Sabaki River

My parents have been here. My dad could only stay for a week, but my mom stayed a little longer. She just got home yesterday.

To make sure they knew where they were, they got to experience Kilifi water problems (complete with hauling water), getting hassled by traffic police who want someone to buy them a cup of chai, and Mom even went through a 24-hour widespread (seems like it started in western Kenya and spread all the way to the coast) blackout with us. We fed them good food, took them sightseeing a bit, and hung out together a lot.

We took a little excursion the day after they arrived. Dad had read online about a cottage on the Sabaki River. It's supposed to be a good place to see birds, off the main tourist path.

We found the owner's phone number and reserved the cottage: 2 rooms with private bathrooms for $30 (USD). As we were settling in to our rooms, Rodgers sat and talked with the owner (also called Rodgers). As is custom, they asked about each others' names, thus found out who their respective family members are, and determined that the owner of this cottage is (my) Rodgers' uncle!

In the evening, once the sun wasn't so hot, we walked down to the river, near the ocean. We saw some birds and lots of cows.

mural at the entrance

the rooms are on the first floor, the family stays upstairs

on the road

mangrove shoots

flamingos at the ocean were a welcome surprise!

Nate collected tiny crab pincers

trying to watch birds with Grandpa

Then we went back to the cottage for chicken stew and ugali. They don't have electricity, so we went to bed early. 

Rodgers and my dad went back out the following morning, taking a different route, and got to wade through silt up to their knees. It was quite the experience! Since their shoes were no longer wearable, we headed home after breakfast.