Diani
Megan left with the driver today to go to the airport and I said goodbye to Marta a short while later (though I'll see her again on Monday when I return to Mombasa). I wasn't able to leave at the same time as Megan and had a couple of extra days to kill, so I took matatus and a ferry to Diani Beach and checked into a resort.
Diani falls into the "this can't possibly be Kenya" category and is by far the most amazing beach I've ever seen. Sorry Phuket, too bad Kauai, no dice Mazatlan. Diani is a bit of heaven. It's also known to people who follow these things (I learned a week ago) as the place where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were first photographed together.
The beach is amazing but I have to admit that my accomodations are pretty faboo as well. I'm staying in "The Sands at Nomad" a boutique hotel with pool, beachside bar, and health spa. The cost is ludicrous by Kenyan standards and I feel a bit guilty but more than that I feel quite lucky to be able to wrap up my vacation this way. It turns out that I don't particularly like sleeping under bats or finding spiders the size of my palm in the shower (it ran under my towel when I missed it with the flyswatter and I had to run out, half dressed, and find Megan to get rid of it for me). I hacked it with the bugs and the weird mattress and the mosquito nets and the water running out in the middle of my shower (I've had very bad shower karma here) and the cold food and the peanut butter for breakfast every day, and the decapitated millipede for five weeks and I think I'm done with all of that.
When I arrived here I saw the rooms - huge cushy bed, fridge and minibar, air conditioning, satellite television - and the pool - beautiful blue water surrounded by deck chairs, looking over the beach and with a conveniently located bar - and was instantly sold. I managed to wheedle the price down 20% and after filling out the registration form I learned that the breakfast buffet, internet access, and a 30 minute massage at the spa were all complimentary.
I took a long hot shower - my second hot shower in five weeks - and scrubbed myself down. It was a little discouraging to learn that most of what I thought was my tan is really layers of dirt and bug spray. I went to work on the actual tan, sat by the pool, walked down the beach, finished a book and two crossword puzzles, watched the waves and some Kenyan acrobats, and swam in the pool. I'm now catching up on the blog and the news of the world and then, when I would normally be tucking in the mosquito net and marvelling at how there seem to be more bugs inside the net with me than outside, I will slip into the jacuzzi with a Tusker.
Diani falls into the "this can't possibly be Kenya" category and is by far the most amazing beach I've ever seen. Sorry Phuket, too bad Kauai, no dice Mazatlan. Diani is a bit of heaven. It's also known to people who follow these things (I learned a week ago) as the place where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were first photographed together.
The beach is amazing but I have to admit that my accomodations are pretty faboo as well. I'm staying in "The Sands at Nomad" a boutique hotel with pool, beachside bar, and health spa. The cost is ludicrous by Kenyan standards and I feel a bit guilty but more than that I feel quite lucky to be able to wrap up my vacation this way. It turns out that I don't particularly like sleeping under bats or finding spiders the size of my palm in the shower (it ran under my towel when I missed it with the flyswatter and I had to run out, half dressed, and find Megan to get rid of it for me). I hacked it with the bugs and the weird mattress and the mosquito nets and the water running out in the middle of my shower (I've had very bad shower karma here) and the cold food and the peanut butter for breakfast every day, and the decapitated millipede for five weeks and I think I'm done with all of that.
When I arrived here I saw the rooms - huge cushy bed, fridge and minibar, air conditioning, satellite television - and the pool - beautiful blue water surrounded by deck chairs, looking over the beach and with a conveniently located bar - and was instantly sold. I managed to wheedle the price down 20% and after filling out the registration form I learned that the breakfast buffet, internet access, and a 30 minute massage at the spa were all complimentary.
I took a long hot shower - my second hot shower in five weeks - and scrubbed myself down. It was a little discouraging to learn that most of what I thought was my tan is really layers of dirt and bug spray. I went to work on the actual tan, sat by the pool, walked down the beach, finished a book and two crossword puzzles, watched the waves and some Kenyan acrobats, and swam in the pool. I'm now catching up on the blog and the news of the world and then, when I would normally be tucking in the mosquito net and marvelling at how there seem to be more bugs inside the net with me than outside, I will slip into the jacuzzi with a Tusker.
posted by Imle at 11:20 PM
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