Endless Horizons On the Indian Ocean

Our Thanksgiving week commenced with a short flight to Diani Beach, a small town set on the shores of the Indian Ocean. Highly recommended by friends, we were excited for a tropical getaway. Within an hour we descended from 6000 feet to sea level and the humidity rose above 80 percent.

A tropical resort awaited, complete with lizards, mosquitoes, snakes, monkeys and spiders larger than my palm. But not to be frightened, we were warmly welcomed and cooly ensconced in our modern resort villa.

Let me take a moment to explain the Kenya welcome.

In Swahili, “welcome” is “karibu”. So much to my repeated confusion, greetings often went like this:

Kenyans, “Karibu!” (Welcome!)

Us, “Thank you!”

Kenyans, “Karibu!” (Welcome - as in, you’re welcome!)

I would also get briefly confused anytime I said thank you after receiving something and the response was “karibu!”. But it works both ways and it all makes sense in the end. Welcome! You’re welcome!

So back in Diani beach, the sand is white powder. The camels are decorated with jacaranda flowers, ready to give rides. A vast reef protects the beach from any waves and at low tide you can walk out 500 meters to a sand bar. Kenyans are ready and waiting on the beach to sell you something or take you on a tour. “Dear lady, looking is free!” Jordan headed out on his own to explore the reef and was quickly joined by a local guide. They spent over an hour exploring and came back with starfish and conch shells to show us. We gladly paid the guide and set up a time for Jordan to explore with him again the next morning.

In the evening we rode tuk-tuks to a restaurant in a cave for dinner, magically watching the stars appear through the opening as the sun set. It was touristy and totally cool. The kids feasted at the buffet breakfast and made friends in kids club. [Another note - Kenyans love kids and know how to keep them entertained.] Once she met the child minder, Rosie was inseparable from her until the moment we left, and also made a good friend (whose mother and I also became fast friends.) Russ and I enjoyed every moment without kids.

It was not going to be a Thanksgiving like any we’d ever known, but day we left, a full halo surrounded the sun and again we felt the magic of Kenya.