Small town on the coast

by Shirin Reif (Kenya)

I didn't expect to find Kenya

My decision to travel that day was unplanned. It was my day off, and I decided not to waste the day. My destination wasn't somewhere new; it's somewhere I had been to before but the point was to move, see and admire the land along the way. The town in question is 100km from where I was and using public means, that meant spending the better part of almost two hours on the road. I didn't mind. It's the best way to see the land. I boarded a minibus and my journey began. My destination was Malindi, a small town on the north coast of Kenya. On the way there, the sights along the road were already worth the effort: long strips of sisal stretching all the way to the horizon. One passes a sisal plantation for part of the way. The rest of the way were scenes of Baobabs, coconut palm trees and tropical forest along the road. I arrived in Malindi at 1.00 p.m. The minibus stopped at a petrol station, and I got off and walked into town. The sun was unrelenting in its intensity, but then again, the coast of Kenya is always hot and humid. More so in January to April. "Ask for fresh camel milk" a sign read, with a telephone number underneath. The walk to the centre of town was short as Malindi is a small town. Still rather unfamiliar with the place, despite having visited a few times before, I kept walking not sure where I was going. I knew, however, that at some point in the day, I'd have to find my way to the pier. I followed one road and ended up walking passed where an old cinema was located. Possibly one of the very first cinemas to open in Malindi, I thought. Probably the only one. 'Cleopatra Theatre' was its name. Old and run down in appearance, it must've seen better times. I kept walking, past the metal workers who work under the scorching sun, reworking scrap metal into useable items. I walked into the main market area; some shops were closed as it was lunch time, some were open. I walked passed some ladies selling cashewnuts by the roadside. I walked back to where they were and bought some from them. I found my way to the pier, and as it has become customary on my visits to Malindi, I walked almost to the end of the the jetty as they call it, but it is really a pier. The ocean in Malindi is rarely blue. Not at all the turquoise blue you find on the beaches on the south coast of Kenya. In Malindi, the ocean is brown-green at the shore. The reason is the Sabaki river that flows into the Indian ocean at Malindi. The beach sand is also never white. It glistens and is shiny, indeed the other name for the beach road leading up to the pier is Silversand Road. I stopped at an Italian restaurant. Ice cream seemed the appropriate thing to have on such a hot day. Malindi is sleepy. Today it is rarely filled with tourists as it was a few decades ago. It remains small, has a certain charm to it and for those who appreciate it, it is alright. After the ice cream and an espresso, I left the restaurant and walked on. I walked passed The Old Man and the Sea establishment with its lovely little signboard. Eventually, I went to the part of town that is generally busier, but the long shadows of the late afternoon were a reminder that it was time to start heading back home. I had another hour and a half to spend on the road back. The minibus ride back we saw a small herd of elephants on the side of the road. The story theme I selected was 'I didn't expect to find.' In my case I knew what the town looked like, having been there before. Nevertheless, every time I go there, I see something I didn't quite take notice of the time before. The journey there and back was worth it. The land on the coast is incredibly beautiful.