road to Nairobi is mostly in fine condition, so we made good time. I ate my pack of cardamom cookies on the way. Our lunch stop was short. I stayed on the bus, and bought a bean samosa (not too fresh) and canned coke through the window from a street vendor for $1. We entered Masai country, and an elderly Masai man in traditional dress took the seat next to me. We arrived in Nairobi, a sprawling city, around 6:00. I was somewhat nervous about arriving in a city some called "Nairobbery", and hoped the bus station would be similar to the ones I had experienced up to now, with an easy way to catch a taxi. I thought I would like to get dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant the missionaries in Uganda had told me about, and which I had found in my guidebook. It turned out that the bus dropped me off at an apparently random spot, with no taxis in sight. This was the last thing I wanted, with large bags and no idea where I was, in a city I was nervous about.
I walked to the nearest street corner, and found a taxi there, close to more busses around the bend. I asked the taxi drivers (there were two men in the car) to take me to the Carnivore Restaurant, thinking it was probably centrally located, and would be a quick trip, although I hadn't located it on a map. I had trouble getting them to understand my request, probably because they assumed I wanted a place to stay first, since I had bags. But I said I was just passing through, and wanted a ride to the restaurant only. I hadn't anticipated the heavy rush hour traffic, or the distance to the restaurant. It was far out of town, past a big prison. The sun set as we drove, and the length of the drive made me wonder if I would have time to get dinner and make it to my flight. Maybe I was packing one thing too many into this trip.
The Carnivore Restaurant was a big fancy place, a real tourist restaurant. They served a fixed price feast for 1150 shillings, just over $20. I had arrived shortly before the restaurant's first seating at 7:00, so I was just in time. The restaurant soon became packed, as it was popular with tour groups from British Airways and Air France. I hadn't anticipated the popularity, and felt fortunate to get a seat, arriving alone without notice. While I waited, I had the office call KLM for me to check on my flight. They said the airline's computer was down, but that the flight was full, so if I were not listed, I may have to be on standby. I was hopeful that the card I left at the Kenya Airport upon my initial arrival would suffice to confirm my outbound flight, and that I was on the passenger list.
Drinks were rather expensive, but there was an excellent selection. I chose a draft beer. Dinner began with tomato soup and a variety of salads. I had barely touched the salad when a hot plate with a baked potato arrived, and the meat started coming. Meat was delivered continuously by carvers carrying spears of sausages, chicken, honey wings, pork, spare ribs, beef, lamb, and more exotic wildlife, including hartebeast, zebra, and crocodile. There were sauces on the table to go with each kind of meat. Meat would be brought to me until I lowered a flag on the table to indicate that I'd had enough. Eventually, I became stuffed with the tasty, excellently prepared grilled meats. Around 8:00, I took down my flag, and selected pineapple pie with ice cream for desert.
I got a cab to take me to the airport for $20, having spent practically all my shillings by now. It was just three hours before my flight, but fortunately, the restaurant was on the same side of the city as the airport, and I made it to the airport just before 9 PM, and had no trouble checking in. It was a strange feeling, stepping back into the familiar world of an international airport, knowing that in a sense, I had already left Africa behind. My checked bags weighed 20.4 kg, within the free allotment. I paid the $20 departure tax and went through emigration. I forgot to fill out the departure card, but they didn't care. I went to the departure gate, passing my film to the inspector by hand. He saw my "I have climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro" t-shirt and asked if I had also climbed Mt. Kenya. I said no, maybe on another trip. (Mt. Kenya is actually much harder if you go all the way to the summit, since it involves technical rock climbing. I don't think I would go that far.) The inspector asked if I would come again, and I said yes, although I don't expect to. I hadn't spent much time in Kenya, actually, and it might be nice to see more of it. It might make a nice combination with a trip to Ethiopia and Egypt some day. The plane turned out to be not completely full, so any standby passengers must have made the flight. We took off at 11:20. I still have 420 shillings left, more than I wanted, but less than $10. I could have ordered more drinks at the Carnivore.
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