So we landed at the hotel on Diani Beach. The hotel was actually a few large cottages where the ground floor and the first floor were separate rooms with kitchenettes, the lower one being like a small apartment. The whole estate is surrounded by a wall and between the houses there’s a lot of greenery – bushes with flowers and palm trees. We were warned to close all windows because monkeys like to go into the cottages. We also had a baboon that ate our chocolate and shamelessly used our floor as a toilet.
Almost like a paradise
After breakfast we went to the beach but unfortunately the weather was really bad. Strong wind, high waves, red flag hanging out. Of course I had to try it but I stayed close to the shore but still waves were so big that I had to give up and admit that I wouldn’t swim at all. But I can tick off the Indian Ocean! Although it was a low season many people were trying to sell Masai handicrafts on the beach… We lied on the beach a bit, we had a chat with the security guard working in the beach hotel and decided to call it a day. We had booked a day trip on the boat, bought fresh fruit and avocado and decided to have a quiet evening in. In order to travel along the Diani Beach you can use a matatu, a tuk-tuk or a guy with a motorbike – just sit behind him and ride (well, talk to him first ;)). Find out first what are the rates because they will try to rip you off and you have to bargain! Along the road there’s plenty of hotels, all surrounded by walls, some of them very posh, with golf courses, etc. Between the properties you can see huts. At first I thought it might be some local restaurants but it turned out that there are people living there probably those working in nearby resorts. However you won’t see it if you spend two weeks without leaving your hotel which I’m sure is possible. I guess every business’s got a dark side…
In the morning we ordered a fresh fish from the chef to be prepared for us in the evening (every morning fishermen were selling fresh fish) and we got in a van picking people up from different hotels. We drove south to Shimoni, a small village near the Tanzanian border which used to be a port where slaves were reloaded on their way to other destinations. Today “slave caves” can be visited in Shimoni. On the way there we realised that a few litres of water that we prepared for the trip… were still in our room. So we bought two bottles of probably the most expensive water in the world and a pack of candy for children on Wasini Island and embarked on a dhow – an Arabian sailing boat. There were about 12 people, including several Poles. I guess Kenya is no longer an exotic destination.
Our dhow
The plan included: visiting the Wasini Island, having a lunch there and also snorkelling and dolphin spotting. Our trip had begun!
A small dhow with a traditional lateen sail
As you can see blue colour dominated the landscape
The guides warned us that they can’t guarantee that we will find the dolphins but we did! For the first time in my life I saw dolphins live and let me tell you they did not disappoint!
A pack of about 30 dolphins played around the boat for a good 5 minutes
After watching the dolphins we snorkelled. I’ve never felt comfortable in the water but I put on a vest and went for it. It was a bit windy, the waves quite high so I did not see much and I was tired pretty soon. But after the dive we arrived at Wasini Island where a delicious lunch awaited – seafood!
Yummy!!!
After lunch we went for a walk around the island and were accompanied by kids who begged for the above mentioned candy. To tell you the truth, I would prefer to give them some markers or crayons rather than sweets because I don’t think the dentist can see them often and the candy papers were lying all over the island. Maybe next time.
There are about three thousand people living on the island so there has to be a football club – Wasini United FC 🙂 If someone was not interested in this league, matches from European leagues were listed on the board
This area of the island is flooded when the tide comes and that’s where the crabs and lobsters we ate for lunch came from.
Wasini Island is about 75 kilometers south of Mombasa in the so-called Kisite-Mpungut National Marine Park, near the border with Tanzania. It has an area of about 20 square kilometres and is inhabited by less than 3,000 people, descendants of local populations and Arabian newcomers. People use the Swahili dialect. Swahili is a lingua franca in central and eastern Africa. Many words come from Arabic and language this is used by several tens of millions of people. The main sources of income on the island are tourism and fishing. Islam is the dominant religion. Any goods are transferred manually or using a wheelbarrow because there are no cars nor even bicycles on the island.
After exploring the island we boarded a boat and returned to Shimoni where the van took us back to the hotel where we were served a feast – fish and shrimp!
A lot of food, just for us!
We took most of the dinner to our room because I started to feel strange. At night I did not sleep much, I had chills, the next day I felt as if I had a flu. In addition it turned out that the train from Mombasa to Nairobi, which was taken by Tomek Wilmowski and which was to be my main attraction in Kenya, was cancelled.
I am unable to describe my disappointment with the cancellation of the train, the only thing left to do is to take a photo of a… train’s photo.
We bought plane tickets, extended our stay for one night and I spent the day in bed, hoping to get better. We started reading on the internet about my symptoms and it looked like it might’ve been malaria. We were taking tablets but they are not 100% effective so we decided to go to the hospital – we had the insurance anyway. Within a little over an hour, I saw a doctor, had all the tests done and it turned out that I had a bacterial infection and that I was severely dehydrated. Remember those two overpriced water bottles? Apparently they weren’t enough. I had to have a drip with antibiotic and vitamins to strengthen my body. As I was dehydrated my veins collapsed and the nurse began to push the needle. I almost fainted so they put me on the bed and he continued to try, repeating “pole, pole” which roughly translates to “cool, cool, slowly, slowly”. At some point I got so annoyed with him that I wanted to say something to him. Matilda saw what was going on and just in case she stood near the bed 🙂 Two young, giggling nurses joined in and started watching the whole operation. Finally the doctor came and in 10 seconds found a vein…
I’ll live!
In total, within two hours I was examined, diagnosed and started the treatment. Pretty well, given that we had to wait 30 minutes for a technician to do a blood test. I would definitely recommend hospitals in Kenya! 😉 The entire party was about $100.
Unfortunately I had to return in the morning for another drip which meant we would not visit Mombasa, which I also waited for. So far Kenya was disappointing… We had enough time to drive around town so I had to be satisfied with it.
We managed to drive under huge aluminium tusks on Moi Avenue
Built by the Portuguese Fort Jesus (Forte Jesus de Mombaça) – unfortunately I only looked at it from the car 😦
And so my attempt at conquering the East African coast ended. We will have to return in the right season to spend some time on the beach and explore Mombasa. We boarded a plane flying to Nairobi where we planned to stay for a couple days with my friend Gosia, whom I met in Mexico but I’ll write about it in the next entry.
Wonderful view from the plane – on the left Kilimanjaro and on the right Mount Meru
Polish traces around the world 