Paradise Is Watamu

PARADISE IS WATAMU

Four of us set off: me, my husband and my children aged 12 and 14; the choice was almost forced on us since we decided to book late... We arrived in Mombasa after an 8-hour flight, luckily a night flight, with Air Italy. The first impression wasn't the best; it was terribly hot and the sight of so much poverty left us stunned. After about two hours in a minibus, on a road full of potholes and checkpoints, we arrived at the Barracuda Inn, in Watamu; the resort is very nice, the rooms are very spacious and spotlessly clean, the food is excellent; the only downsides of the hotel are the staff of the in-house agency who organise the excursions and spread fear, telling you in every possible way to distrust the beach boys, and the manager of the Barracuda, an Italian gentleman who behaves like a petty tyrant.

The Barracuda overlooks the wonderful beach of Watamu; here the sand is so white it dazzles and crunches underfoot as if it were snow, an unforgettable sensation. Another very beautiful phenomenon is the tides, which alternate every 6 - 7 hours, creating atolls and natural pools and then swallowing them again. As soon as we arrived on the beach we met Dasha, a wonderful beach boy who enchanted us with his love for Kenya.

Luckily we trusted him and did all the excursions with him; it was wonderful: we swam with dolphins, explored mangrove forests, admired the flamingos, visited villages inland, went on safari in Tsavo East, etc. etc.... It was a wonderful and unforgettable holiday; what's more, our Dasha introduced us to Elena, an Italian girl who now lives in Watamu and rents her house to tourists, so we'll almost certainly return to that paradise. A tip for anyone going there: bring something for those children — biscuits, sweets, t-shirts, pens, coloured pencils and notebooks; they have almost nothing and they'll repay you with moving smiles. Even for my children, who have everything, it was an unforgettable experience; they were able to see first-hand how millions of children like them live.

To finish, heartfelt thanks to Dasha, a formidable young man, and my wish that he may have all the luck he deserves. Franca, Mario, Edoardo, Francesco