It is hard to believe that nearly a month has passed since our last post! Our last 2 weeks in Nakuru were very busy -- trying to finish up our work at Pistis Academy and makng final visits to our many new friends in Nakuru. Then, of course there was packing to do and final arrangements for the rest of our journey.

We left Nakuru on the night of Jan. 10 on a bus headed for the coast (Mombasa). If we had known then what a horrendous trip it was, we would have definitely opted for the train. First of all, the bus was over 2 hours late in leaving. Secondly, the road between Nairobi and Mombasa was so bad and the bus so uncomfortable that at several points I became airborne and landed hard on my tailbone - so hard it made me cry!! Of course everyone else thought it was funny. We were in the very back of the bus with 6 across the back seat. We are talking about a 10 hour bus ride!!

We arrived in Mombasa tired and hungry and relieved to finally be off the bus and still alive. We found our way to a decent hotel and had a nice buffet breakfast, then went to see the famous "tusks" of Mombasa that criss-cross over a main street. We made our way to the matatu that goes to Watamu Beach - about 2 hours away.

We were very surprised and delighted to find Watamu to be such a wonderful and beautiful place. The Italians seem to be the only other people who have discovered it. There are so many Italians there that even the local people speak Italian!! It' s a very small community, and not overrun by tourists at all. Watamu has 3 beautiful bays within walking distance of each other. They each have outcroppings of coral islands and the one nearest our hotel had turquoise water like I have seen in photos of the South Pacific islands. When the tide goes out, you can walk about 1/2 mile out to the Indian Ocean, where the gentle breakers hit the shore. The water is wonderfully warm, too. We had originally planned to stay only 2 nights there, but we loved it so much that we stayed for 4. We had a great hotel for under $20.00/night!

We made a day trip to Malindi, where Bosco and his family used to vacation when he was a kid. A great guide approached us and was able to show us around to all the places that Bosco remembered, including the guest house where they used to stay and the shop where they used to get halwa (an Arab sweet with the consistency of thick gooey jelly). We had some fresh out of the pan and some packed to take with us.

We also visited the ancient Arab ruins at Gede. Beautiful and fascinating!

Our next stop was Lamu Island. Lamu is an old Arab settlement and is unique in that there are still no cars there. All transportation is by foot, boat or by donkey. (Of course, we had to try riding a donkey - bareback, no less!) There are over 4000 donkeys on the island. A new culture developed in Lamu and the coast of Kenya when the Arabs came to settle there, creating the Swahili people and culture and the Kiswahili language. The town of Lamu is like a maze of narrow streets, most only wide enough for a donkey. The main street is a whopping 10 feet across, at best! We stayed in a former old Swahili home (now a guest house) with lots of staircases and a beautiful garden courtyard. There was also a rooftop restaurant. One night we had dinner with a local character known as "Ali Hippie". He has been hosting tourists in his home for over 30 years. He prepares a nice meal and his family entertains with song and dance.
We took a beautiful sunset sail on one of the many dhows (Arab sailboat) that ply the waterways. Besides Lamu there are many other islands in the archipelago that keep the waters calm. There are also many mangrove trees that seem like other islands when the tide is high. The boat ride was a definite highlight of our stay in Lamu.

We stayed for 3 nights, which felt like enough. We flew back to Nairobi to begin our onward journey to India on Jan. 19.

Will close for now and update more tomorrow. We are now in Bangkok and we begin our journey home on Friday the 3rd of Feb.