Diani Beach and back to Nairobi

On Wednesday 24^th January we travelled the 170 kms from Watamu to the beaches located south of Mombasa, all collectively called Diani Beach.  Diani Beach is probably one of the most well-known tourist destinations in Kenya, it is a 17 km long stretch of dazzling white sand which starts at the Kongo River (30 kms from Mombasa) and ends at Galu beach in the south, which is where we had booked an Airbnb for three nights.  

The journey was pretty uneventful apart from a long time queuing to get on the somewhat chaotic Mombasa ferry which takes passengers off Mombasa Island to the Southern Coast Area. The ferries run frequently, are absolutely packed with vehicles of all shapes and sizes, and on our ferry we guessed there were also about 700 foot passengers. The ferries take approximately 15 minutes to cross a very deep channel of water and Annie remembers doing the same journey with her family in the 1960s! Although they looked the same we were assured the ferries have been upgraded since then.

Once again we felt so spoilt with our Airbnb as we had a huge bedroom and living room and two balconies overlooking the garden and pool. Joris, the owner of the house, was extremely welcoming and gave us so much advice about the local area. A short walk down a rough stone track took us to Galu Beach where, very conveniently, we found The Fisherman’s Community Project Beach Bar where we were able to base ourselves in the shade, chat to the locals, read our books, swim, enjoy cold drinks and snacks and go for long walks along the almost deserted beach.

We weren’t aware that this stretch of coastline is known for Kite Surfing and after watching them for several days we became ‘armchair experts’ on the sport.  Whilst here Annie was talked into a massage in a tiny and very hot beach shack by a lovely lady called Mirian (£10 for an hour).

For our final 3 beach days we moved to a beachside B&B at Diani beach which was about 6 kilometres north from our Airbnb and nearer to more resorts and even more Kite Surfers. 

Here we continued the lazy day’s theme of reading, walking, swimming and marvelling at the stunning scenery and colours in the ocean which looked completely different at low and high tide times.

Each evening we ventured out usually by Tuk Tuk to sample some of the many restaurants in the area. Our hotel was next door to The Ali Barbour Cave Restaurant, probably the most well-known restaurant in the area. As it had been mentioned to us by so many people we met we felt obliged to go, the spectacular setting and great ambience are definitely the highlight, the food was good but not exceptional. We decided it was style over substance but a great evening nonetheless.

On 30^th January we took a tuk tuk to the tiny Diani airstrip for a flight back to Nairobi.  Once again our tuk tuk driver had to pay the airport police some money just to be allowed to pass.  This has been the case throughout our time in Kenya where every taxi, tuk tuk or Uber we have taken have had to pay ‘bribes’ to the police at some point on our journey.  It’s so sad and unfortunately endemic throughout Kenya and seemingly accepted by all parties as ‘the way of things’.

On our return to Nairobi we had arranged to spend a couple of hours with Pastor Sammy again and it was good to hear about his recent trip to Tanzania where he had been really encouraged by the enthusiasm local pastors had shown towards his training proposals. He also shared with us his plans for future visits to do training with churches in Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi over the next year.

Once again we were warmly welcomed back to the home of our friends Sarah and Nick for our last two nights. Whilst with them Sarah took us to a local craft café and we had a walk in the Nairobi Arboretum close to their home in the Westlands district. On our last night we all went out to Dinner at a fabulous Asian Restaurant and apart from the dazzling company we had the best food of the entire trip. A great finale!

On 1^st February we caught our Kenya Airways flight back to the UK and arrived home in the evening of the same day.  This whole trip exceeded expectations in so many ways, Egypt and its ancient history sites have long been on our bucket list and didn’t disappoint. Meeting up with Sammy and hearing in more detail about his work was humbling and the time spent with Sarah, Nick and Millie was very special and long overdue. The Kenyan Coast captured our hearts, we are hard pressed to think if we have experienced any more beautiful beaches anywhere on our travels and the Kenyan people are so warm and friendly despite living with rising costs of living, high taxes and a corrupt police force.

Until next time…