The travel time from Mombasa to Diani Beach is an hr, so they say. No one seems to calculate traffic lol. The time it took me to get to Diani from Mombasa was a little over two hours, including the ferry ride.
Inside Swahili Beach Resort Room
Diani is known for its white sand, and is a major beach on the Indian ocean. I stayed two nights at Swahili Beach Resort. I loved this resort. Staff was very nice, checkin process was smooth (I was given a welcome drink as well), and the premises was beautiful. There is also a Japanese and Indian restaurant on the grounds. Reservations have to be made for both restaurants. I made reservation at the Indian restaurant. Please be careful with your belongings because they have cheeky monkeys. When you’re not in your room, close the balcony doors and windows. I honestly can’t stand monkeys ever since my encounter with one in Bali. One climbed up my back and stole my earring lol.
The Spice Route
For dinner I ordered the chilly garlic mushrooms as an appetizer, chilly garlic fish (white snapper) as an entree with a side of vegetable biriyani. I can not remember the names of the drinks I had. One was called purple something. I had no complaints with dinner. Everything is just yummy, very tasteful. For dessert, the waiter brought me some mini chocolate cakes from the main dinning room. Indian dessert doesn’t hit so I’m told.
The next day I had a tour to Wasini Island. The tour was delayed for 2hrs due to heavy rain. Wasini island is about 7km long. Mpunguti lower and upper is a fisherman’s place. Slaves were kept here underground a long time ago, transported to Zanzibar for further market. It is called shimoni. From the start (shimoni) to the marine park it takes 1hr and 1/2.
In order to get to Wasini you have to take a boat. I was on a dhow, a typical Swhaili boat. Snorkeling is also apart of the tour, and guess what I snorkeled. I have never snorkeled in my life due to me not knowing how to swim. You do not need to know how to swim in order to snorkel. I wish I took pictures because nobody would ever believe i snorkeled! On our way back to Wasini, we ended up seeing dolphins and whale. Omgosh I have a video of a dolphin flipping in the air. Like how cool is that? Something you usually see on tv I got to see in real life.
Lunch was served in Wasini. It was low tide so the boat drops you as close as possible to the restaurant and you walk the rest of the way. I didn’t like lunch very much (the snapper and prawns). Lunch is prepared before you get there, so some of the items was cold; snapper and prawns (prawns was an additional fee). The snapper is smoked that’s why it’s prepared before arriving. I asked them to heat it up but it didn’t taste the same. What I did like was the spread on the table. On the table was coconut sauce, rice, cassava, seaweed, rice, chapati, and crabs. What a feast. That’s how I like to eat at home when guest are over. Just makes the table look rich and wealthy lol. Drinks are not included. I got the Wasini special. It is non-alcoholic and was very tasteful.
Later that evening I had reservations at Ali Barbours Cave, aka Ali Baba. The cave is about 120-180K years old. It is 10 meters below ground level. The roof is open to the sky which is pretty. You can literally see the stars. I ordered two bottles of Prosecco (yes 2 cause why not? Bottles are very cheap here so of course I took advantage lol), pan grilled barracuda fish, and for dessert assorted Italian ice creams. Dinner also came with some bread. Everything was delightful. I have no complaints. I told the staff it was my birthday and they sang happy birthday to me. So touching.
From the roots, raw, original, African beauty. Head to toe