I'm pretty proud of myself. I managed to get myself home from the Nest on a Matatu. (I almost got kicked off in the process, but some nice women stood up for me against the mean conductor.) It's a small accomplishment but it means I'm farmiliarizing myself with Nairobi. That's all going to change of course when I move out West, but I'm keeping myself on my toes!
I made it home by saturday to give myself lots of time before the election started up. Apparently the matatu are even less cooperative during the days leading up to and following the election, which has been much more peaceful than the last election, 5 years ago. So far we haven't heard of much violence, but to play it safe, the family and I packed up and headed to the coast. We spend the past 5 days soaking up the sun and salty air at Turtle Bay Beach Club in Watamu. For those of you who want to "visually follow" my travels *cough* MOM *cough* Watamu is a few miles North of Mombasa. The resort was complete with two pools, grass roof umbrellas for sun bathing, kayaking center and so much more. I kept telling Sydney how I felt like I had been dropped into a painting. The beach was SO picturesque. The sand was SO white. The water was SO warm. The sun was SO hot. Even with the entire bottle of sunscreen I used, I still got burned to a crisp. But hey, I'm not complaining. This is the most amount of color I've ever gotten in March! The town of Malindi reminds me a lot of Costa Rica. We are at similar latitude, but more than that, it just felt familiar. I saw more people riding around 3 to a motorcycle than I do in Nairobi, and more cows and goats grazing right on the side of the road. Not to mention, it was really beautiful in Watamu.
Once we got all of our luggage unpacked we hit the beach, which was literally right next to our room. I dragged Sydney along to play beach volleyball with me and a bunch of Germans and Kenyans. I had too much fun making a fool of myself diving for the ball and getting sand in my hair. The Kenyans wanted to know all about us and our fair skin. Were we from England? How do we like Kenya? Are we staying long? As long as a person isn't scared off by the initial curiosity, one can make really good Kenyan friends. We hit the "disco" later that night. I got my fill of cheesy 90's pop songs whilst getting my groove on with the 5 other dancers, all of which were over the age of forty. It was a cheese-tastic adventure to say the least.
After strutting my stuff on the dance floor the rest of the time at the beach composed of sitting by the pool, water aerobics, and some light snorkeling (before I got seasick.)
Now, I've heard all about the Kenyan rainy season, but I had no idea what it was really like. I figured since I was already swimming through the humid air, a little more water falling from the sky couldn't be so bad.
I was wrong.
The rains are turrential. They appear out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly.
One morning before heading to breakfast, the rain started. Thinking we could make a mad dash for the restaurant, we took off into the torrents. Of course, I'm exaggerating, but we got soaked. The worst part was, we were the only wet diners in the entire resort. Everyone else had found the umbrellas that were so cleverly hidden in their rooms. I can't exactly plead silly muzungu in this case, because all the other silly muzungus has found thier umbrellas. I am officially the silliest of silly Muzungus.
This trip to the beach has given me the chance to reevaluate my trip in its entirety. I can't believe it's already been a month! I started out my trip with a lot of homesickness. I still miss my family and friends and things from back home, but missing someone and being homesick are two different things completely. With homesickness gone, I can enjoy and completely throw myself into my adventure, but still reserve a place in my mind to wish my friends and family could see everything I'm seeing.
That's why this blog is so helpful, it helps me help my family experience what I'm experiencing. I think the greatest thing I can do on this trip is share it. It would be silly to keep it all to myself. I hope somewhere along the way I inspire someone to travel somewhere exotic and unfamiliar just because they can. If I can inspire one person to get on a plane or a boat and travel to Zimbabwe or Brazil, I would be happy as a clam.
With that mushy part out of the way, I can get on with my story.
Yesterday, we visited the Gedi ruins. The city, a metropolis in its time, had been abandoned in the 17th century. After functioning and thriving on rich resources for over 400 years, the people picked up and relocated for reasons unknown. There are many theories for why the people left, as our tour guide so elaborately explained, but the reasons are still a bit foggy.
It was crazy to walk around and imagine all the hustle and bustle that might have happened exactly where we stood. Pieces from Spain, Italy, China and India have been recovered from the ruins and show that Gedi was a major trading center for eastern Africa. The inhabitants were shockingly advanced for their time, creating natural air conditioning and amplification in the schools and mosques. Of course I left my camera at home so the only pictures I have were taken on a phone. I think they portray the idea of what we saw pretty well, though.
Were back in Nairobi now, after our week-long adventure. The election is still going on. There have been some corruption with the ballots so were looking at a few more days of laying low and watching the new for any more updates. So far Kenya has gotten through this tense time without too much discourse, we're all just hoping for continuing cooperation.
With that said, I wish you all goodnight. Or in most of your cases, good afternoon!
~Natalie
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