Aside from our serious research interest in Diani, we managed to have loads of fun in between! I got a super cheap deal on a room (I’m pretty sure when I mentioned to the guesthouse that I needed a better price, the lady nodded to the boys and said “Oh yes, I’m sure they can’t pay that much. What would you like to pay?” I told her, and it was just that easy. It pays to be local.) Suddenly, the four of us were booked for six days at one of the most beautiful beaches in Kenya. And better yet, I originally booked online for 1 night in a 4-person room, but the largest they actually have was a 3-person room… so the boys stayed in one room and I got another to myself :) We spent most days walking the beach, swimming in the ocean, and taking an afternoon swim in our guesthouse pool. We went into Mombasa for one day, because I, not falling far from the tree, thought that it should be partially educational. So, we took a matatu and the ferry to go to Fort Jesus. We were drenched in sweat, it was blazing hot, and the fort wasn’t that exciting. After we left the fort, we wandered through the Old City. A gentleman came up to me and said something in Swahili, of which I only caught “Pole” (sorry). I grabbed Onesmus to talk to the man and after a brief exchange, I asked Onesmus what the man said. The man was apologizing to me because he thought I had been beaten and felt sorry for me. The back of my knees were red from a bit of a sunburn…clearly he was not familiar with white girl problems (ie sunburns). But I appreciated his genuine concern for me.

I picked a few of my favorite photos from our time at the beach. Hope you enjoy:

We couldn’t get seats on the 9pm bus, so we had to take a later bus. Trying to kill time, John and Patrick borrowed two books I had brought with my: Learn Swahili and Lonely Planet East Africa. I felt like I should be reading a Learn English or Lonely Planet USA book.