Back to "Home"!!

After 5 very long months, we're finally going back "home"!! With Todomondo I found a very good offer, again at the Jacaranda Beach Resort in Watamu for 15 days, and my travel companion this time will be my dad!! We leave from Malpensa on 11 March, eight hours of flight with a stopover in Zanzibar, and we are in Mombasa. A journey that felt eternal, such was my longing to return... In Turin we leave behind cold, wind and rain... We get off the plane and I finally feel the African heat on my skin... My heart fills with everything I had left behind in October...the dark faces, the sun, the blue sky, the little monkeys leaping from branch to branch... The driver is waiting for us, and a good two hours await us before we reach the Jacaranda. Dad is on his first trip to Kenya; he is fascinated but at the same time shocked by what he sees beyond the window...

It's hot in the minibus; there was a thunderstorm shortly before, so the air is muggy and sticky. We arrive at the resort for lunch...I find everyone again: guards, gardeners, receptionists, waiters, Pendo, Piccolo, Masha and Richard the entertainers... Even on my first time in Kenya I had been at the Jacaranda, but in the old part, the one that is now Eden Village! It is a very welcoming resort, simple but careful in its details; the local staff are fantastic, all of them helpful and kind; the same can't be said of the Italian staff.. their only thought is to discredit the beach boys so that no one does excursions with them, and I'll leave you to guess the reason for such determination against these lads! The new part is much larger, perhaps a little more spread out than the old one. The rooms are simple but clean. There is air conditioning and a ceiling fan.

The strong point, in my opinion, is the location...it is inside the Watamu marine park and in that area the sea is the most beautiful on the Kenyan coast. It's true that it is isolated, but by relying on the lads we always got around without any problem. The tidal phenomenon leaves you enchanted; the surrounding landscape changes continuously with the coming and going of the sea... I almost forgot something very important for us Italians...

the food is excellent!! A quick dash to the room and then straight to the beach to greet those who had made my African holiday a unique experience! The beach is as beautiful as ever, white and immense...dad is shocked..the sea isn't there!! Ahahaha! "The tide has taken it away," I tell him, "but it'll come back!!" And there I find them, all nicely "tanned", waiting for the new arrivals! Picasso and Giorgio Napolitano, the two beach boys we had met the previous time, knew we were coming; we had stayed in touch from Italy over these five months... We spend the afternoon in the shade of the stalls, telling each other about the months that had passed and organising the excursions we would do over the next 15 days! Everything with them of course..

besides the savings, I knew the quality would certainly be better than that of the resorts! The second day an early wake-up so that dad can finally see the sea! Then, as soon as the tide goes out, a lovely walk to the coral reef. After lunch we go with Picasso and Giorgio Napolitano for a little tour of Watamu and in the late afternoon an obligatory stop at the Italian ice-cream parlour...if you go that way, try the ice cream because it is truly worth it!! Once again Picasso and the "president" Giorgio Napolitano prove to be two exceptional guides.

We go with them on the Blue Safari, a magnificent day out at sea, among starfish and colourful little fish with a barbecue on a strip of sand left exposed by the low tide...fish, coconut rice, lobster, prawns and fruit!! We spend a few evenings at the resort, worn out by the days spent wandering under the hot Kenyan sun, and others out and about with the lads, in the disco, in restaurants and around Malindi.

A few days later we set off on safari; last time I had been to the Ndololo Camp, this time for dad the Voi Wild Life was better! We set off early; outside the gate, punctual as ever, Picasso, Giorgio and the legendary driver Safari are waiting for us! We go to pick up a couple in Watamu and have a nice breakfast at a little Italian kiosk that makes doughnuts and tarts...Picasso and Safari prefer a more "African" breakfast and opt for polenta and beef!! Giorgio quite enjoys the hazelnut doughnut and the cappuccino! Two hours or so and we are at the entrance of Tsavo East.. Once again I am lucky...lots of animals, lions, gazelles, buffalo, zebras, elephants, hippos...

And then the landscape, changing colour continuously..emerald green near the water and dry and golden on the opposite side...the blue sky and white clouds like whipped cream! We follow a cheetah as it prepares to hunt, but then it gets late and we have to return to camp. The safari was fantastic and we come back exhausted but happy the next day for lunch! In the following days we often go around Malindi, the wood factory, the markets, the streets full of people coming and going always make me feel at home. We rent a car and, again with Giorgio and Picasso, go to the Devil's Kitchen, a breathtaking view and a frightening heat! We go around the villages, meet their families and everywhere we feel welcome.

We organised a dinner in a small bar inside a village, with fish, octopus rice made by their mothers, and goat; we eat with our hands, it seems easy but I can assure you it is not at all!! They were all clean, I...had rice up to my elbows!!! The days pass; we spend very little time at the resort... The day of departure arrives and, as always, the sadness of having to go home and leave this splendid country, its people, all the friends and especially Picasso and Giorgio is truly great...

But I'll be back soon...as soon as I arrived in Italy I immediately booked the flight for September!! When Mal d'Africa takes hold of your heart it will be hard to resist the urge to return! Once again I thank all the friends I have found again and especially Picasso and Giorgio Napolitano who, little by little, every time I return, let me get to know their extraordinary country more and more! If you happen to be in that area and need trustworthy guides, count on them and you won't regret it!!

To thank them, I dedicated a website to them where I gathered a bit of my Mal d'Africa!!!