Diani for Work

Every year, except during the pandemic, we have regional meetings somewhere in East Africa. Many years ago, when my regional director was based in NY, and the region I was in stretched from Haiti to the Horn of Africa, it actually made sense (sort of) to have the meetings in NY. As such, there were a few years where I was making a couple of trips there per year. Other than the time away from family and the extra travel time, it was fun to get to know NY and have a break from my day-to-day duties.

Now that the current region is all based in the Horn and East Africa, we always have our meetings in the region. We’ve had them in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Tanzania (Zanzibar), but most frequently they are held in Kenya. It’s the most convenient for the regional team organizers who are almost entirely based in Nairobi and it’s full of venue options for hosting (in the city, at a lake, on the coast). This year we returned to the coast.

I should say that I didn’t protest much when it was suggested that we would be relegated to an Indian Ocean venue. There are lots of pluses. Other than the obvious proximity to a beach, it’s a one-hour flight from home. I’m so tired of travel that the idea of going anywhere farther away was a painful thought.

View from my room. Could be worse...

So Diani it was. I’m not sure how many times I’ve been to this particular town over the years but it’s probably around ten. Very cool to have a direct flight to such a small town, albeit loaded with resorts.

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The meetings were kept to three days, for the most part, Tuesday through Thursday. There was some overlapping into a fourth day but, generally speaking, three full days of intense meetings is about the extent of which a brain, or at least MY brain, can handle. I have a hard time focusing on any one thing for very long. The nature of my job is incredibly diverse, bouncing throughout the day from HR, to nutrition, to supply chain, to water and sanitation, finance, to media, and on and on. It suits me since I have the attention span of a four-year-old. Three days is about all I can handle.

Evening out at an Italian restaurant.
One way to show off your wine cellar.

Several of us were on the same flight from Nairobi. I would guess that we made up about a third of the forty or so passengers on the plane. It was nice to be on the coast again though I am at the coast a lot, just a bit more to the northwest in Mogadishu. Though there is a similar tropical feel in Diani, it considerably more humid than in Somalia.

I downed my complimentary fresh juice as I checked in, and then proceeded to my room. I have to say, this was, by far, the nicest room I’ve ever had while staying on the coast. In fact, I assumed it was a mistake. When I arrived at the door, it was propped open by the lock latch so I hadn’t tried my key card. To confirm I was in the right room, I stepped back out, closed the door and tried the key card. Indeed, it was my room. Nice.

Nice room, but didn't spend much time there

The hotel had some good attributes. A nice beach, cleaned of seaweed every morning. A gym (always a plus for me). Clean pools. Decent food. The downside was the loud music each night until 11 or 12pm and the fact that the pools were closed by 6pm. It’s not uncommon in these hotels but it’s annoying, particularly for people who are in meetings all day. 

After a night swim in the ocean under the moon, dinner on the beach.
The moon always looks small in photos compared to what it looks like in real life.

One evening we opted on taking a dip in the ocean after the sun set. The hotel security guys even tried to keep us from doing that but gave up after passive resistance on our part. Something very cool about swimming in the warm ocean under a full moon. Colleagues are great but they’re not as much fun as my family would have been.

From the flight back to Nairobi, Mt. Kilimanjaro with Mt. Meru on the horizon to the left

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