One of the things I love most about travel is the part where you discover places off of the beaten path when you have the time to really explore. Watamu will forever be on my list of favorite places to visit. I heard of Watamu through some locals while in Nairobi. They were telling me about this beautiful beach city. Since I’m not a beach chaser, I wasn’t immediately excited about it, but I wanted to take a visit to Diani, Mombasa because I hadn’t been there before so I decided to add Watamu to that trip since it was so close.

It was only two hours away, I decided to take the bus. This was probably the worst bus ride I have ever experienced. There was no air conditioning on the bus, there were cockroaches crawling on the floor, beetles flying through the air, and it was the dirtiest seat I have ever sat on in my life. The bus was filthy and the air was so thick. I didn’t feel so safe because they told me theft on the bus was rampant, so I kept all of my bags in my lap to prevent any theft. The woman sitting across the aisle from me literally stared at me for the entire trip. This bus was like something from a horror movie. Once I arrived to Watamu, I ran so fast off that bus you would have thought I was running a marathon. Thankfully, my experience in Watamu was nothing like that bus ride. Once I arrived to the city, it wasn’t immediately apparent what an amazing time I would have.

My first night I simply wanted to recover from the bus ride, but then I decided to get some dinner. After browsing a tour book at my cottage, I came across the Crab Shack at Mida Creek. That was exactly what I needed so I headed there. Once I arrived at the Crab Shack, there was a guy there who asked if I wanted to take a sunset boat tour through the mangroves at Mida Creek. It was only $10 so I thought
why not. It might even help me relax from the trauma I had just experienced so I postponed dinner, and walked through the muddy water to get to the boat. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was close to sunset as we rode through the mangrove. Once we made it out of the mangroves, the sun had begun to set. This was the most amazing sunset that I had ever seen to date. There was a boat with a group of
guys near us, and the captain was rowing and dancing to the loud thumps of Drake that almost threw off my zen while I just quietly took it all in, but there was no chance I was letting that happen. The feeling of just being out there in the middle of the water, the wind gracefully blowing in my face, the beauty of the sunset, and my pure amazement that I was even there to witness it, threw me right back into a state of pure bliss.

After the boat ride, I headed over to the Crab Shack and had the most delicious crab dinner. The restaurant is right on the creek, but since it was dark, I couldn’t see a thing, but to hear the rustling of the trees, and the high pitched sounds coming from the animals of the sea was enough to remind me exactly where I was at that time. Once I finished my dinner, I headed back to my cottage simply exhausted from the events of the day. The next day was when I was scheduled to go to Rock & Sea Bubble Eco Lodge. The management team were kind enough to host me, and I found out that I was only the second blogger who has ever visited their hotel. The drive took about an hour because the driver got a bit turned around, but when I arrived, the manager greeted me and took me on a tour of the facility. I was awe stricken at what a beautiful place this was literally in the middle of nowhere. I, of course wanted to make b-line straight to the bubble eco-lodges, but he wanted to show me the restaurant first.

The restaurant was on a beautiful rooftop overlooking the water. I grabbed a cocktail then we headed to the bubble eco lodges. They currently have only three with two right in front of the water and the other in the woods. Each lodge had just the cutest décor and each had a small living room, bedroom and even a bathroom. It was covered with a tent so the lodges wouldn’t get so hot. Because it was a bit warm, I headed over to the pool. Once I arrived to the pool, someone immediately offered me a drink and brought over some delicious fruit. I knew I was in the right place. I spent the rest of the day in the pool and jacuzzi. Since there were only six guests at the entire facility, we were all in the pool like one big happy family. A bit after sunset we ordered dinner so they setup an actual dinner table right at the Jacuzzi. I had the seafood platter which was outstanding. When it was time to leave the next day, I felt like it was the last day of school, and it was time to leave all of my friends. I didn’t want to go, but it was time. They sent me home by boat, which only took 15 minutes compared to the hour ride I took to get there. I had an amazing time. Once I left there, I headed to my daily hangout spot, Papa Remo Beach. I enjoyed going there because their restaurant has a great beach view, a nice selection of food, and the perfect ginger drink. I would literally sit there for hours just talking to the bartender and taking in the view.

Earlier, I told you about a boat ride I took. Well, Patrick, the boat captain invited me to breakfast at his home the following morning so I stopped by the store so I wouldn’t show up empty handed then took a tuk tuk to his place. Once the tuk tuk stopped, Patrick was there to greet me. We walked in the heat for about 20 minutes to get to his mud home community. When we arrived, Patrick had his son bring out a plastic table and chairs for us to sit for the meal. Patrick sat at the head of the makeshift breakfast table where his wife served us fried dumplings and coconut juice. I met his entire family from his wife and kids to his parents, and even several neighbors came by to speak to his new American friend. They were all so kind to me that I felt like I was in the south of the US. His daughter stayed glued to my hip and held my hand tight. When it was time to leave, they had to pry her away from me. I felt so loved. I mean these were perfect strangers with very little, and they thought enough of me to share with me what they had.

The next day Patrick took me on a snorkeling tour where I saw all of the beautiful animals of the sea through a glass bottom boat. Afterwards, I was dropped off on the beach where I walked around and explored lover’s mountain. It’s a beautiful small mountain that overlooked the ocean. This was my last day in Watamu, but I literally enjoyed this city right up until the last moment.