A Dip in the Indian Ocean

In honor of the first president of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, we got an extra long weekend, which gave some friends and I the opportunity to hit the beach. We headed to Mombasa, the biggest sea port on the East African coast. Getting to and from Mombasa was CRAZY. A story I will save for another time. But once we got there, it was like heaven...

Our bungalow was beautiful with an open great room, swimming pool, and five minute walk to the white sand beach.

A Zanzibar bed lay on the porch for anyone who wanted to be awakened by the sunrise.

We ate a lot of seafood: white snapper, lobster, prawns, and crab. Delicious!We took a dhow out to the reef, which we walked on during low tide, and went snorkeling with our guides, Mario and Leo. (The area had a lot of Italian influence, so a lot of the Kenyans we met told us their "Italian" names. One of our best buddies on the beach was named Marco Polo. :)I saw some familiar sea creatures and some exotic animals on the reef.

A common scene during our day included many vendors who bothered us incessantly and camels walking by offering a ride.Most of my time was spent laying on the sandy beach or playing in the blue waves of the Indian Ocean. It was very difficult to leave and come back to the rain of Nairobi. (Yes! It's been raining!) It was a wonderful vacation that will need to be repeated or maybe God will send me to live there one day, open a missionary guest house, and enjoy the humidity daily. For now, it's back to reality... I've been very spoiled this month with several long weekends and national holidays. I have to remember that not every day in Africa is a holiday.