What?!? You mean my break is already over??

Well, I guess it’s about time that I post something. I’m amazed how the weeks melt into one another and how the weeks turn into months. It’s already been close to a month since I went on my first (very much needed) break. After some last minute scrambling to make travel arrangements – do I go to Zanzibar, climb Mount Kenya, head for the coast? – in the end I went for the last option.

After a fun weekend in Nairobi complete with good meals out, dancing, and shopping I hop on a flight to Lamu, a small island town on the north coast, a town with about 234 donkeys that wander at will and one vehicle – the hospital ambulance. Even if there were more vehicles, there’s only one road, the one along the coast, which is wide enough to allow even a small car to pass. Wherever you go, you walk or you take a boat. I spent the first few days there not doing much of anything. Actually, now that I think about it, I wonder how I occupied my time. One day I took a boat trip but the rest of the time was simply spent walking up and down the narrow and very crooked streets.

From Lamu I got on another flight for Malindi, another somewhat larger town a little further south along the coast. Compared to where I was before and where I live now, this place was positively bustling with people and activity. Odd when you consider the population is only about ?? and I was visiting in the off season. I ended up staying with an familiar face from my Roman Days and was treated to good food, good wine and good company.

I went to see some old ruins which were totally deserted except for me, the guy who wanted to sell me a mousetrap (it was a very clever contraption, by the way), and the baboons. It was very atmospheric with the low clouds threatening to rain and only the sound of the forest to be heard. Finally the clouds no longer threatened and opened up in a heavy rain. After some 30 minutes or so I grew tired of hiding in the trees and decided that, wet or not, I needed to leave and went to the nearby butterfly farm.

From there it was back to the main road with all the children shouting ‘mambo!’ (hi!) to me – and there were a lot of children. ‘Poa’ is the correct response. ‘Cool’. I sat down near the roasted maize stand with my cob in hand to figure out what to do next. After watching the people go by for about 20 min I hopped on a matatu (mini kombi bus) and went to Watamu. The beach there was a gorgeous, soft, white sand cove that I walked end to end. The seaweed on the shore and the strong winds that day made it less than ideal, but definitely worth a visit. It was apparent that many Italian tourists frequent Watamu. Instead of mambo! the kids shouted ciao!

The week break passed in a blink and I found myself back in Nairobi on Sunday afternoon, just in time to share a beer with the Head of District from South Sudan and watch Dancing with the Stars. I admit it – I’m hooked, but how can you not be when Helio the racecar driver is just so darned cute?