Trip to Malindi

On Monday, the groundsman of the place I’m staying kindly took me to see Malindi, the largest urban centre in Kilifi County, first mentioned in historical records in the 13th century and for many years a dominant port city rivalled only by Mombasa. Now it is largely a centre of tourism.

First stop:  the Vasco da Gama pillar,  a coral pillar erected by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama who arrived in Malindi in 1498 to sign a trade agreement with the Sheik of Malindi and hire a guide for his voyage to India.

It thought it rather underwhelming, but I was told by my guide that it was a ‘very, very important place’ and I was ‘very, very lucky’ to be there. So here I am, lucky indeed:

Next, the hustle-and-bustle of Malindi traffic, an Indian-owned fabric shop…

Man sprinkling his bus. Not sure really…

Secretarial College

Shop assistant in dashing shirt and fluently and simultaneously conversing with his customers in Swaheli, English and Italian

Fabrics, fabrics, fabrics!

….and the old fruit and veg market:

Knife sharpening man.

This child started to scream the house down after clapping eyes on me. We laughed and thought it was because I was so frightfully white!

My ‘guide’ of the day and his niece, a stall owner.