Arriving at Diani was a relief. I don't think I realized just how much I needed to rest and absorb all I had been experiencing. I had not really had culture shock, but I realized as the evening unfolded that I was holding a lot in. After we had unpacked we ran out to the ocean to swim. The water was clean and clear wtih fine white sand beaches. We were staying at Simba + Onyx and there were only about 8 cottages on the property. I think there were only three with people staying in them because of the before mentioned travel advisory so when we got out to the beach we had it to ourselves besides sharing it with the native beachboys and fishermen.
I felt really safe in our beach cottage. There was a gate from the road with a security guard and then another security guard 24 hours out by the beach so the beachboys just couldn't come up knocking on the door to sell their wares. All over Kenya there was security... at the mall, at the grocery store, at the art centre where the artist studios are, and even Ronnie and Serah's neighborhood. What I didn't know would be so dangerous was the ceiling fan in the common room. The common room had beautiful slat windows that let in lots of light and air so Zach suggested I hang my wet bathing suit up to dry there. I took this to mean hang it on the window slate closest to the fan. As soon as I stood on the bed and put my hands up to hang my suit there was a loud WHOP! I wasn't sure what happened until the throbbing pain started in my thumb and hand then I saw the blood. That fan had whacked my hand hard and there was a nice gash it as well as immediate swelling. It was then that my head, heart, and body knew I needed to slow down and process the trip. When you are in pain (even when it is just a small gash) and you are far from home and have been journeying for a while on your own and something go awry no matter how small it can become a big thing. It took me about an hour to compose myself and luckily I could make a phone call home and had understanding guy friends who were cooking dinner for us. It was just a good reminder to me of when I'm teaching and if something little sets a students off it most likely means they have been holding a whole lot in.
So.... what does one do at the Indian Ocean on this stretch of the Kenyan coastline... ride of camel, of course! There were three camels coming down the beach led by their owner looking for tourists to ride them. I had never ridden a camel before and thought I would give it a try. They told me it would be 800 shillings. That would be about 9 US Dollars. This seemed to be a fair price to ride a camel since riding one the US would be at least $20! My friends then told me I should have only paid 600 shillings. Then my friend Zach asked if he could ride one of the camels for free since he has given them business coming down to the coast with Americans. Somehow he talked them into it, but promised to come back later and give them a green t-shirt he had. Ends up the camel owner did not have any change, but the beachboy helping him, Boris, made carved keychains. I agreed to get a keychain in place of the change. He took a stick and wrote my name in the sand to make sure he knew how to spell it. I decided to get him to carve my name on the shape of Africa. Maybe I should have done a camel, but I was put on the spot and it was a quick decision! The camel ride was only about 30 minutes long, but really was nice. I liked being up high and it was a gentle creature. Zach got the biggest camel named George since he was the biggest of the two of us and I could never pronounce my own camel's name. Boris took my camera for me and took photos. The best part of it was when the camel was standing up and sitting down. It would kneel down and then sit. Feeling the breeze off the ocean and getting a different perspective for invigorating. It didn't feel real at the time and I was aware of this. I tried to be in the present moment and take it all in... smiling.
If you like camel photos please view the slideshow below. If you have seen enough camel for now... please scroll down to the sailboat. : )
So when you have had enough of the camel riding the other thing a tourist should do in Diani is go snorkling! We just needed a boat and we only had two of the four of us that wanted to go out so hiring a big motor boat or even a glass bottom boat was out of the question so we decided to bargain with the beach boys. We got it all set while buying our fish on the beach for our dinner. We would meet the beachboy, Mohammad on the beach at 9am the following morning for a rustic sailboat experience!
Sure enough Mohammad was waiting for us and I think Zach and I both were a little surprised by just how rustic the boat actually was. Everything was "handmade". I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but it was BEAUTIFUL! For a girl that loves rustic treehouses this was the perfect boat for me! There was not much wind so we were a little worried how we would get back to shore. I looked in the bottom of the boat and saw a wooden plank that had been crudely carved into the shape of a sort of paddle. At one point Mohammad had to use it and it broke in two! Luckily there was one more plank on board. I told Zach that if we were in dire straits I thought I could swim back. At least the coast was in view! I so wished I had had my camera on board, but I was worried about it getting wet. The boat was deep and very stable, though. It reminded me of a dug-out canoe I saw in Cherokee, NC. It was a large tree that had been carved and the sail was canvas. Everything was tied together with all kinds of beautiful ropes and threads. The confidence of Mohammad's hands as he set sail and his serenity gave me peace that all was well. There was an older man in the back of the sailboat who was fishing while the rest of us snorkeled. I had to pay for the snorkel gear up front the day before because they had to go to the village to get it. I was surprised when they brought Zach back gear, too. I was the only one with flippers, but the three of us (Zach, Mohammad, and I) dove around in search of coral, fish, and sea stars. There was a lot of brown coral, a few fish, and some really big and interesting sea stars, but the sea anenomes were my favorite. When I look at them I imagine all of their little arms are waving to me. They seem so carefree and going with the flow.
Taking the sailboat out was carefree and so much of being in Kenya is definitely just going with the flow. It was a beautiful experience. I felt like it was right out of a movie set yet it was so very real. I definitely didn't feel too movie "starish" when I had to get back into the boat. The first time I felt all strong and lifted myself up with no problems into the boat, but after snorkeling a second time and trying to get back in I was a very ungraceful fish who had just lost its battle with the fisherman. I had to be helped into the boat where I just flopped. That was OK, though, because there wasn't a moment when I was in Kenya that I didn't feel like I was being real. It is just the way it is and that was more beautiful than anything I saw with my eyes.
Taking the sailboat out was carefree and so much of being in Kenya is definitely just going with the flow. It was a beautiful experience. I felt like it was right out of a movie set yet it was so very real. I definitely didn't feel too movie "starish" when I had to get back into the boat. The first time I felt all strong and lifted myself up with no problems into the boat, but after snorkeling a second time and trying to get back in I was a very ungraceful fish who had just lost its battle with the fisherman. I had to be helped into the boat where I just flopped. That was OK, though, because there wasn't a moment when I was in Kenya that I didn't feel like I was being real. It is just the way it is and that was more beautiful than anything I saw with my eyes.
The story of the coast would not be complete without sharing about the wonderful fish we ate... the fish that were caught by the fishermen and their spears. We ate a lot of snapper during the week and grilled it the last night at our cottage.