I just got back from Kenya. I learned nothing about the country and I did next to nothing and that’s the way I wanted it to be. I met up with my American friend who lives in Pakistan and his Mexican friend who lives in Afghanistan. Naturally, they were pretty keen to relax and I, having worked almost non-stop for six weeks, seven days a week, 12 hours a day, was happy to oblige.
It’s not often that I go on a pure holiday just to relax but I have to say that doing nothing is underrated. We stayed at Diani Beach, south of Mombasa and got a great deal on a cottage with a porch view of the sea. I spent a lot of time on that porch reading and chatting, seemingly moving only to eat. I certainly felt decadent and it got old after five days, but, for what the holiday was meant to be for, it was perfect.
Ok a part of me did feel a bit guilty for sticking to tourist restaurants with only one foray into the town, but the rest of me was perfectly fine with that. We all went on a very unsuccessful fishing trip, one friend went diving and the other slept about 14 hours per day and rarely left the cottage. I managed to scrape myself off of the couch on the porch and on to Nairobi to join a Masai Mara safari which was well worth the effort. At the time, the task of finding and booking a safari and changing my flights seemed monumental, but with baby steps I escaped my laziness and made things happen.
It’s certainly not a style of travel I’m going to get used to and I found myself getting bored of beach life after a few days, but a trip like this is a fantastic way to recharge the batteries. Being away from the internet always means my head gets stuffed with new ideas so I can’t wait to get back to work and put some serious hours in until the end of October.
What then? I’m not sure but you can bet it won’t involve vegging out on a porch at the beach. I’m thinking I’ll finally head to Uganda and get some volunteer farm work under my belt. Or maybe a couple of weeks checking out Ethiopia. I’m not sure but for the moment I’m really happy to be back in Kigali, welcomed by what I think is the best weather in the world, and eager to get back to work.
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