Sea, Nature and So Many Emotions...

This is not meant to be a spoiler of a story, just a way to give you some advice; whether it is "precious" is up to you to judge.

CHOOSING THE RESORT: thanks to the various accounts online you can understand which resorts best suit your needs. We chose the Stephanie Sea House in Malindi, because from what we read it seemed to be a very welcoming place but at the same time not too demanding, with non-stressful entertainment. And so it was. The food and the cleanliness are excellent, and the resort is in African style and well "hidden" in the surrounding nature.

EXCURSIONS: the most interesting side of the holiday, unless you just want to rest, are the excursions!! Distrust what the tour operators tell you about not buying excursions from the beach boys, because they are really good and reliable guys. Obviously be careful about what they sell you, because there are con artists everywhere. We put our trust in Omar and Alì, who are backed by a local Malindi agency run by the former mayor of the town. For a price of 180 euros each we secured the excursion package which includes: - 2-day safari to TSAVO EAST (covered in more detail below); - blue safari (with lunch included of grilled fish and lobster + fruit) at the Sardegna 2 atoll (spectacular); - lovers' island at WATAMU (a very nice excursion, worth doing).

LUGGAGE: if you want a tip, put plenty of T-shirts, trousers and old shoes in your suitcases, so that at the end of the holiday you can leave them to the beach boys but also to some orphanage: things you no longer need but that are of great importance to them!

CHILDREN: try not to give them sweets, because of tooth decay, and not money, because that creates a deterrent to sending children to beg rather than to school. Instead bring them notebooks, biro pens and clothes, which are much more useful.

VACCINATIONS: in the dry season (from December to March) you can also skip antimalarial prophylaxis, since in this period the malaria mosquitoes are not very widespread. If you want to be safer, consult your doctor to decide which medicine to use. In any case take AUTAN ACTIVE with you, the strongest repellent against tropical mosquitoes. You can also take vitamin B1 and B2, found in brewer's yeast or garlic, which seems to release an odour in sweat that mosquitoes find anything but pleasant.

ELECTRICITY: the voltage is the same as Italy's, but the sockets are British type, so bring an adapter.

SAFARI: we went to TSAVO EAST, staying overnight in the Ndololo tented camp, very evocative because it is integrated into the savannah, without fences separating you from the animals. Over the 2 days we saw a great many species of animals:

giraffes, elephants, jackals, zebras, hippos, buffalo, gazelles, dik dik, cheetah, lionesses. The most exciting thing was having witnessed a hunting scene of the lionesses against the zebras… which, fortunately for the latter, ended unsuccessfully.

ORPHANAGES: a small aside for anyone who wants to contribute to the children of this splendid country who, for causes not of their own will, find themselves living a reality they do not deserve. If you can, take money, food, clothes and stationery directly to the orphanages. It will make you feel "good" for having given a child a smile. It is true there are so many who need it… but better than staying indifferent!