Kenya in freedom, a unique and unforgettable experience

We're off!! Arrival in Mombasa and transfer to Malindi

After months of hard work and study … the 4th of August, the departure date, finally arrives! We set off for Milan Malpensa with plenty of time to spare, where we were supposed to leave at 10.00 pm …. Instead, surprise of surprises, a 4-HOUR DELAY, we leave at 2 in the morning, which then became 2.30! It doesn't matter much, at least we eat for free at the autogrill at Malpensa and doze off on the extremely uncomfortable little chairs in the waiting room. Then we board, great flight, calm, we have a stopover in Zanzibar, and a few hours late we land in Mombasa.

After getting through the visa check, done in Italy at Malpensa, the passport check and customs without encountering any problems, we go out and find a guy with our sign "ELENA & MARCO" who takes us to Khaled's car, a taxi driver sent to us by Kikka, who drives us to Malindi.

The road is mind-blowing and the impact with Kenyan reality is definitely very strong, we thought we had truly seen poverty in the outskirts of Thailand and Mexico, but they were nothing in comparison! Shocked by the poverty of this land, so beautiful yet equally poor, we proceed along the Mombasa Malindi road trying to dodge the potholes that look like chasms! Khaled is very good, he doesn't hit a single one, but we're still a bit on edge … the lanes exist, but rather than driving in your own lane you slalom between the potholes, hoping that no one comes from the other side!!!!!!

Finally we arrive in Malindi, after about two and a half hours of travel. Khaled gives us great news, before taking us home we stop by his house, where we'll pick up Luciano and bring him home with us …. But who is Luciano? Lucianino is Kikka's friendly and mischievous vervet monkey.

We arrive at Khaled's house and … there he is! Finally we see him!

He darts onto Khaled's head and doesn't let go for a second, while Khaled drives, Luciano stays on his shoulders behind his head and to keep his balance he clings with those delightful little hands of his to Khaled's ears … an unmissable scene!

Here we are at last at home! Kikka is still at work, so her husband gives us a warm welcome along with their 8-year-old child.

The house, adjacent to Kikka's, is set in a large garden full of bougainvillea of every colour, just under five minutes from the sea and in a quiet, peaceful area. It's truly enormous: outside there's also a veranda with a wicker sitting area. Inside, a large living room, with a relaxation corner with sofas and a small table, a dining room and on the right a huge kitchen, and then three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. Ours was truly fabulous, a four-poster bed with a mosquito net, enormous and very romantic!!! All the rooms are really spacious and bright, a perfect little villa!

After taking a few minutes to recover we decide to set off immediately to discover Malindi. Kikka's husband acts as our guide, first taking us to the beach to see the sea, then into the centre of Malindi to do some shopping. First in an Italian supermarket where we found Italian pasta (even Barilla), olive oil, Barilla sauces, anything useful. Then we went to one of their supermarkets, Al Razak, where we found their typical products, including fantastic fruit juices (which need to be diluted!!!), jams and rice.

In the evening we decide to go out again in the company of some friends and we all go to eat together at the famous restaurant "The Old Man And The Sea" on the seafront, where with an average spend of 9-10 euros we ate really, really well, both those who had meat and those who had fish. They had recommended it to us in Italy and I must say it was truly worth it! Finally the guys took us to the Italian gelateria Oasi, where the ice cream is truly unique. They also make a bowl with ice cream and fresh fruit that is something irresistible!

Finally bed … well deserved …. in that fantastic big bed!

Wood factory and Kilili Baharini

The others have left for the safari, so Marco and I begin our own outings. Kikka's husband takes us to the wood factory, near the departure point of the Matatus, where under a large thatched shelter a group of thirty highly skilled carvers make statues and typical Kenyan wooden artefacts, right before your eyes. They're really good.

A short distance away is a large warehouse where inside you can find carved wood for all tastes, from Maasai statues to giraffes, hippos, elephants, fruit bowls, vases, anything, of truly excellent quality, of every type, size, colour. It's a cooperative, prices are displayed, there's no need to haggle, it's not crowded and the choice is endless. We made our first purchase here: a pair of Maasai, decorated with white and red beads, very finely made, a bit heavy but truly beautiful. They also offer the possibility of shipping purchases to Italy and paying by credit card.

I recommend going just for the quality of the artefacts, unmatched anywhere else, and believe me … I've been to quite a few …. My fiancé knows something about it!!!!!;-)

We decide to treat ourselves to a day of relaxation at the sea, since there's lovely sunshine and the next few days will be quite hectic. We have a tuk tuk take us to Kilili Baharini, a very luxurious resort, offered by the tour operators Francorosso and Hotelplan. They let us in and use a sunbed, towel and the pool for 700 Ksh each. It's a bit much by local standards, but I was curious to spend at least one day here.

It's undoubtedly beautiful, but not suited to how we experience our holiday.

Being able to enjoy the freedom of the apartment, the company of Kikka and her family, staying as much as possible in contact with the local people, getting to know their culture, their thoughts, their dreams. This unfortunately is often impossible in tourist resorts which certainly offer more comfort, relaxation and luxury, but in an aseptic atmosphere that standardises every place, which in our opinion doesn't allow you to experience the holiday in contact with local reality. But this is just our opinion!

There is however the advantage that when you feel like enjoying these comforts and luxuries you can go freely, without spending a fortune!

We spend our day peacefully by the sea, under lovely sunshine, with a large pool behind us and a beautifully kept garden, where there are dozens of sofas with enormous white cushions, from which the resort takes its name, "the sofas on the beach".

Dinner at home, with excellent tomato pasta, thanks to the superb tomatoes bought from the "mama's" stall opposite the Post Office, recommended because besides costing very little the owners are very honest and don't ask you for higher prices just because you have white skin.

Discovering Malindi

Taking advantage of the company of Marco's friends, we immediately take a Tuk Tuk to the centre of Malindi and after five minutes we've already arrived and we plunge straight into the true African atmosphere!

We visit the Old Market, the main street that leads from Malindi all the way to Lamu, we have breakfast at the famous Karen Blixen Bar, in the elephant square, somewhat the symbol of the Italian presence in Malindi. This is in fact where the large Italian community residing in Malindi gathers. There's even an Italian flag hanging from the tusks of the great elephant, perhaps remembering the crazy night of the World Cup!

We take another tuk tuk and go straight to the Marine Park, where we take our first swim in the Indian Ocean, unfortunately quite rough today, the kite-surfers will be happier. Then unfortunately the faint sunshine that there was gives way to big black clouds and it starts to rain, we escape with a Tuk Tuk back to Malindi where we eat in a bar-restaurant frequented only by locals, the Malindi Beach Restaurant, near the tourist market, where we eat some excellent meat and vegetable samosas! And who could ever forget them!!

Samosas are very similar to Chinese spring rolls in their pastry, triangular in shape, with a filling of meat, vegetables or fish as you choose. They're really good!

The clear weather returns and we continue our tour of Malindi, ending up for dinner at the gelateria Oasi, where we have a mega bowl of ice cream with fresh fruit …. A real bombshell!

Wood factory and kilili baharini

The others have left for the safari, so Marco and I begin our own outings. Kikka's husband takes us to the wood factory, near the departure point of the Matatus, where under a large thatched shelter a group of thirty highly skilled carvers make statues and typical Kenyan wooden artefacts, right before your eyes. They're really good.

A short distance away is a large warehouse where inside you can find carved wood for all tastes, from Maasai statues to giraffes, hippos, elephants, fruit bowls, vases, anything, of truly excellent quality, of every type, size, colour. It's a cooperative, prices are displayed, there's no need to haggle, it's not crowded and the choice is endless. We made our first purchase here: a pair of Maasai, decorated with white and red beads, very finely made, a bit heavy but truly beautiful. They also offer the possibility of shipping purchases to Italy and paying by credit card.

I recommend going just for the quality of the artefacts, unmatched anywhere else, and believe me … I've been to quite a few …. My fiancé knows something about it!!!!!;-)

We decide to treat ourselves to a day of relaxation at the sea, since there's lovely sunshine and the next few days will be quite hectic. We have a tuk tuk take us to Kilili Baharini, a very luxurious resort, offered by the tour operators Francorosso and Hotelplan. They let us in and use a sunbed, towel and the pool for 700 Ksh each. It's a bit much by local standards, but I was curious to spend at least one day here.

It's undoubtedly beautiful, but not suited to how we experience our holiday.

Being able to enjoy the freedom of the apartment, the company of Kikka and her family, staying as much as possible in contact with the local people, getting to know their culture, their thoughts, their dreams. This unfortunately is often impossible in tourist resorts which certainly offer more comfort, relaxation and luxury, but in an aseptic atmosphere that standardises every place, which in our opinion doesn't allow you to experience the holiday in contact with local reality. But this is just our opinion!

There is however the advantage that when you feel like enjoying these comforts and luxuries you can go freely, without spending a fortune!

We spend our day peacefully by the sea, under lovely sunshine, with a large pool behind us and a beautifully kept garden, where there are dozens of sofas with enormous white cushions, from which the resort takes its name, "the sofas on the beach".

Dinner at home, with excellent tomato pasta, thanks to the superb tomatoes bought from the "mama's" stall opposite the Post Office, recommended because besides costing very little the owners are very honest and don't ask you for higher prices just because you have white skin.

Malindi marine park

Another sunny day at the Marine Park, in total relaxation. Then we rush to Malindi to the Kenya Airways office; they've moved our safari, so we take the opportunity to do two nights in Lamu instead of just one as originally planned.

They find us a flight, 80 euros return, then we contact the Jannat House hotel booked from Italy and incredibly they have availability for the 8th night too! Fantastic!!!

Lamu

We take a tuk tuk in the morning outside the house and have ourselves taken to the airport. There, while waiting, we meet a Dutch couple, also heading to Lamu, Jaqueline and Reinard. With them we'll spend unforgettable days on this island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001.

We leave exactly on time, good flight, and we land in Lamu after about 30 minutes. The airport, if you can call it that (!) is a group of little houses with macuti roofs. By comparison Koh Samui airport in Thailand seems like Milan Malpensa!

A friendly gentleman sent by the Jannat House hotel is waiting for us, and he accompanies us to the jetty, where we take a large boat that takes us to Lamu island. The airport in fact is on the island opposite: Manda Island. In 10 minutes we're there.

It's an indescribable emotion to set foot on this island. It feels like being catapulted into a deeply calm and relaxed world, with scenes from another era. Time seems to have stopped in Lamu, for many years now. Here you only move around on foot, or riding a donkey, of which the island is full. The little streets are very narrow and a bit dark because the buildings are very tall and so the light only filters from above and makes everything much more fascinating.

I may be crazy, maybe not, but as soon as I got off in Lamu I felt a kind of déjà-vu … I lived in Venice for a few years for university, and Lamu in certain ways reminds me of it a lot. The narrow alleyways, dark, a bit dirty, but decidedly fascinating, among which it's lovely to wander, get lost, watch what people are doing… It's a bit like a Muslim Venice with strong Arab features, in the style and architecture of the buildings. That's how I felt it.

Our guide leads us through the narrow little alleys to the hotel. These alleys form a veritable labyrinth in which it seems impossible to find your way ….

The JANNAT HOUSE is very beautiful, run by some Swedes, quiet, clean and in the typical Lamu style. We chose the Bustani room, more than anything for the bed. In fact, given the GMO dimensions of my 2 m tall fiancé, I had looked at all the hotel websites and the Jannat house was the only one offering a room with a bed without wood at the foot to block your feet!!!

The Bustani Room is very romantic, it overlooks the pool; we find bougainvillea on the four-poster bed and it has an en-suite bathroom. There's no hot water, as in almost all the hotels in Lamu, but it's so hot that you don't need it.

We have lunch, the restaurant is excellent too, and the guide, as agreed, comes back to pick us up after an hour for a tour of the town of Lamu. It's impossible to see it properly without the help of a local. He took us to the various quarters, the Arab one and the Swahili one, to the very colourful fruit market, to the mosque, along the seafront and finally to the innermost point of the island, where children run around chasing each other through the narrow alleys, shouting Jamboooooooooooooooooo!!! Here we saw a cross-section of local reality that will remain forever imprinted in our memories of Lamu …

It's a reality too different from ours and I believe the reactions to Lamu can only be extreme: either you love it or you hate it. It's a predominantly Muslim town, like the whole Kenyan coast for that matter, with open sewers (which are actually just water, absolutely odourless) in tiny little channels at the sides of the small alleyways. The strong smell is that of donkey droppings, the only means of transport. There's also the Donkey Sanctuary, where sick donkeys are "hospitalised".

But what struck us most about Lamu is the people. In the streets, even the darkest ones and off the beaten track, everyone greets you. Children shout joyfully JAMBOOOOOO!!! You feel at home, however different and unconventional this town may be.

In the evening at dinner we met up with Jaqueline and Reinard to dine at the Steak House Roof Top Resturant …. A definitely nice place, decent food, but … it's all very well that in Kenya everything works pole-pole (slowly, slowly), but the 2-hour wait was truly absurd!!!

We agree with them for the next day: a must-do trip on a Dhow, the typical Kenyan sailing boat.

Lamu: Dhow trip

Here we are, setting off for the famous day on the Dhow, with Captain Kelly and his crew: 5 guys, each one friendlier than the last!

We go fishing right away, near Manda Island, where the catch for us 4 inexperienced tourists is rather meagre (the fish did better, with my clumsiness they had a nice lunch with all the prawns they stole from my hook;-) … ). Captain Kelly did better.

Then straight to Shella beach for a nice refreshing swim and a walk along the beautiful unspoilt beach.. then slurp: a dish of fish, coconut rice and pepper sauce and, for fruit, excellent fresh bananas…

Finally we visit Manda, where while chatting Jaqueline and I even manage to get lost!!!!

Contact with these guys, so cordial and dignified in their poverty, makes us appreciate even more what we're experiencing. The place is beautiful, the experiences are beautiful, but it's the people who make it special.

On the way back I was almost moved: on the boat, with the sound of the sea in the background, the guys start singing their songs and ours all together. Their only instruments are upturned buckets as drums and pieces of wood beaten on the ground to keep the rhythm and … their 5 voices, the result gives you goosebumps.

One of the guys told us "We are poor, we know we were born here and here we will die, we will never have the chance to see the world, but we are happy and we try to give happiness to others too".

Well Coconut, I really think that day you succeeded, because we think back to you very often with so much nostalgia for that moment so pure and true spent together.

Lamu: donkey riding and back to Malindi

Pre-dawn wake-up as always, with the muezzin praying from the mosque … an absolutely unusual awakening, impossible to pretend nothing's happening, the volume of the loudspeakers is so high … you open your eyes and after a few minutes of grogginess, you ask yourself: "where the hell have I ended up?" … Then you think of Lamu, the harbour, its people and you smile.

You're out of this world in a magical place.

Alas, it's already time to go back. Marco is very sad, he doesn't want to leave anymore… I'm close to it.

It's wonderful after just a couple of days here to walk through the streets or along the jetty and hear the local people recognising you and greeting you by name …. Where will we ever find another place like this? We absolutely must come back.

For the last morning in Lamu we go crazy: we want to do donkey riding too …. Riding the donkey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I tell anyone who knows me they'll never believe it!!!!

And yet it's great, we toured the town a bit more, sometimes running sometimes slowly, with the fear that at any moment that poor donkey might get tired of your weight and rightly hurl you to the ground!!! Instead everything goes smoothly, they're very docile and sweet.

My fiancé would say a phrase well known to him "can you believe it …. What an experieneeeeeeeece!!!"

We devote ourselves to shopping for an hour and buy a painting that will remind us forever of this magical place: it's an oil canvas by the painter Adam Musa, it shows a local galloping on a donkey in one of the typical alleyways here.

At home it makes us nostalgic every time we look at it!

We return to the hotel, we find the guide from the first day who takes us back to the jetty where we take the boat to Manda Airport.

Calm return flight, we land in Malindi right on time.

We go out to dinner at "I love pizza" with Kikka and her family to tell them about our experience, thank you Kikka for letting us discover Lamu!!!!

Safari in Lualenyi

We don't grant ourselves even a day's respite, at 4.00 am in the morning we're already awake as crickets, ready to set off for the SAFARI. Fatty, the sweetest Kenyan pussycat there is, looks at us angrily! She wanted to sleep some more!

We decided to do the safari in Lualenyi for two reasons: the privilege of being in a private reserve allows you to be the only spectator of the savannah, something that doesn't always happen in public parks, and the possibility of staying in the savannah even after sunset, doing a little night game drive… spectacular!

After a 5-hour journey through truly suggestive and touching areas, we arrive in Lualenyi.

It's a private reserve of about 40,000 hectares, roughly the size of Amboseli and managed by Gianni Gremmo, an Italian who holds this land under concession. The camp is located on a hill at about a thousand metres' altitude, with a restaurant in style, with a view over the savannah … as far as the eye can see. The tent, if you can call it that, is about 4 metres long and roughly three wide, with very comfortable beds (if Marco fits they're really comfortable!!!), a wardrobe area, bathroom with shower and boiling water… ideal after a day of safari!

We set off immediately for the game drive … the emotions come one after another: zebras, elephants, giraffes, African guinea fowl, antelopes, kongoni, impala ….

And then the sunset, the sun setting behind the thorny acacias, silence, just you, the savannah and a sense of infinity, of freedom never experienced before. Then evening falls. You feel almost uneasy in the dark, eyes scrutinise you from the bush, you're in their home, you're a guest, in this paradise.

The tracker climbs onto the roof of the jeep with a big spotlight and as if by magic many little eyes light up in the night. They're indescribable sensations.

Back to camp, aperitif around the fire, under a starry sky the likes of which I've never found anywhere else, and then a dinner worthy of the best restaurant: handmade ravioli, roast potatoes, fillet … but are we in the savannah?!?!

After a wolfish feast we have a nice chat with Chris, our companion during the safaris, a patient person with a smile that immediately puts you at ease, who tells us about his life in Kenya, first a vet, then his work at Lualenyi. We're fascinated by his stories. We'd like this day never to end, it was so beautiful and intense, but it's better to go to sleep, tomorrow it's a dawn wake-up!

and 13 - Safari

We wake up while it's still dark, Makeo, a guy from the camp, greets us with his warm "Jamboooooooooo"! Breakfast and then off we go, all on the jeep towards the waterholes, in search of animals. We find enormous herds of elephants, with lots of baby elephants, dozens of giraffes that stop curiously to look at us and then run away, hilarious with their completely lopsided gait!! We see many species of birds, the jackal, the water antelope, the kudu, a little dik-dik and lots of ostriches!

Chris takes us to a very special place, Lion's Rock. The place from which Disney drew inspiration for the film "The Lion King".

We go up with the jeep and before us … the savannah: km and km of savannah as far as the eye can see. Then, it seems like magic, the few clouds thin out until they disappear … and there it is, my dream comes true: I see KILIMANJARO.

Then Chris leads us to a clearing, there's a huge acacia and … incredible, a table set for lunch underneath!

We have lunch right in the middle of the bush!

Then back on the jeep, hoping to see the lion, but no luck, we're a bit disheartened, we approach a herd of 30, 40 elephants and …. Here's a magnificent conclusion to our safari: three matriarchs bring a baby to bathe in a pond: it's just a week old. Chris explains that this is how they lower its body temperature.. but meanwhile the little one has a whale of a time rolling in the mud, his cries are hilarious!

The female elephants drink, they watch us warily, but we're so in a trance from this magnificent scene that we don't move a finger. Unique and indescribable sensations.

and following days, relax in Malindi and Watamu

We spend our last days of holiday in Malindi and Watamu, devoted to total relaxation, we rely thanks to Kikka's excellent suggestions on ever-new resorts, where for paltry sums we have a pool, sunbeds and towels at our disposal. Too convenient!!!

In Watamu too the sea is very beautiful and the sand seems like talcum powder … not even in the Caribbean or Asia have we ever found sand like this!!

We visit Gede, ancient ruins of an Arab city mysteriously abandoned, and Che Chale, the golden beach … it looks as if someone has gone and thrown tons of gold glitter over the sand, fantastic!!!

We also return to the Marine Park, an oasis of absolute tranquillity and silence and then, to Marco's delight … shopping, shopping, shopping!!!

In the evening we often went out with Kikka and her family to ever-new and ever-better restaurants! And to round things off beautifully, a Swahili dinner at Kikka's house with Alberto, Chiara and Agata: our legendary flatmates!

Last day in Kenia ... :-(

What can I say…

The silence of the savannah, the cheerful bustle of Malindi, the scent of the earth and the sea, the taste of the spices … we won't find them again unless we come back here. Unforgettable are the colours of this land, the eyes of the children and the friendliness of the people. Above all that of Kikka and her family, who with their warmth made our holiday even more special, making us feel at home.

We can only hope to return soon!

Ely and Marco

PS

Thanks to all those who helped make this trip more special: first and foremost, deservedly, Kikka, her help and experience were priceless, and even more so for her kindness and friendship!!! Thank you for the lovely evenings spent together and for the chats on the veranda!

Thanks also to Khaled and Jamil, the taxi drivers who took us everywhere, and to Chris, who always kept our room nice and clean, always leaving fresh flowers on our bed.

Finally thanks to the guys: Daniela and Bob with their flatmates, Chiara with Alberto and Agata, who with their friendliness made this holiday of ours even more unique!

Two final thoughts for "our" little animals:

one in particular goes to the joyful Lucianino, who unfortunately will no longer brighten our and your holidays in Kenya and be cuddled by Kikka who was so fond of him...the house won't be the same without little Lucy.

The second goes to the "little" pussycat Fatty, a splendid big red cat, who with her purring and her sweetness always followed me everywhere waiting for me at the door every evening, reciprocating my cuddles with a thousand meows! A virtual stroke for you! Guys, if you go to Kenya give her lots of cuddles from me!!!

Good Kenya to everyone!

DICTIONARY

Tuk Tuk – a little bee used as a taxi, 50 Ksh per ride during the day, 100 in the evening, 100 for the Malindi Marine Park.

Matatu – a collective taxi, very similar to the Mexican ones but much more crowded, on a 12-seat minibus sometimes you even reach 20 people on board! We avoided it, except for short journeys when there were no Tuk Tuks. Super cheap, a ride can cost as little as 20-30 Ksh

Pole Pole – slowly, slowly

Bui-Bui – typical Muslim dress for women

TIPS

- On arrival at the airport they'll take your suitcase to carry it for you and there's no way to make them change their minds, prepare some small change.

- The Mombasa Malindi road is a real disaster if you're travelling independently I recommend the route via Nairobi, and then Nairobi- Malindi with Kenya Airways. Great flights and also good prices, for any help ask Kikka. You'll save two hours, which are still nice for seeing a cross-section of Africa, but strongly not recommended because of the quality of the road … nothing but potholes for a good two and a half hours!!!

- Lamu. Stay at least 2 nights, it's worth it. Bring a torch, the streets are very dark and it's hard to find your way around. On the whole coast, but perhaps here even more so, I strongly recommend leaving miniskirts and little dresses behind for the sea and maybe wearing jeans or long skirts. Muslim women wear the bui-bui, a long black dress down to the feet with long sleeves and they often have their face covered too. Unmarried women have only the eye slit uncovered. Walking around in a miniskirt is not really ideal.

The Jannat House hotel is recommended, great location, clean and very romantic. As for restaurants, the Bush Garden, thank you Kikka for recommending it to us …. What feasts of fish.

- For the safari bring heavy clothes and a kway.

- To phone Italy get a local sim … waaaaaaaay more convenient!!!

For any information on Kenya, the climate, the towns of Malindi, Watamu, Mombasa, the parks and safaris visit the site