well we got back from Watamu later than planned on Wednesday due to a VIP leaving Nairobi.The beach was amazing, I can see why it has been rated among the top ten in the world. Unfortunately we visited during a period where there was a lot of seaweed - which should be absent November - April.
There are three bays which are protected by a reef, which means that the waves are not too scary, we were confused by the way the tides varied from day to day - one day at four we'd gone swimming, when the next day the tide was out - completely! We still swam a lot in the warm warm ocean, and spent one morning snorkelling (not a lot of fish, and dead coral)
We had also forgotten how high humidity can really drain all the energy out of you, and spent long hours in the shade resting.
traditional dhow
Santi - a beach boy who took us on a reef tour with octopus (borrowed for photo)
Lon holds a starfish
low tide
dhow detail
shipbuilding
idyllic
fish in a rock pool
Watamu reminded me a lot of Zanzibar the first time, still a bit unspoiled - but maybe its because we were among only relatively few tourists. The troubles after the elections have hit the tourist industry hard, and only the intrepid italians are around in any number. They tend to stay in their hotels eating italian food (one website for a hotel I saw when planning our trip boasted of its Italy trained chef). Hence the title, instead of saying "jambo" like you might expect almost everyone greets you with "ciao" and kids with "ciao carameli" - "hello sweets"
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