The place we are staying is in the middle of an animal sanctuary, so we live amongst zebras, giraffes and gazelle, as well as a rather sweet dog who comes to say a daily hello and then runs off. There are the hippos below, and any number of birds, including a highly territorial pair which […]
Narrow escape
We called a car and took it further along Naivasha to the next lake along, formerly a salt lake with flamingos and now freshwater with fish. The restaurant overlooked the small lake, with a couple of warthogs grazing on bent knee by the shore. It was all a little like being at the Punjab Club, […]
Fresh water
Just finished Binyavanga Wainaina’s memoir, and it was like a draught of fresh water for the mind, so clever and thoughtful and funny. A particular relief after the last great Kenyan novel I read. I had worried rather than I was losing the ability to concentrate and enjoy anything other than the most straightforward prose, […]
Stormy weather
This morning Russia invaded Ukraine. Is this the start of something new? In the past years of growing fragility and certainties shaken, it has felt as though we are ratchetting up to catastrophic breakdown. It this it? Or is it a story and actually history just keeps going and there is no cataclysmic moment? Two […]
Spotlight in the sky
It was the full moon last night and I worked till fairly late and then the GF had a late meeting. After I finished work I finished the book I’d been reading, Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor. It’s very well regarded, but I didn’t like it particularly. I thought it far, far too long and […]
Pub and palace
Yesterday evening our cook took us on a little tour of the village – something he does for the backpacker lodge as well, so it’s a fairly well trodden route, with stops that are intended to introduce visitors to points of interest for donations, future stays, buying drinks etc. It was quite pleasant, and interesting […]
Rasta lunch
This afternoon, our boat guy, a rastafarian came over to take us to his restaurant. This was down a path we’d never been down, through small tree-covered valleys, in a village about 10 minutes away, down small criss-crossing trails that would not boggle Google Maps quite thoroughly. The place itself was up the side of […]
Luxury living
We arrived in Kilifi yesterday evening, and life has suddenly taken a turn for the luxurious. We have a little house with its own small swimming pool under an immense baobab tree. Just above the pool is a wide veranda with a couple of sofas and a dining table, so this is probably where we […]
A longish journey
We drove from Diani to to Mombasa and on to Kilifi today. Before we drove out, our Airbnb host turned up, freshly arrived from Christmas with her family in Austria. She seemed very pleasant and talkative, gave some recommendations for Kilifi, and I took the opportunity to suggest a daily emptying of the rubbish. A […]
Final acts
Last night we watched the final episode of the first season of Succession. A very entertaining TV programme, though not yet approaching the greats. I understand that this may change in the second or third season. I was correct in my prediction as to where Kendall and his father would end, and correct in spirit […]