Snorkelling

Sunday 30.01.11

We woke up early to let the fundis in this morning, but then went back to sleep for a couple of hours.  Unfortunately, sleep ins aren’t that pleasant as it gets too hot too quickly, especially upstairs.  We had a cruisy morning at the house just blogging and catching up on some things and at 12pm Yasid turned up lovely and early with all of Tammi’s furniture!

It was a bit of a struggle getting it all upstairs, especially the bunk beds.  After disassembling everything then putting it back together it was finally done.  The bunks are incredibly solid, considering they seem to slant at a weird angle!  It is funny as even with the couch, it looks great but when you look closer the stitches are a bit odd and the fabric has been cut a bit roughly.  But considering the price, the time it took to prepare and the great first impression it makes - it’s a great couch!

Once everything was set up Yasin left, after inviting us for a lunch of the fish that he caught the night before!  It still surprises me how generous some people are, even though their religions clearly frown on the inclusion of others.  Sherif was even telling us he is happy to invite us to his home but apologised for not being able to shake his hands as it’s not appropriate in his religion.

We were planning to head snorkeling at White Sands this afternoon so had to decline Yasin’s offer of lunch, but maybe another time.  We headed straight into White Sands and had another lunch.  I had an amazing Thai green curry and it was literally the best curry I have ever had!  We then headed down to the beach to do some bargaining with the locals to find a cheap snorkeling trip.  Every time you ask someone’s name on the beach they all tell you they are called ‘captain’ something which is pretty funny.

As usual, I had about 4 people try to sell me marijuana and they are all genuinely shocked when I decline as to them there is no doubt that I am a rastafarian, just because of my hair, and therefore I must spend all my days smoking dope!  We found a nice couple of guys to take us snorkelling and we went out towards the reef where there is some amazing coral and even more beautiful fish.

The water was so warm, even out that far from the beach.  It also isn’t that deep and I could swim down to the bottom to get a closer look at times.  It was the most amazing experience and we saw starfish, long skinny fish called trumpet fish, zebra fish, tiny fluorescent blue fish, clam shells, sea urchins, an eel, sea cucumbers, fluorescent coral that looked like neon lights, some strange small swordfish and so many more things.  When we first got in we were given some bread and the fish were all around us trying to eat it.  I’m not sure that feeding them is the best thing to do but even that was a great experience.

The boat had a glass bottom and I could swim under the boat and Tammi got some photos of me from inside the boat!  There was another snorkeling group out there and also a scuba diving group too.  We swam right out from the boat and covered a large part of the reef, which is part of the National Marine Park.  Apparently next week, when the low tide begins, you can drive the boat right out to the far reef and it is out of water with sandbars and you can see some amazing wildlife.  I may even go back then, depending on what we are up to.

Anyway, the whole experience was amazing, and I thought I had seen nice fish in Australia but it was nothing like the number and colour here!  I am so glad I did it.  I also paid for Tammi to go as she was struggling with the decision as she needed money for the orphanage, and she wasn’t even sure she would enjoy it.  But she loved it and even got the hang of snorkeling and was so glad she went too.  In the end, at $30 each for 2 hours it was a great bargain!

The most annoying thing so far about Mombasa is not the heat, but the sun.  Ever since that first day in Nairobi that I got sunburnt, I have been covering myself in cream every time we are planning to go out in the sun.  Even though I am using SPF30+ I am still being painfully burnt.  It is a weird sunburn, as I don’t even turn that red (although it is a pretty bright pink) but it hurts almost instantly and aches for 2 day.  It is so different to back home!

We got home and it was great to see the furniture again!  I still don’t have a light in my room which is annoying but am making do with candles.  As I am typing this on the new sofa, we are watching about 40 ants run around in circles dying on the floor, thanks to an electric Mortein thing.  Take that evil ants!