Unforgettable Kenya

DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL

Finally, we're off!!!!!! After talking about it all winter with two friends, the time to book is approaching but... for various reasons the vacation falls through: destination Turkey. After lots of anger, nerves, and being made fun of, I decide to go... a last minute trip, alone: destination Kenya and to be precise Watamu: it's August 19, 2008. The vacation starts badly, 9 hours of waiting at the airport, an engine breaks down during takeoff. In misfortune there's fortune, it's the chance to meet people, the ones who will then become my travel companions!!!!!!! On the morning of August 20 the plane takes off and finally after 7 hours and 40 minutes we land in Mombasa, once the airport formalities are done, we get on the bus that will take us to the Aquarius Beach Resort in Watamu.

The resort is nice and fairly clean (on the other hand, we're in Africa); quiet (the entertainment is done by one of the tour operators present at the resort but it's really very very soft: beach volley and a little evening show....!!!!); Italian cuisine, not a huge selection but you eat quite well!!! The beach is white sand and it feels like walking on snow, the sea is beautiful though unfortunately in August there's a lot of seaweed and you can't always swim (bring water shoes....there are sea urchins!!!).

On the evening of my arrival (fortunately I've already made friends with three girls), returning to the resort after watching the evening show, we're approached by one of the famous beach boys present on all the beaches of Kenya (and Zanzibar), his name is ZUCCHERO: together with his friend Momo, he will become our official guide!!!!! What can I say, despite the numerous warnings given by the assistant and the managers of the excursion traffic present at the resort, our ZUCCHERO was simply fantastic!!!! We bought the excursion package from him (2 days of safari, an afternoon in Malindi and a trip to the mangroves + marine park) and we saved a good 40 euros compared to the price of excursions done with the resort, bearing in mind that he also took us on other free little excursions and was always very nice and available to satisfy our every request.

THE FIRST DAYS

The morning after our arrival (Thursday the 21st) Zucchero immediately organizes an outing to a little atoll-like beach whose name I don't remember, and in the afternoon after a walk along the seafront, accompanied by a bunch of local kids who came along with us (really, they'd told me: you're never alone!!!!!!!), he takes us to see the little monkeys (get bananas from the resort buffet, they go crazy for them!!).

THE SAFARI

Today is the big day (Friday the 22nd): 6 am departure for the safari, destination Tsavo East Park. After having breakfast at a little bar run by two Italian guys in the center of Watamu, we get on board our minibus and after about 2 and a half hours on the road, we arrive at our destination. Before entering the park, we make a stop for the usual physiological needs at a "bazaar" where it's also possible to shop for souvenirs and here we have our first encounter with.......a crocodile!!!!! After reaching the park entrance on foot, back on board and........the "hunt" begins.

After covering just a few meters our super driver spots a lioness who was, in complete tranquility and "with a full belly" (next to her was the carcass of a zebra) lying under a plant......I was happy, excited to the point that I got "goosebumps" all over my body, for me the safari was already over....ZUCCHERO had kept his promise: when we booked the safari I had told him that I wanted to see a lion and he said to me: "you'll see, you'll see, you'll see it, I promise you, I'll do a macumba for you!!!!!!..." and so it was.

From that moment we were all pumped and ready to see everything and more, and we really saw so many animals.....we were lucky! Two wonderful days in the middle of the savanna, surrounded by the beauty of its nature and its wonderful animals! And the view from the terrace of the restaurant of the Lodge where we were staying (Voi Wildlife Lodge) was also evocative: a view of a small lake where all the animals came to drink...so many emotions, emotions one after another......indescribable in words, only by having lived them can you understand. It's Saturday and we have to return to Watamu, we say goodbye reluctantly to the Savanna and after a stop in a Masai village with dances and stories, our minibus takes us back to the Aquarius.

We dedicate the afternoon to the beach and relaxation, and in the evening I and the girls of the "vacation group" are invited by ZUCCHERO and MOMO to spend an evening "Malindi by night". After about half an hour of traveling into the depths of the night (there's no lighting on the roads), we reach Malindi; after an espresso and some chatting we decide to go "cut a rug at the disco". The place is nice, there are many tourists but also many locals, especially girls looking for......"luck", truly chilling scenes! I'll skip the comments because I don't think it's appropriate, everyone knows how things go in this world anyway..... The evening is pleasant, and our beach boys are super nice, but unfortunately we have to head back, tomorrow we have an excursion waiting for us.

THE LAST DAYS

It's Sunday and departure is scheduled for 8:30, on board the minibus we reach the boat that will take us among the mangroves, the weather isn't the best and at a certain point a downpour breaks out...but it's fun, all soaked and at the mercy of the waves!!!!! After cruising almost all morning among the mangroves, to the dismay of another group that hadn't been warned about the type of excursion awaiting them, we reach the islet where we're welcomed, always accompanied by the notes of Jambo Jambo, for lunch: rice, fish, potatoes with sauce, lobster, shrimp, fruit and....the famous coconut wine!!!!!! After a post-lunch break, back on board our little boat, we reach the marine park, where we stop for a dip in the crystal-clear water surrounded by numerous fish and from there we reach a beautiful white sand beach and end our day enjoying the last rays of sun (after the storm it had cleared u

p) before returning to the resort. We're now almost at the end of the vacation, on Monday we spend the whole day at the beach, finally the weather is our friend too: the sky is finally completely blue, not a single cloud!!!! ZUCCHERO today had to take part of our "vacation group" to do the mangrove excursion, yesterday they were unable due to "force majeure"; we meet up with him at sunset returning from the beach and he proposes the evening's program.....a drink at a "disco bar" in Watamu called "Come Bach". The place is pretty nice overall, open-air, a small dance floor, and a corner with pool tables. We're a nice big table and between toasts, chats, and dancing we celebrate the end of the vacation, our wonderful "vacation group" and our two beach boys ZUCCHERO and MOMO.

The next morning (Tuesday the 26th) our beach boys take us to love island.....a white sand atoll shaped like a heart close to a small islet!!! We reach it on board the typical local boats. How wonderful!!!! Blue water, clear, it felt like being in paradise....Between swims, souvenir photos, and sunbathing we spend the whole morning there and then back on board the little boats we return to dry land and, walking through the "Milano 2" of Watamu (it's the area where all the villas owned by Europeans are, especially Italians) we return to the resort for lunch. We spend the afternoon at the beach helping our beach boys get customers among the new arrivals, and toward evening, as per our wish (some of us had brought clothes and toys from Italy for the children), Zucchero organizes for us a visit to the God Our Father Children's Home orphanage (as an alternative to the half day in Malindi).

Along the way we also stop to buy some food supplies: rice, biscuits, flour, juices, and water to take to the orphanage. The children welcome us with a little dance accompanied by the well-known welcome song "Jambo", then mama Susy accompanies us on a tour of the facility. We arrive in the room where the little ones are kept, I pick up a little girl and immediately fall in love with her, I would have taken her home with me...not just her but all of them!!! I will never forget their smiles and those big black eyes full of hope!!! Before leaving the center, we have them give us the address and bank account so we can send some help, I see that they have plans for the expansion and improvement of the center. We say goodbye to all the children reluctantly and with great sadness we return to the resort.

It's the last evening, but none of us after the visit to the orphanage feels like celebrating.......and so after the usual exchange of addresses, phone numbers, we retire to pack our suitcases......tomorrow is Wednesday the 27th, the day of departure, the vacation is over...Italy awaits us!!!! It will be hard having to leave Kenya, in particular the splendid Watamu, but above all it will be hard having to part from ZUCCHERO and MOMO, who made this wonderful stay in Africa unforgettable!!!! I recommend to anyone departing for Kenya to contact ZUCCHERO: email zucchero@zuccherosafari.com or cell +254735266394 for splendid safaris