Kenya: A Trip Different from the Usual

Departure from Milan on 5 February, it's cold, but in a few hours we will be in Kenya again, and this time new itineraries!! We have already been to Kenya 4 times; the first time we stayed in Watamu for a week, then... we came back another 2 times. During our first trip we met Giovanni of in2kenya and with him we did the 2-day safari. The other two times, by then we had his email, booking in advance with Giovanni, we did a 4-day safari, visiting the parks of Tsavo East, Amboseli and Tsavo West. This time we decided to entrust our holiday entirely to his organisation, and to visit another part of Kenya. So we contacted him and asked him to organise our whole holiday. On arrival in Mombasa, we found him waiting for us, we went to the hotel, and immediately, as soon as we had left our bags and after a refreshing shower, we set off to discover Mombasa.

The other times we had always just passed through it, and known it in passing, but this time we devoted a bit of time to it!! We visited the old part, with its alleys, old houses with carved wooden balconies, the new part, with the business district, hotels still in the old English style!! Very beautiful was the visit to the fort: Fort Jesus. I must say I didn't expect it!! Very interesting, with a large square inside, the museum, with ancient pieces of Chinese vases. And off we go, I think we were right to stop a day here!!! The next morning, we set off, destination: the airport of Malindi. In fact, this time our holiday does not include a safari, but...

Lamu!! After a flight of about 40 minutes here we are at Lamu airport...it's a spectacle!! it feels like being in Africa:-) an attendant with a trolley arrives and loads all the luggage, then in the hall (well...under the mango tree!!) we meet the hotel's representative, who accompanies us to the jetty and off we go by speedboat to reach the island where we will stay! And so we spend 4 days wandering among the various islands. One of the most remote and certainly the least touristy is the island of Pate; after about 2 hours of sailing, partly on the open sea, partly between rows of mangroves, we arrive at Pate. It is a small town, where there are no tourists, and here too, as on the other islands, the means of transport are: your feet or donkeys!! many donkeys, walking through the little streets, alone, in groups, laden, with just a blanket on their backs.

After going around the island, crossing large palm groves and banana plantations, visiting the site of Shanga, the oldest archaeological site on the coast, we stop at a local bar to drink water. In the afternoon, while we are about to set off again for the return journey, so to speak the "road"..., the mayor of the island chases after us and asks if we can give him a lift to Lamu. The days pass, between visits to Lamu, with its fort, the museum of Swahili culture, the donkey hospital; a walk to the island of Shela, where past the promontory... sand dunes as far as the eye can see!! beautiful, solitary, a stretch of golden sand just for us!! Then one morning we rent a boat and have ourselves taken to the island of Manda.

Here too, what can I say...practically a deserted beach, very few resorts, which you can barely see, and sea sea sea!! Ah yes, in the evening, dinner at Hapa Hapa, a small place on the seafront, where they serve spectacular monster crabs!! and where they make fruit smoothies of various fruits that take you to paradise!! The time has come to return; on the 5th day we go to the airport and return to Malindi, and from here to Watamu, where we rest for the last 2 days before departure!! What can I say, we asked Giovanni to organise this holiday for us and he was up to everything: the day in Mombasa, the stay in the Lamu archipelago, the house for the two days in Watamu.

Thank you in2kenya, thank you Giovanni for organising this special holiday for us, a little off the usual "circuits"!!:-) Next time it will be a 7-day safari!!!! and then a stay by the sea! Total cost per person for 7 days with flights € 1,300/1,400 By now, we can easily say: if you want to have a safari, a stay in Lamu, various visits organised for you, just contact: Giovanni email: in2kenya@gmail.com