In January, I began month six of my World Race. I was tired and a bit burnt out, and really missing home (especially after not being there for the holidays).
I found myself on the way to Mombasa, Kenya with my team, and upon arrival I got a message from Juzer, the uncle of one of my best friends from back home.
Now, for those of you who don’t know, Arif is (and has been) one of my best friends for the past seven or so years. He is the person I can always look forward to seeing. He is one of the classiest, most adventurous, and most wonderful people in my life. It has been so incredible to walk through life with him, and he has filled the role from everything including weekly hiking buddy to my prom date… We met in marching band in high school— he played tuba & I played trumpet— and he has been one of my best friends ever since. Now, I’ll stop bragging on Arif (I don’t want to embarrass him too much!), but do enjoy these photos of us…
A Sunday brunch in downtown Louisville: 
A nighttime “glow-in-the-dark” hike event in the mountains of Boulder, CO:
So, you get it. Arif is one of my best friends.
Now, I get to Mombasa, Kenya and I get a text from his uncle, Juzer welcoming us into the area. Juzer asks to come meet my team and I, and of course I excitedly invited him over!!!
This is Juzer:
When I saw Juzer, I starting tearing up because he reminded me so much of Arif!
Almost immediately, Juzer helped us navigate Mombasa, and gave us advice on where to stay, where to eat, what to do, where to go, etc. Then, he mentioned that the family would love to have my team and I over for dinner. To say I was excited is an understatement…
A few days later, I found myself (with my teammates Shelby & Rob) at their family dinner. It had the MOST INCREDIBLE array of Indian food, and everyone there was so, so kind. It was by far one of the best nights of the World Race thus far, and I couldn’t be happier that I had the opportunity to attend:
The thing about that dinner wasn’t just that we were invited to the dinner… it‘s that we were invited in to the family. We ate together, swapped stories, got to know each other, played guitar together, and just got to bask in the joy of each other’s company.
The two cakes in the photo were for an anniversary, and for Ebrahim— he was about to move to Australia for school.
This is Ebrahim (and Shelby & Rob):
Ebrahim, just like the rest of his family, was SO welcoming, and drove across town on various occassions to pick us up for things, and even to just come say goodbye before he left for school (good luck at university)!!! It was such a joy to meet him!
Now. The member of Arif’s family I spent the most time with was Nisreen. She is one of the most wonderful people on the planet, and is one of the BEST hostesses!
Here is an afternoon tea she made for us one day:
Nisreen took so much of her time to show us around Old Town Mombasa (we went on a tour that included everything from Fort Jesus, to the lighthouse, to a street I got to buy a dera on, to a beautiful port)! One of the best stops we made on the tour was at Queen’s Cafeteria— which is owned and operated by the family:
If you ever find yourself in the Mombasa area, absolutely stop by Queen’s Cafeteria!!! It has the BEST African dishes around. EVERY SINGLE THING they serve is somehow incredible… I know this because Rob got a sample platter of every dish, and I tried at least one bite of everything. So, I can attest to the deliciousness of it all!
Nisreen & Hussein (and their daughters) went so out of their way to make us feel welcome in Mombasa, Kenya. My favorite memory with them was going out to the lighthouse, and drinking coconut water straight out of fresh coconuts, and eating these chips with a very spicy red powder on them… it was SO delicious and the lighthouse had an absolutely breathtaking view.
Afterwards, we went out to ice cream… and here are a few photos from that:
Overall, I just want to say thank you to Arif‘s family: your actions, your kindness, your hospitality, and your family exceeded every expectation I had of Kenya… and it was so, so wonderful to meet you. Thank you so, so, so much for everything!!!
I am so thankful for Arif’s family. I left month six feeling refreshed and excited about my upcoming five months of travels thanks to these caring individuals.
I do hope I get to visit again soon… if not, you know that you are more than welcome to come visit us in Colorado!! 🙂
Until I see you again,
With love,
Rebecca
