Which Way to Pride Rock?

Natalie Penry
Jan 31, 2023
10 min read

Jambo from Mombasa! It’s been a busy six days, but my time in Kenya has been chock full of events. I’ve felt like a background character in a Disney Pixar movie several times over the past few days - The Lion King and Finding Nemo, to whet your appetite a bit.

Before we dive into the specifics, a word on the unique positioning of Kenya in our SAS itinerary:

I left for the World Odyssey on January 2nd and boarded the ship on the 6th, so depending on what you count as the beginning of the adventure, I've been gone for about four weeks. In comparison, my longest previous study abroad was six weeks in total - at this point in Spain or Chile, I was starting to really look forward to the creature comforts of home, though still enjoying my time abroad. Here, the end is still so far in the distance, and that truly reflects in one's mentality. I can't say that I feel homesick, or that I'm counting the days to come home. Time is different on the ship, things move at different paces and your schedules aren't measured by weekdays vs. weekends, but by ocean vs. land.

Our two longest stretches at sea come at the beginning of the voyage, which probably exacerbates this feeling, but also gives you warning on the concept of burnout. There are around 12 weeks left in the scheduled program, countless more if you plan on traveling after disembarkation. SAS is an incredible opportunity to travel the world, but it is a marathon, not a sprint. You may be tempted to treat it like a more typical semester abroad, where weekends are for exploring and weekdays are concerned with classes or internships; however, if you sightsee at a blistering pace for all ten ports, you will burn out. To counteract this, it's common for students to take a day in port to breathe. Stay on the ship, lie in the sun have a lazy Sunday, even if it's actually a Wednesday.

I did indulge in some breathing room here in Kenya, and it did rejuvenate me; I know I wouldn't have enjoyed the last half of my time here if I hadn't combatted the sheer exhaustion that comes with rapid fire traveling. So without further ado, let's dive into the adventures that required recovery in the first place!

Day 1: Adventures in Old Town

We arrived in Mombasa on the morning of the 26th, slowly docking at Kilindini Harbor. Much like Mumbai, we were greeted by local dancers and musicians performing for us as we descended from the gangplank; these kinds of entrances never fail to put a smile on your face, feeling so welcomed into the country.

After taking the shuttle from the port into the city, I set out on a bit of solo-exploring into Old Town. My guide Kennedy showed me all the key sites of Old Town, and gave me a true behind-the-scenes glimpse of life in Mombasa. He welcomed me to his village, so to speak, and introduced me to several members of the community, including the old fish monger who acts as a village elder. I hadn't originally planned on taking a guide through Old Town, but it ended

up being a welcome coincidence - the streets there are rather narrow and corridor-like to keep the sun exposure minimal, and it often felt more like a labyrinth than a city. The architectural influence of different cultures is prevalent too, with exquisite Arabic doors and tongue-in-cheek British electrical wiring - Kennedy made sure to point out that German tourists always make fun of the mess of wires sprouting from buildings here and there.

After my tour ended, I stopped at the Imani Collective, an artisan ethical impact brand that champions women's empowerment. Started as community to support disadvantaged single mothers, Imani Collective now employs over eighty Kenyan women, providing empowerment, opportunity, and community from their workshops in Kenya. If you're looking for a place to buy meaningful souvenirs that contribute directly to a good cause, this is place. It's ironically located in Old Town, but that almost makes it better, no?

Much in the way that I can't walk through campus without seeing a sorority sister, you can't walk through a port city without running into other SASers - it's kind of a game, trying to see if the young Americans on the other side of the street are your classmates or independent travelers. The sense of community SAS has prevails always, and it does provide a sense of safety when exploring by yourself. You will inevitably run into a friendly face, and unsurprisingly, that happened to me as I made my way back to the ship. I ended up tagging along with the group of staculty, spent my afternoon at Fort Jesus.

Built by the Portuguese, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is particularly cool, in my opinion, because it's designed in the shape of a body. You enter in the arm, get tickets in the neck, and can walk the perimeter of the head/legs/stomach. Creepy, but cool. It turns out, sightseeing with professors is extra-educational (who would've guessed?) and I got to learn fun facts about fort architecture and local culture. I'm always making the most of my educational opportunities ;)

After wrapping up Fort Jesus, it made geographic sense to venture down the street into Old Town. Having already seen Old Town that morning, it was my turn to play tour guide and show my group the same sites, kind of like a game of telephone - what things did I remember and could parrot back with decent accuracy? I'd like to think I did a decent job, all things considered, though we did choose to bail out early and get lunch. Walking around in extreme heat makes you *hungry*.

The restaurant we ate at, Forodhani, was an oasis. Right on the waterfront and hidden in the shade, I loved the chance to talk with fellow SASers and enjoy some Mombasa cuisine. I had the Mombasa Vegetable Pizza, which was more like a tortilla de patatas than a pizza, but yummy nonetheless. Minor flashback to Madrid aside (complete with oppressive heat), it was a lovely break from sightseeing.

We finished the day out with a trip to the local grocery store, eager to stock up on snacks. By the time I made it back to the ship, I was sweaty, gross, and slightly sunburned, but armed with several stories and undoubtedly happy with my day.

Days 2-3: Much Needed R&R

These were my aforementioned rest days, giving me time to check back in with myself and recover from my adventures in Old Town.

Have no fear - I did leave the ship each day, but stayed local at the port, not venturing into Mombasa. In a rare move for me, I had a pool day on Day 2, laying out and reading (textbooks because I *am* still a student), trying out this whole ‘tanning’ thing that other SASers seem to love.

While these were more low-key days, I found unexpected gratitude in the little things, like watching the sunset over dinner on Lido Terrace. How understatedly gorgeous.

Day 4: Kisite Marine National Park

I originally had nothing planned for Day 4, and had resigned myself to more general wandering through the city; however, the evening before my friend Kelsi had suggested I try to go standby on one of the field programs. I had nothing to lose, aside from sleep, so I gave it a chance. It takes a special kind of person to drag themselves out of their cabin at 4:30 a.m. for the not-guaranteed chance to go somewhere. Luckily, it all worked out, and I found myself sitting with Kelsi on a bus headed towards the Kisite Marine National Park before you could say 'snorkeling.'

And indeed, snorkeling was the major attraction. We drove two hours from Mombasa to Kisite, to immediately board a dhow (traditional sailing vessel) and sail for an hour to the coral reef outside Wasini. Around two kilometers from Tanzania, Wasini is a small island off the coast of Kenya that hosts turtles, dolphins, barrier reefs - basically, lots of marine life.

This was my favorite snorkeling experience thus far. Aside from the dhow drive-by from a pod of dolphins, I was swimming up close and personal with so many marine animals! The reefs were not as vibrant as the mental images you conjure of coral reefs, but we were quite literally immersed in fish. They had no qualms about swimming next to you and providing several core memory moments. While I don't have any pictures from the snorkeling, if you stare at an aquarium and play the Finding Nemo soundtrack on repeat, you'll probably get a limited sense of how cool it was.

On our way back to shore, our amazing sailing crew serenaded us with cultural songs - while sailing us through rough waves, a new definition of multitasking. The Westfield High School Music Department proved once again to be eerily relevant, as one of the songs unlocked a memory of me watching a choir concert and hearing a Mixed Choir class sing "Jambo Bwana", although I suppose it could've come from middle school, I was mainly just shocked that I recognized the chorus. Regardless, that was a ridiculous moment of perspective: there I was, on a boat on the Indian Ocean, still tasting the salt water from snorkeling, listening to local music and dancing along. I mean, who gets to do that? Who is fortunate enough to experience that level of total surreality?

Once we landed, there was a brief reprieve to change out of swimsuits and eat a Kenyan seafood buffet - don't worry, phone eats first! We hear a lot about naan, but people are not speaking up about how delicious chapati is. I seriously could've eaten my bodyweight in flatbread. Also, you know, the ridiculously fresh fish and crabmeat. Again, surreal experience.

We wrapped up the field program with a short tour of the Slave Caves. Starting in the 1750s, the Shimoni Slave Caves were holding ports for the East Africa/Middle East slave trade, and we were fortunate to have a member of the Shimoni Slave Cave Committee give us a tour of one of the caves. While understandably sobering, to see manacles still imbedded in the walls and hear the echo of bats throughout all the while understanding that this was someone's reality, all day every day, our tour guide made a point of showing us how this site has really become a memorial or altar of sorts. A reframing of perspective that reclaims authority of the site's story.

I'd like to take this time to mention that we received a police escort both to and from the national park. Said escort had the sirens going the entire two-hour trip, both ways. said escort drove like a maniac into incoming traffic and in the middle of the road, but said escort got us back to the ship early, so, thanks for the hospitality!

When I woke up that morning, I wasn't even sure if I'd be going on the field program; by the end, I was walking away with a huge smile on my face, absolutely thrilled with where the day had taken me. Not even the inevitable sunburn from ninety minutes of snorkeling or losing my sunglasses on the bus could dull the shiny memory. It was rather exhausting, though, so I fairly collapsed once we returned to the ship. And getting a good night's sleep was crucial because...

Day 5: Real Life Lion King!

Dear Reader, you may or may not (but probably don't) know that The Lion King was my first obsession, so to speak. Both of my parents can confirm, I knew every word to the movie, every word to the picture book - my imaginary friends growing up were named Nala and Simba. And here was my chance to meet my favorite animated characters out in the wild, from the safe distance of our safari van.

With another early morning wakeup call, we made our way to Tsavo East National Park. Our safari van sat six SASers, each with their own window, and the top of the car popped out for maximum viewing opportunities.

Of course, going on safari does not guarantee that'll see any animals, especially if you only go out for one game drive, as opposed to other SAS programs that had three days of game drives. Still, the universe must have known my cosmic connection to Timon & Pumbaa, because our handful of hours on safari produced incredible results.

Almost immediately, we saw some gravy zebras, covered in the typical Tsavo East red dust - we all walked away looking like martians, what with all the red dust layered on. And right after that...a lion. Seriously. First ten minutes of the drive, and we see the elusive king of the jungle. Shout out to our safari driver, he's a real one ;)

Without trying to recount the three hours of driving around the various areas of the park, I'll provide a quick gallery of animals below, with the concession that my camera quality is only good up to 55mm, and anything beyond that gets grainy.

Our lunch was at the Ashnil Aruba Lodge (yummy) and we had another hour of driving before heading back to Mombasa. Our three-hour commute was mainly Kelsi & I dissecting how cool it was to see three of the Big Five (no cheetah or rhinos for us) and trying to wipe red dirt off our faces. Thanks to the ingenious design of the safari van and *layers,* I escaped Tsavo without further sunburn. Twenty-four hours later, and the entire experience seems just as cool. Everything seems cool on safari: Dust in your eye? Safari dust! So much sweat you smell? Safari sweat! Dead bones on the ground? Dead safari bones!

Final Thoughts:

To be totally honest, I was the most nervous for this port than any of the previous or upcoming ports, in large part due to the location and climate. As a Certified Pale Girl, the proximity to the Equator - a danger zone compounded by malaria meds that increase photosensitivity - means sky-high UV and unavoidable sunburns. Outside of the somewhat daunting weather, we were warned in no uncertain terms during logistical pre-port that we should avoid traveling solo throughout Mombasa, especially young women.

As you've read by this point, I did indeed have plans to go out by myself on the first day, I survived, and while I did get a tad sunburned during snorkeling, it's already faded into my standard paleness. Despite the apprehension from pre-port, I found myself consistently surprised by Kenya. Everyone I met, from Mombasa to Tsavo was incredibly kind and welcoming, truly excited to share their time with us. The way Kenya seamlessly transformed from port city to coastal getaway to African safari awed me, and I loved staring out the window on my various road trips, just watching the landscape shift.

In terms of cultural dimensions and axiologies, the United States and Kenya are two almost opposite worldviews, and I as said, that can be daunting to anticipate. But should you be so fortunate as to travel to Mombasa yourself, I urge you to let yourself get lost here. There are worse places to wander aimlessly than the streets of Old Town, the caves of Kisite, or the safari lands of Tsavo East. Asante sana, Kenya.

Our next stretch at sea will be the longest of the voyage, eleven days on the ocean, as we travel to Aqaba in Jordan. We're adding a bit of spice here, too, since this is the location of the infamous Somali pirates - a few of my friends and I have downloaded Captain Phillips and plan to watch it, you know, since it fits thematically! Due to the length of this stretch, my general connectivity will be limited, but I'll try and find the internet to update you all on the 'study' portion of study abroad. For now, it's onto (hopefully) colder shores!