A wonderful adventure among the colours of Kenya

Our trip begins on 18 September 2009: at 22.30 our plane leaves right on time from Fiumicino airport, bound for Mombasa. We land spot on time the following day at 6.00, local time (the time zone in Kenya is +1 hour when daylight saving time is in force in Italy, +2 when standard time is). The impact is thrilling: you're immediately struck by the colourful clothes of the women and the dense vegetation that runs from Mombasa all the way to Watamu, made up mostly of palms and Baobabs. After about 3 hours by car, on a dirt road, we reach Watamu, more precisely the Eden Village Watamu Beach, set on the beautiful Jacaranda beach. The village, in my view, is very well kept and at the same time essential.

On the beach we meet the Beach Boys, with whom we immediately make friends: Agostino di Torino, Benjamin, Piccolo Fortunato, Delfino, Peppe, Barakka Obama, are just some of the boys who made this trip unforgettable and who let us discover a bit of Africa. With them we walked among the splendid white-sand atolls that emerge with the low tide, all the way to the coral reef, discovering starfish, sea urchins and wonderful corals. As for the excursions, we entrusted the whole package to Tuffo, a boy from Watamu who works for a local agency (as most of the beach boys do) and of whom we had heard really good things. We had already been in touch by email from Italy. Tuffo is very helpful, punctual and speaks Italian very well. As agreed, in fact, we met outside the barrier of the Eden Village, at 17.00 on the day of our arrival.

We thus settled on the excursions to do and the prices, which to tell the truth are very advantageous compared with those offered by the village, while guaranteeing the same services. We opt for a 2-day safari to the Tsavo East, the blue safari, a visit to the ruins of Gedi and a tour of Malindi. Now there's one thing I would like to point out: in some cases, the work of the beach boys, and their excursions, are discredited by the villages or the tour operators; the beach boys work for local agencies, just like the boys who propose the excursions inside the villages!!!! So hakuna matata! No need to worry! On the day of the safari to Tsavo East, Tuffo comes to pick us up early and takes us to have breakfast at a bar run by Italians. He paid for breakfast himself, as well as all the other refreshments during the excursions.

We then meet Mimmo Centoleoni, who will be our guide during the safari, our driver Mohamed, attentive and responsible, and Gatto Nero, a very likeable Kenyan boy who will accompany us throughout the safari! We head for Tsavo East, and little by little we see the landscape change: the dense vegetation of Watamu gives way to more arid scenery and the earth turns red. As we pass, the children greet us and come up to us. A few good sweets are always welcome and their smiles are priceless. Right before entering Tsavo East we meet elephants, ostriches and gazelles. Once inside we go to visit the crocodiles, strictly on foot!!! We take up the Jeep again and go in search of the savannah animals; we meet giraffes, elephants, zebras, antelopes, waterbuck, gazelles, impala, dik-dik, hippos and finally the king of the savannah, the lion, in Swahili, simba.

With a bit of luck and the great skill of our guide Mimmo, we manage to see the hunt of a buffalo, by the lioness, helped by the lion. A little fascinated and a little sorry for the poor buffalo, we continue our game drive in the savannah. We visit the Masai tribe, where they invite us into their hut to tell us about their customs. The adults offer us dances and the children lots of smiles. We return to the lodge for dinner and for the night. The following morning we wake up very early to continue the safari. We see other lions, one just awake and the other still asleep; other bigger simba complete with mane, and the hippos. On the road back towards Watamu we stop at a primary school, where we leave the school materials that we had got hold of in Italy, and some flour, bought on the spot thanks to Mimmo's help.

An unforgettable experience, which I believe profoundly marks the life of anyone who lives it: the children have lessons in a hut, sitting on tree trunks or stones, with no desks or chairs. The water problem is evident, as is the shortage of food. A little sad at not being able to do more, we leave the school and take the road back to Watamu. There too there are so many children who pour onto the streets as our Jeep passes… they greet us with loud "ciao". The day after the safari we meet Tuffo at 14.00 for the visit to Malindi and the ruins of Gedi. Malindi turns out to be a beautiful surprise: the town is lively, animated. Tuffo leads us through the market of Malindi, the real Africa, just as it is, not a place built specially for tourists.

People are surprised to see us… We also visit the wood factory, where very skilled sculptors create finely finished objects, starting from wood obtained from coconut trees, Baobab and many others. We then head to the remains of the ancient Arab city of Gedi. These ruins are now populated by likeable little monkeys, with which we play and to which we give the bananas Tuffo had got for us!! The visit to Gedi proves very interesting, thanks also to the accurate explanations of the guide. We return to the hotel very satisfied, ready for the next day's adventure. Tuffo comes to pick us up, punctual as always, at 9.00 for the blue safari. Before taking the boat, he takes us by surprise for a wander through the little town of Watamu, where he himself lives. He also takes us to the island of love, after which we head for the boat with which we'll do the blue safari in the Malindi marine park.

By boat we reach the coral reef for a bit of snorkelling: we saw numerous colourful fish and beautiful seabeds. We resume sailing, then stop where the water, crystal clear and warm, is about a metre deep. After the swim we go to the mangroves, set in an extremely suggestive scene, characterised by tongues of white sand, contrasted by the intense green of the trees and the turquoise blue of the water. Here we stop for an excellent lunch based on fish. We return to the hotel in the afternoon, once again satisfied. Unfortunately the last day of our stay in Watamu also arrives. We devote it to the sea and to walks among the atolls. In the evening we say goodbye a little sadly to our friends from the beach, with the promise to return as soon as possible and to write to each other from Italy! We leave them a few clothes and the unused soaps.

I consider our experience in Kenya truly significant. The return from Africa is always a bit overwhelming: the memories of the children's smiles, of the friendliness of the people, of the thousand colours of the savannah, of the adventures among the animals during the safaris, remain vividly imprinted in the memory and are a constant call to return to this land rich in treasures to be discovered. I strongly recommend to anyone going to Kenya to see Africa with the eyes of a true African, stepping outside the narrow sphere reserved for tourists. Only that way can you feel the charm of this land, wonderful and at the same time full of contradictions. Tuffo is an excellent guide in this and below I leave his contact details. email: tuffo1@yahoo.com