At Mombasa We Board Our Cruise Ship

By Bob Van Leer

  (MOMBASA, KENYA, East Africa, Feb. 9, 1995) - Our safari in the Masai Mara ended today and we retraced our steps to Nairobi and then proceeded to the port city of Mombasa to board our cruise ship, Renaissance V.

  The name, Mombasa, has always had, to me, an exotic sound. The city lived up to my expectations with its teeming streets and architecture from Arab states and India.

  On our way back to the Keekorok airport we had a last opportunity for game viewing and saw considerable, but nothing we hadn't seen earlier. Our two DC-3s from Air Kenya returned for us and we loaded aboard. The plane we were on was built in 1945 for the British Royal Air Force. It went through a number of hands and, as of January, 1993, had logged 50,231 miles. It managed one more successful trip to Nairobi and landed us at the small Wilson Airport and we were bused to Moi International Airport.

  There the same Airbus that brought us to Kenya from New Jersey was waiting to take us the 40 minute flight to Mombasa. Mombasa, a city of 40,000 (1991), is the largest port on the coast of east Africa. It is the second largest city in Kenya. Its docks not only serve Kenya, but also Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. We noticed one U. S. Navy ship anchored in the harbor.

  The city's population is 70% African with the balance mainly Asian and a small number of Europeans. The appearance of the city is more Arab and Indian than African. The biggest attraction for tourists is Fort Jesus, which dominates the harbor entrance. Begun in 1593 by the Portuguese, it changed hands nine times between 1631 and 1875. It is now a museum.

  We dropped in elevation over 5000 feet between the Mara and Mombasa and the temperature rose accordingly to about 96 degrees. After a tour of Mombasa we went down to the docks and boarded the ship which is to be our home for the next 10 days.

  The Renaissance V is a small ship, 297 feet long with a beam of 50 feet and has a guest capacity of 114. Because of its small size, it can cruise to islands larger ships cannot. Just off the gangway, natives have set up shop along a warehouse wall to sell handicrafts to the ship's passengers. Some of them are rather aggressive.

  The ship cast loose as we were dining and headed out to sea. As we hit open sea, the ship began a pronounced roll. By tomorrow we will see who the sailors are. Our first port of call will be Lamu, a small, old city on the northern Kenya coast. We will be there in the morning.