Snorkeling, an octopus dinner at the coast of Kenya
By Sharon Tunoi
The Kenyan coast is one of the top destinations for tourists and a darling for anyone seeking to explore Kenya’s premium sandy beaches
As the holidays set in, ten of us decided to head down to Watamu and Kilifi for a much-deserved break. Instead of taking the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) train, a favorite for Kenyans seeking to save time, we opted for an evening ride with one of Kenya’s popular buses. The bus left at exactly six o’clock, launching our journey into what would be one of the most exciting holidays I have ever gone for. Our excursion began with our night drive to Kilifi with stopovers at Nairobi and Mtito- Andei. The seats of the bus conveniently recline in case you need to lay back when the journey gets tiring and the air conditioning remains a blessing in the hot town. Ours was a very smooth ride.
Fourteen uneventful hours later we were hit with the warm salty air and a strong aura of the ocean, a confirmation that we had landed at the Coast. We had a pit stop at Mombasa town in the wee hours, had the bus refueled, and then proceeded to Kilifi. At eight o’clock, we arrived at Kilifi town, our home for the next few days. Pangs of hunger forced us to hunt for an outlet where we could have breakfast, and we found ourselves at a real “Swahili dishes”, a small restaurant near the Kilifi bridge. We launched our Swahili cuisine exploration with Mahamri, samosas, tea, and some fruit salad, a meal that cost us less than KSH 100 (Less than $1). After our hefty breakfast, we proceeded for grocery shopping that would last us the entire week as we had been made aware that the house was quite out of town and it was better to get the supplies in advance.
Stocking Up
We had a quick dash into Naivas supermarket, picked up things from the pre-written list we had, then arranged for transportation to our accommodation. Living in an Airbnb, like many other clients, we stocked up on food, drinks, and snacks. We boarded a matatu, loaded our luggage, and headed out to Wesa beach. The journey was beautiful as we sighted tall palm trees, baobab trees, and even baobab trees. The palm trees, which had bottles tied at the top for tapping local wine, popularly known as mnazi, had beautiful carvings, meant to serve as footholds for the person climbing up the trees, etched on their sides.
Calamari rings (fried octopus) are made by the chef at Wesa house. Octopus is a delicacy enjoyed by people on the Kenyan coast and can be cooked as a stew or fried. Sharon Tunoi/ The Insider
At The Beach House
When we arrived at Wesa House, we were welcomed by Charles, who would delight us with his expertise in Swahili dishes for our entire duration. The manager and his team were there to receive us and ported our bags to the rooms. The house is a big beautiful Villa-style home that can host up to sixteen people, and is the only house by the beach in the area. The house has a big pool that overlooks the garden, which leads directly to the quiet white sandy beach. Charles proceeded to show us to our rooms: A main bedroom on the first floor that had a beautiful balcony overlooking the beach, where one could watch the sunrise. There was also a honeymoon suite and an extra room with three beds in it for groups of friends. The house was tastefully decorated with a Swahili influence: tables and chairs made of hardwood and wood from mango trees. There was a lounging area by the pool set with Lamu day beds donned with comfortable cushions and pillows to relax outside when it gets too hot inside.
Having Charles, our chef was an added advantage. All it took was coming up with a menu and the groceries needed and he would blend them into an amazing meal. His menu options favored Swahili dishes, consisting of fresh seafood, which he recommended we were at the coast. On our first night, we ate an amazing meal of baked swordfish, with some rice and potatoes and French beans. It was amusing that the fish’s bones were blue and tasted like cod liver oil, which brought nostalgic memories of our childhood when we were given the oil to prevent cough.
We had our sundowners at the rooftop lounging area where we enjoyed coffee, and alcoholic drinks accompanied by samosas, potato crisps, and fried calamari rings, made from a fried octopus. We enjoyed riding on the evening waves of the Indian Ocean before the tides became too high.
Visiting Watamu and exploring excursions
As part of our holiday, we took a 45-minute drive to Watamu Marine Park. A local guide had given us his initial charge of Ksh 1300 per person for the excursion, which included snorkeling and dolphin watching but was exclusive of the Ksh 200 park entry fee charged by the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS). As fate would have it, we lost our initial guide while looking for his boat, and ended up with a boy who linked us to his uncle, also in the same trade who gave us a deal at half price.
We sailed to our snorkeling venue, where we saw turtles, baby sharks, and schools of colorful fish. Out of peer pressure, my friends convinced me with my poor swimming skills, to try snorkeling, which involved being submerged in water. I gave in, a decision I will never regret. The ocean floor looks better and different from what one can see from the surface. It felt like looking at another universe under the water, with the coral reefs forming crater-like valleys in the ocean that looked deep. After the excursion, we headed out for a chill afternoon in Watamu town, where we looked for the Non-Solo Gelato, which sells good Italian Ice-cream. I picked the After-Eight flavor which is chocolate and mint as we went looking for good Biryani and Pilau.
It was a holiday that still makes me smile.
Recent Comments