Mombasa, Kenya

Hello Everyone!

We've had several sea days and an extended stay in Mombasa, Kenya. I've been distracted by other activities and today (Mon 23 March 2026) it's time for me to get you caught up!

We arrived in Mombasa in the morning hours of Thursday, 19 Mar 2026. We spent two nights and three days there, and I had two wonderful excursions. In this post, I'd like to give you a bit of background on Mombasa and Kenya in general and then fill you in on my experiences here. And, I've got another great "small world" story for you as well.

Beautiful Skies

But first, have a look at these photos I took of the sunset on St. Patrick's day as we made our way west toward Mombasa. I've commented before on how much more dramatic the skies seem to be at sea as compared to land, and this day's vistas were no exception. I spent about a half hour on the deck at the bow of the ship watching the sky slowly but inexorably morph from one beautiful painting to another. There was a large rain shower just northwest of the setting sun, dramatic enough in its own right, but made even more so by the golden light from the setting sun directly in front of me. Here are just a few of the dozens of pictures I took, trying to capture the magnificence. None does it justice though - you just had to be here!

Kenya Background

The day before we arrived in Mombasa I attended a lecture given by a visiting political science professor on the myriad challenges Kenya has overcome. It was fascinating and provided context for what we'd see over the next few days. Kenya’s political history is tightly tied to British imperial strategy in East Africa. It’s a story of geography, economics, settler colonialism, and ultimately, resistance.

A main takeaway I gleaned from the lecture is that Kenya didn’t “naturally” become a country—it was constructed by British colonial strategic and economic interests, then held together through infrastructure, coercion, and administrative design. Britain didn’t just exploit Kenya’s resources—it reshaped its society, economy, and political structure in ways that still influence the country today.

Prior to colonization, “Kenya” didn’t exist as a unified political entity. The region was home to many distinct groups—Kikuyu, Maasai, Luo, Kalenjin, coastal Swahili communities—each with their own systems of governance. The coast had long been tied to Indian Ocean trade (Arab, Persian, and Indian influence). The interior was more decentralized - clan-based, pastoral, or agricultural societies - and no single authority controlled the whole territory. What we now know as Kenya was constructed later by colonial borders.

Britain’s interest in Kenya intensified in the late 19th century during the “Scramble for Africa.” Several strategic issues motivated the Brits. First, to protect their shipping lanes to India, Britain needed control of the Nile headwaters and the Suez canal. Second, having a large presence in Kenya served as a buffer against rival European interests, such as the Germans in Tanzania. Third, the construction of the Uganda Railway (1896–1901) was central to British strategy and commerce, and needed to be protected. It connected Mombasa on the coast to Lake Victoria, enabling troop movement, administration, and economic extraction. It also opened the interior of the country to European settlement.

Unlike some colonies, Kenya became a settler colony. That is, Britain encouraged and incentivized its citizens to move to Kenya so as to solidify its influence. The higher altitude interior of the country was a relatively nice environment, so it wasn't had to attract immigrants. To accommodate this, large tracts of fertile land were taken from Africans and reserved for European settlers. This area came to be known as the “White Highlands”. The Africans were pushed into reserves or became laborers, creating a rigid hierarchy. Europeans were the landowners and held the political power. Asians, originally brought in to build the rail system, became the merchants. Africans were the labor force and were heavily restricted.

Britain governed indirectly but strategically. They used tribal identities to divide populations and empowered certain local leaders while sidelining others, limiting African political participation for decades. It was a conscious effort to reduce the chance of unified resistance.

The Mau Mau Uprising (1952-1960)

The most serious challenge to British rule came from the Mau Mau Uprising. Primarily driven by Kikuyu grievances over land loss, it manifested in guerrilla warfare against British forces and their collaborators. The Mau Mau Uprising didn’t come out of nowhere—it was the result of decades of pressure building under colonial rule. It was fundamentally about land, labor, and political exclusion.

By the 1940s–50s, urban migration increased, especially to Nairobi. Traditional authority structures weakened and a younger, frustrated population emerged. Secret societies began forming, binding members to resist colonial rule. Tensions escalated into assassinations of African chiefs seen as collaborators, attacks on settler farms, and increasing underground organization. In 1952, Britain declared a State of Emergency, marking the formal start of the uprising.

Soon after, Britain launched a sweeping counterinsurgency campaign against the Mau Mau Uprising, arresting suspected leaders like Jomo Kenyatta (later, Kenya's first president) and driving fighters into forest-based guerrilla warfare. In response, British forces combined military sweeps with mass detention (over 100,000 people), forced village relocations, and intelligence operations to isolate insurgents from the civilian population. By 1956, with leadership captured and supply lines cut, the rebellion was largely crushed militarily, but the scale and brutality of the repression undermined British legitimacy and accelerated Kenya’s path to independence in 1963.

Kenyan Independence

The country's independence came by way of negotiated constitutional reforms with Britain that transitioned power to African majority rule under Jomo Kenyatta and his party, the Kenya African National Union. That avoided large-scale settler conflict but preserved colonial-era borders and many economic structures. After independence, Kenyatta consolidated power, sidelined rivals, and maintained relative stability while unresolved land inequalities and ethnic favoritism fueled tensions.

Those tensions deepened under his successor Daniel Arap Moi, whose long rule (1978–2002) shifted Kenya into a de facto one-party state marked by repression, corruption, and periodic unrest. That was followed by a turbulent transition to multiparty democracy in the 1990s and by recurring episodes of electoral violence reflecting enduring ethnic, political, and economic divisions rooted partly in the colonial period.

Present State

Kenya today is basically a real democracy, but not a smooth one. It has a stronger system since ratifying a a new constitution in 2010, and elections happen regularly. But politics are still heavily shaped by ethnic alliances and tight, often disputed election results. Things have definitely improved with stronger courts and more stable transitions of power, but corruption, economic pressure, and periodic protests are still part of the picture. Overall it’s stable, but still working through some deep-rooted challenges.

Small World Story

I mentioned at the outset that a visiting political science professor gave a talk that explained all the above in detail. Turns out, one of my blog readers (my cousin Ellen), knows who he is! She and her husband were recently meeting with their financial advisor. They began discussing travel, and the subject of Viking cruises came up. My cousin mentioned that I was currently south of the equator, and the advisor said his brother Ed had just left the Seychelles. She knew I had just been there as well. It wasn't long before the puzzle came together and they realized that the advisor's brother, Ed Lynch, was the guest lecturer on my ship. 

So with that, along with the fact that I unexpectedly met four people on board with whom I served during my Air Force career, it's clear that the world is smaller than I thought.

Highlights of Mombasa

My first shore excursion was a tour of some of Mombasa's key sites. We made several stops along the way and learned quite a bit about the city.

The Akamba Handicraft Industry Co-operative Society

Our first stop was the Akamba Handicraft Industry Co-operative Society in Mombasa. It is a large collective of thousands of Kenyan woodcarvers that combines traditional hand carving with organized, high-volume production. Founded in 1963 to improve artisans’ income and market access, it operates as both a shared workshop and sales hub where individual craftsmen create and sell carvings—ranging from wildlife sculptures to furniture—using mostly hand tools and locally sourced hardwoods. The co-op functions like a hybrid of guild and factory, supporting livelihoods for many families while supplying both tourists and export markets with consistent, handcrafted products.

The work is very nice quality, and although there are common poses and themes for the animals, I couldn't find any two alike among the thousands in the gift shop. They really are unique. The prices are incredibly low for what you get. I bought a male lion carved from ebony that's about 6" long and it was less than $16.00.

Working conditions though are very poor. The carvers work in open air buildings under tin roofs. Work pretty much stops when it rains because the roofs leak and the ground floods. An open sewer runs through the grounds. 

But these men (and a few women) are true craftsmen. All the work is by hand and there are no patterns anywhere. The carvers were universally eager to show us what they were working on and tell us about it.

Carving an Elephant from Neem, a Softwood

Finished Ebony Elephant

Elephant Head and Rhinos in Work

Lion Hiding in a Block of Wood

Open Sewer Running Through Workshops

Hindu Temple

After leaving the workshop, we drove through town to a large Hindu temple. On the way I took some  pictures of what it looks like in the city. Here are a couple. 

This building under construction is typical. Wooden pillars are used to support the structure before it is complete. Interestingly, I saw a large number of partially-finished buildings, many overgrown, which looked like they hadn't been worked on in years or maybe decades. I was told that what looks like widespread abandonment is really just a mix of cash flow interruptions, legal uncertainty over land titles, and speculative (sometimes incremental) building.

Building Under Construction

I saw these hand carts all over the city, even mixing in with the traffic on the streets at times.

Typical Mode of Transport

Our guide told us there were numerous Hindu temples in Mombasa but that this was the only one open to visitors. I don't recall running into that before on this journey, but I took him at his word.

Ornate Entrance to Hindu Temple

In the "lobby area" there were several murals like this depicting different Hindu beliefs. This one illustrates the eternal fate of anyone who kills or eats an animal for food: "They are thrown forcefully into a pot of boiling water."

Vivid Mural

This is the main altar area of the temple. It was quite beautiful.

Main Sanctuary of Temple

Elephant Tusk Archway

We left the temple and drove a short distance to see these crossed elephant tusks, the iconic symbol of Mombasa. They form the letter "M" and were erected in 1952 to commemorate the visit of Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and placed over the road she would travel to form a ceremonial gateway. It was during that same 1952 visit that Princess Elizabeth unexpectedly became queen following her father’s (King George VI) death while she was away. The original tusks were temporary (wood/canvas). Permanent aluminum tusks were installed in 1956. 

Iconic Elephant Tusks in Mombasa

We also went past the Holy Ghost Cathedral, the site of the first Catholic mission in Mombasa. What began as a small missionary outpost in 1889 expanded with the growth of Christianity under colonial rule, and became the main Catholic cathedral of Mombasa in the mid-20th century. 

The cathedral was not very far from both a mosque and a Hindu temple. That brought to mind a theme I've heard repeated in almost every city and town we've visited in this part of the world - that of religious tolerance. I've found that people of very different faiths and lifestyles coexist here with little overt friction or conflict. I think that came about as a natural consequence of many of these cities having long histories as trading centers. Because so many countries and cultures participated in world trade over centuries, the areas developed a naturally poly-religious flavor. A pragmatic "live and let live" philosophy evolved so that trade could flourish, and it continues today.

Holy Ghost Cathedral

Here's something else I've seen just about everywhere we've been so far - KFC! The Colonel is very well traveled.

KFC in Mombasa

Old Town Mombasa

We moved on to explore Old Town, the historic heart of Mombasa, on foot. It's characterized by narrow winding streets, carved wooden doors, balconies, and coral-stone buildings. The buildings are weathered, some beautifully preserved, others crumbling and patched. The maze-like alleys are barely wide enough for cars, and we often had to squeeze up against the buildings to let them pass.

Old Town Mombasa

Old Town Mombasa

Laundry Day in

Old Town Mombasa

A Handsome Young Resident of Old Town

Ornate Gateway in Old Town

Fort Jesus

Immediately adjacent to Old Town is Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese in 1593 to secure control of the East African coast and protect trade routes. The fort changed hands multiple times over two centuries. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and museum, valued as one of the best-preserved examples of Renaissance military architecture in Africa and a powerful symbol of Mombasa’s colonial and maritime history

Fort Jesus Exterior

 

Fort Jesus Interior

Fort Jesus Interior

Return to Port

We left the fort and boarded the bus to return to the port. I took several pictures along the way.

First, check out this ramshackle marketplace. Found throughout Kenya, these tarp-covered, sprawling markets are part of the “mitumba” trade — the Swahili word for bundles of second-hand clothing. Huge bales of used clothes arrive through Mombasa’s port and are sold wholesale to local vendors. Vendors open the bales and sell individual items in markets like this. 

Significant portions of the goods originate as donated clothing in wealthy countries, including the United States. Excess clothing donated to organizations like Goodwill or Salvation Army is often sold in bulk to textile recyclers/exporters. These companies sort, bale, and ship them overseas, especially to Africa. In Kenya and elsewhere, demand is huge because new clothing is relatively expensive, the used clothing is very affordable, and it is often of higher quality than cheap imports.

Mitumba Market

Like most third-world cities, the streets are busy and crowded. There are no traffic lights. Instead, the major intersections all function as roundabouts. This can lead to gridlock during rush hours, as we found out on our way back. We sat in one place for about ten minutes until a local civilian got out of his car and began voluntarily directing traffic at a busy interchange. Our driver said this practice (ad hoc traffic cops) is common.

Mombasa Traffic

Mombasa Traffic

Street vendors are everywhere. Here a fruit merchant hawks his wares.

Fruit Vendor in Mombasa

A Taste of Swahili Cuisine

After a relaxing night aboard ship, I departed the next day for a culinary adventure. We visited an upscale resort, the PrideInn Flamingo Beach Resort and Spa and got a hands-on Swahili cuisine cooking demo. The venue for the demo was the Istanbul Beach Cave Restaurant, located in a rare coral cave on the hotel property. Despite the Turkish theme in the restaurant, everything we enjoyed was traditional Swahili food.

Restaurant in a Coral Cave

There were several cooking demonstration stations set up in the restaurant. We could sit at each and try out the various recipes. This station is for Mahamri, a popular East African fried dough snack, especially common along the Kenyan coast and in Mombasa. It's a lightly sweet, coconut-infused fried bread—somewhere between a doughnut and a biscuit—commonly eaten for breakfast or with tea.

Making Mahamri

We made several different dishes in addition to the Mahamri, including Chicken Biriyani (chicken pieces braised in a savory sauce), Sumaki Wa Kupaka (whitefish in a savory coconut-based vegetable sauce), Maharage Ya Nazi (kidney beans in coconut milk), Ndizi Tamu (fried plantains), and a traditional non-leavened flatbread called Chapatis. 

When I signed up for this event I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought there would lots of vegetarian dishes, unusual types of produce and fruits, and unfamiliar (and maybe hot) spices. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I genuinely liked each of the dishes. They were savory without being over-spiced, and the proteins (chicken and fish) were familiar and tasty. 

We were given  recipe book along with a small satchel of spices, so I'm definitely going to try to make many of these back home.

Tasting the Sumaki Wa Kupaka

My Plate 'O Food

Local Lager

Before we left the resort I ran across this pretty young lady. She was very friendly and loved being petted. She really does have a right ear - my camera caught her rubbing up against the leg of an easel.

A Sweet Kitty

Back On Board for the Third Day

We had an additional day in Mombasa but I elected not to go back into town. For one thing, it was raining a lot, but the real reason is that there wasn't that much to do in the vicinity of where the shuttle buses dropped us off. We'd been warned not to eat any street food or in the many small eateries downtown, so going out for lunch wasn't really an option.

So, I stayed in, got a massage, worked on this blog, and generally kicked back for an extra day. It was relaxing and enjoyable.

Books on Board

While I was sitting in the library area working on my blog, I noticed some crew members methodically going through and scanning each book on the shelves with their phones. I learned that they were doing an inventory. Turns out, there's not just a random selection of books from a used book store on the shelves. Viking curates the books, looking for travel-related fiction and non-fiction that matches or complements the destinations to which they sail. Since guests sometimes take them home instead of returning them, Viking periodically checks the inventory throughout the ship, replenishing as required. Yet another example of Viking's attention to detail.

Crew Inventorying Books in the Ship's Library

One Last Picture

I was walking the deck for exercise a couple of mornings ago and there were rain showers all around us. As I came around the starboard bow headed aft, I saw this beautiful rainbow. The picture doesn't really capture how nice it looked.

My Reward for an Early Morning Walk

Tomorrow (Tue 24 March) we'll dock in Nosey Be, Madagascar (pronounced "Nossy Bay"). This is another place I've never seen, so am looking forward to learning more about it. Join me, won't you?

All the best,
Jim