Gregory cannot sleep. He is exited and wants to leave earlier than planned. When we eventually leave the house at around 9.15 am, the ongoing construction work on the JKIA to Machakos road causes some minor inconvenience by way of diversions and dust for the first 100 kilometers. After Sultan Hamud, you are literally transported to a different world for the next 400 kilometers to Mombasa. Even the notorious Mariakani to Miritini section has been done save for a few kilometers being worked on at furious speed around the weighbridge.
Despite this commendable state of the road, there are too many trucks on the road cutting down on cruising speeds. Mombasa is still some six to eight hours from Nairobi. I wonder what happens when the Ministry of Transport makes good their threat to reduce truck axles to just three.
Gregory is a pain with curiosity. He wants to know which is the next town? When are we going to arrive? How far are we from Mombasa? He reminds me of the pesky kids in the movie “Are we there yet?” I expected Natasha to sleep most of the way, but she is all alert. We sing nursery rhymes, hymns and pop songs to pass time. A bit of mchongoano also keeps us well humored.
We arrive at our hotel in Bamburi area of North Coast at around 5.30 pm. The hotel is a revelation and everybody is happy. After well-deserved showers, the kids want to take a dip into the winding pool, while all I want is to walk on the beach before dinner. The dinner is an elaborate affair and after dessert, music and acrobats entertain us.
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