TRF Main | Humanitarian Programs | Educational Programs | Foundation Information

Alumni Association | Paul Harris Society | Contributions

January 20, 2007 - Mombasa - Kenya

by Judy Gallegos

City Tour

It is Saturday, there are no Rotary meetings to attend. This is our day to get to know our new Rotary friends in Mombasa , Kenya . The morning is spent on a City Tour of Mombasa with Antoinette. First we saw the local market. It is every kind of produce, spice, and nuts that you can imagine plus a few other household items. There was a bright pink powder that I could not identify which turned out to my powdered tomatoes. We were as much a curiosity to them as they were to us.

Next we visited the site of the Giant Tusks. These were constructed in 1957 to commemorate the visit to Mombasa by Princess Margaret of England.

We visited two Hindu temples. The first one had some beautiful three dimensional pictures that told the story of their beliefs. The second one was more open and outdoors. The decorations on both of them were quite colorful, flamboyant and bountiful. Very interesting to see.

Next we went to the old Port and Fort Jesus. The Fort is very famous. It was built in 1593 by the Portuguese. Later it was used as a prison and now is in ruins, but you can still see how it was constructed and used. It is a museum. We saw a few more landmarks on the way back to the hotel such as the light house.

Time on our Own

Lunch was at the hotel, hosted by the hotel manager who is a Rotarian. We had some free time on our own. Trudy, Chuck and I tried to walk down the White Sands beach to the next hotel to see if their shops were better than ours. They weren't. We got so overheated that we ended up taking a taxi back to our hotel. There were a couple of camels on the beach that you could pay to ride. We thought of taking a camel back, but they were not there when we had the idea.

There is a famous drink in Mombasa called Dawa. It is made with lime juice, rum, and a lot of honey. Of course, we all had to try that at the Beach Bar.

I had my first dip in the Indian Ocean . Trudy recorded the event with pictures. I think Trudy got as wet as I did since the tide comes in and goes out very fast here. She was not dressed for it and her slacks were soaked.

Evening Out

In the evening the Rotary Club members took us on a dinner cruise of the Indian Ocean on a Dhow which is a certain type of ship. The dinner was fabulous. Pumpkin or Tomato Soup, Lobster, Prawns, Steak, many choices of food to eat. There was a band. We ended our time on the Dhow with dancing. This is where I really got to know my new good friend, Hey Jude of Mombasa. You will be happy to know that there are at least two Hey Judes in Rotary. The really good news is that Hey Jude is in charge of the Casino next door to where the Dhow docks. You guessed it, we all visited the casino after dinner. It has a fabulous view of the Ocean and quite a lively clientele. It was really fun to be at the tables with the local Rotarians. Mel and I were dubbed the high rollers of the group. Because of her job, Hey Jude Mombasa comes to Las Vegas occasionally. If there is any way possible, we will meet up with her the next time she is in the USA.

I know this report might make you think we did no work today. All the time we spent with Rotarians we were making great new contacts and speaking of projects. We will visit two projects tomorrow.