Finally! I made my way to the motherland. I’ve been meaning to come the last few years, but I was never able to make it work (usually due to work). I’m so glad I was able to come this time around. Let’s dive right into the trip highlights while everything is fresh on my mind!
Mombasa
Boat Ride
10 of us boarded onto the boat with the help of a couple sailors. Once we got on, we equipped ourselves with damp life vests. We rode the bumpy waves for about 15 minutes Until we found our spot in the ocean. You could still see the beach, which was comforting. The two men manning the boat anchored it and attach the ladder to the side. The boat rocked eagerly, and hesitation settled among most of us. But Moko was the first one to jump into the water! Witnessing his survival gave us all the greenlight to proceed (ha). I was still contemplating whether or not I was going to get in the water because the waves seemed much higher further out compared to on the actual beach. I began to feel more at ease when more of us got into the water. My sister was the true catalyst– this woman is brave. She wanted to jump off the side of the boat! She was a little nervous, but she definitely was going to do it and I wanted to do it with her. Cantara’s boldness is contagious. We took a few pictures (of course) then we sat on the ledge and hopped off! It was thrilling. The water was the saltiest water I have ever tasted but, oh! did it felt amazing! I quickly found my way up the latter deep, dark water makes me anxious. Plus, I have to remind you, the waves were high! I had a crazy idea of wanting to jump from the top of the boat and my sister wanted to do the same. However, as soon as I got to the top, I lost all of my courage. It took about 10 minutes of false starting before I could gain my composure to do it. I grabbed my sister‘s hand, we count to three, took a step and jumped from the top of the boat! This had to be the most freeing feeling I felt all year… I was so glad to have shared it with her because I was absolutely scared out of my mind. Honestly, it wasn’t that high up, but it felt insane to me at the time. My heart is full and I’m happy we shared that moment together.
Haller Park
This was an activity I tried to get out of, mainly because I wanted to rest. I wasn’t excited to see zoo animals after so much traveling (multiple planes, cars, vans and trains). I tried to stay home to rest a little bit, but I was encouraged to do otherwise. I’m glad they were successful because when we arrived to the park, I saw a huge tortoise and became so excited to see what else was in store. I saw all kinds of creatures. I never saw a millipede in person and so close (cool, but gross)! I also got to touch and interact with the tortoise. My sister got pretty close to a blue-ball monkey (scientific name?). I saw different species of crocodiles, warthogs, snakes, giraffes and gazelles. My absolute favorite was the palm garden. I was I could have spent more time there, lounging and taking in the sights. This is actually one of the first things you see when you enter, and it’s towards the left. It looked so dreamy, lush, and otherworldly. The simple things always catch my attention the most. Though I love animals, I would’ve really enjoyed sitting in that garden just to read and write. It was quite rainy that day and I enjoyed the down pour. I do love a good shower.
Sunrise
Did we wake up at 4:30am to catch the sunrise? Possibly. I can’t recall exactly how early we woke up but it was not easy! Three of us jumped in the car and headed for the beach to enjoy the sunrise. We were worried that we were missing it in the beginning but when we got there, we saw such beautiful colors. It was as if we witnessed two sunrises at once. When we got to the beach there was a soft orange yellow and grayish blue tints in the sky where the first rays of the sun had touched the earth. It’s the first golden hour of the day. It was quite beautiful; it looked like the sky was on fire as the sunrise progressed. Oddly enough, it didn’t continue to get brighter. Instead, it mellowed out and got darker and then regular daylight began to show… This is when you can actually see the sun through the clouds. It sounds counterintuitive. I’ll show pictures of the sunrise as it happened.
Nairobi
Braiding
My sister had an appointment to get her hair braided and I decided to join her. How can you not get your hair braided in the motherland? My sister opted for goddess knotless braids, and I got regular extra-long knotless braids in the color #30. We both tried something different. They began with removing my large box braids and followed up with a shampoo, conditioner and blow dried my hair right after. Shortly after, the braiding began. I have to say I kind of messed up a little bit because the lady was starting my hair and I noticed the braids would stop right at my chest. I did ask for extra-long braids. I wanted them to be double that length, but I wasn’t sure if there was another process to it of which I wasn’t aware. She was about seven braids in before I realized was going on. Another lady asked if I wanted them longer and I said yes. I felt really bad for letting her do all that work without saying anything… This is a personal reminder to myself to always speak up! I’m still working on this at my big age. At least a whole section wasn’t completed before we pivoted. She reworked those braids and added extra length. Overall, it took about 4 1/2 hours all the way through from the beginning to the end. I was under the impression that knotless braids aren’t tight, but boy was I wrong! The braids looked and felt amazing they last six weeks before I took them out
Art Gallery
The art gallery I visited is called “One Off Contemporary Art Gallery”. The main building was a two-story earthy hut from a fairytale. There were also peacocks walking around. I saw beautiful sculptures, both of wood and stone. I saw small figurines, large beautiful, feminine paintings as well as smaller prints. There were so many works of art that there was not enough space to display them correctly. The top floor had an overwhelming selection, it was impossible to go through half of them in the amount of time we had. I was only able to see all the items on display downstairs. Now… if I had known how captivated I’d become with one particular painting, I would have squirreled some funs aside to purchase the original. I suppose all things happen for a reason. The original piece was already marked as sold… and my heart was a little heavy.
Getting Sick
The last monumental experience of my stay in Kenya… was me getting sick. To this day I’m not sure what I had. Maybe it was some kind of respiratory infection… I have no clue. I just know everyone in my traveling group was getting sick with something and it finally made its way to me. I felt myself coming down with it about two or three days before I was supposed to get on a flight to go to Cindy‘s village. The day before my flight I had so much pressure in my head and face that I knew flying would be unbearable. Unfortunately, I had to stay behind. I stayed with Moko‘s cousin, Kanyi, and I was so thankful that her family was open to take me in, an unexpected stranger. They did so with such grace and amazing hospitality for which I am forever grateful. I had a lot of tea (referred to as “bawa” meaning medicine) by a company called Just Breathe. The main ingredients were garlic, ginger and cardamom along with other herbs and spice. The same company has steaming leaves that you add to hot water. The steaming was a little difficult for me because it was almost like suffocating but most of that was in my head. I really had to focus. I came up for fresh air every once in a while. The fresh menthol feeling seemed to burn the germs in my nasal passage. Between drinking the tea and steaming, I began feeling better within two days. I was almost 100% after day three. In all honesty, if I had to get sick again… I’d choose to relive this experience. Sounds strange, right? Never thought I’d type those words out, aha.
I want to give a special thanks to my family for extending the invitation (consistently, too) and making me feel so welcomed. I can’t begin to explain how much this trip has meant to me. It’s my wish and intention to create more of these memories together whether abroad or right here at home, in NC.
Thank you, so much ❤
Zaira Viteria 