The bus picked us up from the hotel in the early morning to take us on the day trip to Wasini IslanWe we saw rural villages, tall palm trees, and lush green on the way thereerVisitinging the village life was not as surprising as the first time.
The bus took us to the departure dock at Shimoni village. The crew introduced themselves upon boarding the dhow and gave instructions regarding the boat and the coming journey in different languages. The day looked very promising.
First, the dhow traveled to Kisite Marine National Park. Within the Wasini Channel, rare hump-backed dolphins can often be sighted. We also made a stop for dolphin watching. This was very interesting. Although we took hundreds of shots, at least we were not lucky enough to catch dolphins in the picture.
After the dolphins, we sailed further to the reef and stopped for snorkeling. We were promised that the wildlife here is fantastic. Also, based on our previous experiences in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Sea, our expectations were high, and we also encouraged our friends to join us in the snorkeling experience.
The real snorkeling experience here was, unfortunately, less than expected. The water was not crystal clear. Also, it was not steep. We saw the reef, but I expected colorful fish as well, but we did not see much of them. Instead, there were a lot of sea urchins. Two of us got hurt by them. The hand that touched the sea urchin puffed up in seconds. At the dhow, the crew beheaded the injured hand with papaya juice, giving relief.
After snorkeling, we drove to Wasini island. First, we had a seafood lunch here. Lunch was served in an open restaurant. It began with crabs and progressed to fish, including red snapper. We tasted local papaya (white) wine, which was better than expected but not our favorite.
An excursion followed the lunch to the island. Wasini Island is about 5 km long and 1 km across. The island is sparsely populated and undeveloped. There are no roads or cars. The tour guide was very enthusiastic. During the excursion, we also saw a local school—how children here are taught on the floor. Before departure, local children successfully sold us a couple of tiger seashells for a couple of coins and pens as souvenirs.
On the ride back to the mainland, we just relaxed as the day had been full of different experiences. By dinner, we were back in our hotel. Here we expected the snake show and back, as our trip to Kenya was unfortunately about to end.
