Watamu

In late October we went to the coast for a few days given that the girls had some vacation. It’s tough to talk about taking a holiday given that so many people are suffering these days. I’ve talked to many who are reluctant to post anything that shows them enjoying themselves. At the same time it’s probably what we need. If all we see are depressing accounts of disease and hatred, it will continue to feed the negativity. So, here’s an attempt at some positivity.

Our daughters’ school seems to have vacations at odd times compared to other schools in Kenya. It’s often difficult to take advantage of this as a family due to my work obligations. This time I decided that we could take advantage of the ability to travel within the country and escape the confines of our apartment. We’ve been rather good at respecting the Covid protocols and staying home a lot so a change of setting was much welcomed, even if I would need to work.

One of the positives about working from home is that you don’t always need to be home. Technology has improved to enable one to carry out work obligations from a variety of locations. This has been enabled by big changes in technology over the past few years. I can only imagine how different things would have been if Covid had hit even five years ago. In Kenya and Somalia we’ve seen improvements not only in how widespread access has become but the speed has increased to support much of the technology being used to communicate effectively. I was able to access email in the hotel, on the beach, on a boat, etc. (I was usually in a room in the hotel where I could get the best connectivity).

It’s not fun to be focused on work while everyone around you is at play. But I needed to continually tell myself that there are far worse places to work and that I would have ample time in the evenings and on the weekend to hang out with family.

We decided on the town of Watamu as our destination, a small coastal town in Kenya, north of Mombasa. It’s known for its Marine National Park and Reserve, nice beaches and interesting coastline. We hadn’t been there before so it was an opportunity to explore a new area.

Masked arrival into the Malindi airport

Tourist destinations in the country have suffered during the pandemic just like everywhere else. They were given a reprieve a few months ago as the government opened up domestic travel. At that time, tourists were limited to residents of Kenya but as international travel opened, a small trickle of foreign travelers have added to what is still a rather depressed sector. Though disparities between the rich and the poor in the country are rather stark (and growing), Kenya nonetheless has a rather strong upper-middle class that are as important to tourism in the country as international travelers. As such, unlike many countries in Africa, the majority of the other tourists staying in our hotel were Kenyan.

The airline was on top of things regarding Covid preparations. It was good to see since you’re aware you’re taking a bit of a risk in traveling. Masks were required everywhere. The flight attendant would let you know if your mask wasn’t on. I felt they did a good job of managing a tough situation and one that is critical to keeping at least part of the economy moving.

Spoiled children

The hotel was also quite strict. Staff did a pretty good job of setting the example with masks and distancing the exception of some of the gardeners who weren’t always wearing their masks properly. But that’s not the end of the world given that they were always outside and usually a safe distance away anyway. They had a buffet but it wasn’t self-service. You said what you wanted and they would plate it for you. Generally speaking, it was mostly low risk. In retrospect, the pain points were probably the airplane (no mandatory PCR test for domestic flights) and taxi to and from the airport (drivers wear masks and the windows are open but it’s still close proximity).

During the day I would sit under a fan in a semi-open space with electricity and internet, getting work done and having meetings from time to time. I had access to nice coffee and a view of some weaver bird nests. It was a pleasant enough way to do what I had to do but by the end of the day I was more than ready to rinse off the tropical stickiness and hit the pool.

The beautiful weaver bird

 

The dolphin/snorkeling excursion

On one day we decided to take a boat trip to see dolphins and go snorkeling. While waiting for the boat, low tide afforded us a chance to see some eels. I’d seen them before while living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Some of the nearby islands had small pools where the eels would hang out. They’re like super fat water snakes.

After about a half hour in the boat, just outside the reef, we caught glimpse of the dolphins. I think I’ve only seen dolphins in the wild once before and that was on a deep sea fishing trip while living in Dar. I went whale watching a couple of times while living in Monterey, California, and I think this was just as much of a thrill.

On the way back to the reef where we were going to snorkel, the waves were a bit choppy. A couple of people were visibly ill, one lady throwing up over the side of the boat. Her friend had other plans than caring for her sick friend. She made a pathetic and brief attempt to care for her ill partner before peeling off a layer to reveal a skimpy, inappropriate swimsuit and headed to the bow for some selfies. It appeared that this was a premeditated photo opportunity with the turquoise Indian Ocean as a backdrop. Soon she had one of the boat staff shooting the photos for her as she worked her way through a variety of poses. Not sure if this is in his job description but I never heard any complaints.

The boat soon came to a stop, dropped anchor and we were able to put on our snorkel gear and hop in. The eastern coast of Africa has to be one of the best places in the world to snorkel/dive. It’s so amazing. The water is a comfortable temperature all year round. We had gear for the girls and were hoping they would take part but I think they were suffering somewhat from motion sickness as well. They got in the water and attempted it but were soon more interested in being back in the boat. We’ve taken them before but they’ve yet to really get into it. I think they’ll come around to it over time.

After just a few days, we were back to Nairobi. It was appearing likely that we would not be heading to the US for the holidays so we were, sadly, now making other plans, including possibly another trip to the sea.