Day 3 in Kilifi County: A Morning in Mnarani

I woke up at around six and one of my friends did as well. We decided that instead of waiting for the rest of the group to wake up and slowly make its way to breakfast, we would catch a boda to the beach and join them later. Catching a boda in Kilifi is no great challenge. Walking along the street, a tourist is bound to attract the attention of a passing motorcyclist within a few minutes, and if that does not work, one can always find drivers hanging around the major junctions, larger roads, and tourist joints.

People seem to wake up much earlier in East Africa than they do in Europe. We ascribed this to the fact that it becomes unbearably hot during the day, which must make any kind of strenuous work unbearable. Whatever the reason, we were the only foreigners on the beach that morning and were approached for pictures several times. After walking up and down the shore for a bit, we could not find a place to sit down, so we took a matatu to Mazingira Park and walked around until it was time to meet the rest of the group for breakfast at a nearby café. I was surprised by how well-maintained the park was, and by the number of beautiful baobab trees and giant millipedes within it.

After breakfast, I rode a boda with another friend to the Mnarani Ruins. The pictures I found on the internet did not quite do justice to the fact that the site stands on top of a hill to the south of Kilifi Bridge: From among the baobabs by the ruins, one can see the boats streaming in and out of the inlet carrying goods and tourists. While Mnarani is not nearly as large as Gedi, some of the engravings and inscriptions on the buildings are much better preserved. Mnarani also has a snake park with some of the same snakes I saw in Gedi, like green and black mambas, large brown spitting cobras, puff adders, and pythons.

We spent the rest of the day on the beach and spent the night on a boat. With the moon only making an appearance a little before dawn, the stars swarmed the dark sky, where the occasional satellite and shooting star flashed into and out of sight. The next day was exceedingly windy. Some of us swam by the boat but having woken up quite early, I lay down and caught a few moments of sleep. I left Kilifi in the afternoon to catch a matatu to Malindi, from which I returned to Nairobi at night.     

The beach in Kilifi
A baobab in Mnarani Park
A zombi pea
An African millipede
The mosque of Mnarani
A butterfly
A carving
Tombs in Mnarani
The same
An ornate carving
The same
A male vervet monkey
A baobab
An arch at Mnarani
Turtles mating
More turtles
A green mamba
A boat in Kilifi after sundown

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