Park visit done – we jump back in the car, switching seats so William can be in the front and I jump in the back with Juma  – and head back to the city.  We’re really glad we didn’t stay with the original schedule to see the Giraffe, Crocodile and Hippo feedings later in the day.  We had the park all to ourselves, the only people we saw were at the feedings and there weren’t a lot, and the only thing we missed were the Crocs.  Fine by us.  The drive back into town doesn’t take quite as long as going out – on the way I try to get Juma to give us more of a running dialogue on where we are and what we are seeing, but he’s just not up on that obviously.  We did talk a little about the construction going on – lots of it.  Some for high dollar homes for the rich, some that are supposed to be affordable living, but are still too expensive for the normal residents.  He also did explain about a tall building, supposed to be the tallest in Mombasa, that has been stopped because the owner has run into disagreements with some politician.  Same, same, no different!

Arriving in Mombasa, Boniface lets us off right at the Fort entrance, and then leaves us to Juma to guide us around.  Built in 1592 by the Portuguese as a military base, the fort was laid out in the shape of a human lying down with his arms stretched out and his legs hanging down – resembling how Jesus was hung on the cross, thus the name:  Fort Jesus.  Juma takes us all around the fort – down through the passage of the arches, into the armory that was later used as a prison, then up onto the “shoulders” and the “head” where we see what remains of the captains quarters and the thick defensive walls. 

Here you can see the history of the fort come to life.  In 1661 Mombasa leaders went to Oman seeking Omani help in expelling the Portuguese; in the late 1600s, the Omanis did just that, laying siege to the Portuguese for almost 3 years before capturing the fort.  Up on these walls you can see where the Omani’s built the walls up higher than the Portuguese had – because the Portuguese were short and the Omanis taller (at least that is what we were told!).

We wander past the remaining cannons, pointed out to sea to protect the fort from attacks, as well as the defensive windows made specifically for bow and arrow defense. 

Heading to the “legs” of the fort, we pass by an original Omani door with the spikes for protection and the intricate wood carvings of floral patterns and inscriptions, then up on the walls at this end of the fort for a look back into the courtyard before entering a little museum type space that provided a good overview of the trading routes used at the time and how they played an important role in the strategic use of the fort. 

Good overview of the fort – as well as a quick overview of where we will be tonight with Azamazing Evening as they are setting up the chairs and the A/V as we are touring around – we even saw Jose leaving as we were entering.  This should be really fun.

Next we are onto our walking tour of Old Town, past the Africa Hotel, the first hotel in Kenya that opened in 1901, a church from 1570, interesting architecture and a lesson in what the colors of the buildings mean:  Yellow are Arabic and Swahili, white are British, white and blue are the New Town. 

After about 10 minutes of walking through the winding streets we reach the city market – with its displays of local fruit (I am dying here…I want those bananas and jackfruit so badly!!!!), the guy walking around selling baseball caps, and the banana cart wheeling by.  Then it is into the spice market we go, with every imaginable spice piled high in buckets. 

Market done, Juma hustles us out onto the street into 2 waiting Tuk Tuks for our ride through town and over to the Famous Tusks.  Built to commemorate then Princess Elizabeth’s visit to Kenya in 1952 (where she actually became Queen as her father, the King, died while she was there), the original wood tusks were replaced with aluminum ones in 1956 for Princess Margaret’s visit.  Juma says we haven’t really visited Mombasa until we pass through the tusks – so now we are official.  And he records the ceremonial arrival with tons of photos!

Our last stop is walking through Uhuru Garden, the urban park right across from the tusks.  Not only is this a popular spot for people seeking shade and relaxing, it is also home to hundreds and hundreds of bats!  We can hear them squealing as we approach.  They are all just hanging out in the trees, resting in the daylight, waiting for evening to come so they can go out in search of mangoes to eat before returning here to roost. 

Juma finds 2 more Tuk Tuks – Boniface is obviously gone, sadly Juma never told us he was leaving or we would have given him a tip – and we are whisked away back to the port.  This went off like clockwork – even better!  We are back much earlier than we thought which works perfectly for us – we can have a quick bite in the Patio, then relax and clean up for our Azamazing evening ahead. 

After a quick buffet dinner in Discoveries, we are perched in our spot at Mosaics waiting for our deck to be called for Azamazing Evening.  We luckily get bus #4 and head out for the quick 10 minute drive to the fort.  Once inside, we are greeted with juice in a whole coconut, then find some good seats in the middle to munch on the little local snacks provided on a cellophane wrapped plate (cookies, a sweet nut praline and what looks like an egg roll).  The fort is lit up spectacularly – and we are excited for the show to begin.

Unfortunately there is apparently a glitch somewhere with the buses (we think it was because one of the last buses contained all the handicap and mobility challenged folks which took far longer to load, unload and wheel into the venue than anticipated) and the presentation starts about 10 minutes late, meanwhile people are starting to get a bit antsy as to be expected.  The Captain and Jose, dressed up in their finest Massai, take the stage, kicking off the evening, and once the show has begun, it is great.  A traditional singing and dancing troupe is first, followed by some great fire breathers who also do a quick aerobatic routine.

Then it is onto the main event, a 40-minute-long audio visual history of the fort.   Extremely well done, the visuals are fantastic, the lighting excellent, all in all, just a wonderful exhibition. 

Jose comes back, dressed in his Azamara uniform, entertaining us and sending us on our way as our bus numbers are called for our return trip to the ship.  Then it is the Living Room for snacks, a little bit of music and a nice long sleep ahead in the heavenly cool cabin.