The final lag of our Kenya trip was spent at the glorious whitesands and clear blue waters of Mombasa. It was the perfect way to end a rigorous and exhausting safari at the Mara. I had two regrets though, 1. We should have stayed in Mombasa longer: 2. We should have stayed at the Whitesands hotel where there were waterslides for the kids. I always regret at least one of my hotel decisions per trip. It is par for the course. I have to talk my way through the anxiety every time (ie. 'It isn't a youth hostel with cockroaches. Get over it, Terah!').
Instead, we stayed at the Serena hotel, which was fine if you are an old fart. It was relaxing and serene (like its namesake), but I think the kids were thirsting for a little more action. The cool thing about the hotel was it was designed in the old Omani style. Oman used to occupy Kenya from 1806 to 1856. It is amazing how strongly Mombasa is still influenced by Oman. Many of the men still wear the Omani caps and traditional clothing, and Islam is the dominant religion.
Oman is our favorite Gulf country by far (truly, it isn't that hard to beat out the others). Axel LOVES the spearfishing and I periodically dream about going back to our favorite resort there. It was fun to experience Mombasa with Omani flavor. It made we want to go back to Muscat in the near future. Stay tuned...
While in Mombasa we engaged in the following activities:
2. We took a boat to a secluded island.
4. ....while Sedona and Grandma (who forgot to wear her bathing suit??????) went to the island.
Sedona playing with her new best friend. She could not pronounce her name so she aptly named her Sarah.
5. We tested how many different ways we could jump off a boat.
6. We ate our weight in watermelon.
8. We waded in a natural pool, just to enhance our shoulder burns.
9. We ate the most delicious crab and lemonade ever (and whacked crab guts all over ourselves.)
6 comments:
Just beautiful! What incredible colors and it looks so relaxing.
It looks so fun! I love the shot of Xavier jumping off the boat - the essence of childhood. And you look like a kid yourself, jumping off. And you have such a cute swimsuit. I also love the shot of Sedona with her new best friend.
Awesome clear, blue water.
Crab and lemonade looks divine.
And wow, does Sedona look like Axel!
ahhhhh, you have the most exotic life....take me with you please!
Hi again . . . I'm still stalking your blog. I remembered your trip to Kenya and I want to copy you! Can I pick your brain? How long did you stay? What month did you go (We will most likely go at the end of February during our school break)? Did you do everything yourselves (a la carte) or did you book one of those companies that drives you around, etc.? I hope you don't mind me asking, and I hope you'll have time to reply during the chaos of the season! Happy Holidays from France.
Feel free to ask me anything. You can send me questions to my email account. It is terahreu at yahoo dot com. I'll be happy to pass on any of my information.
Post a Comment