One Crazy Weekend

The last few days have been such a crazy whirlwind I don’t even know where to begin this blog. This weekend a group of volunteers decided we wanted to see Diani Beach. It has been named the most beautiful beach in Africa and it was! But that’s not where the adventure started, it started about 15 hours before our feet touched the sand when we all met up to take a 12ish hour overnight bus. We knew a night bus across Kenya sounded crazy but we were up for whatever happened! The night busses in Kenya are so sketchy. At times everyone in the bus would jerk awake because the driver was driving headfirst into oncoming traffic to get around the cars and then off roading on the bumpiest roads I’ve ever been on in my life. I woke up once and looked out the window and there were people running after the bus and along side it holding up things to sell in the windows and banging on the side of the bus in the dark. At one point it sounded like we hit something really hard and were tipping. At like 2am we stopped at a rest stop. Now, rest stops in America are sketchy but this one in Africa takes the cake. There were all these guys just standing around so we ran into the bathroom which was filled with tons Arab women waiting in line to use the toilets- which by the way were just holes in the ground. Needless to say we hurried back to the bus. We finally arrived in Mombasa which is the biggest city before Diani Beach. We had no idea where we were so we got off the bus and got swarmed by guys wanting to give us rides. We decided to take a Tut Tut which is like a bike that squeezes 4 people in it and the drivers are crazy, because it’s small it can weave in and out of traffic. The guy dropped us off at a ferry which we had no idea where to go for so we wandered the wrong way against hundreds of people rushing past us until a security guard escorted us to the ferry. Once we took the ferry we were persuaded to get on this bus that CLAIMED they would take us to Diani Beach. Now, T.I.A (this is Africa) so you really don’t know who to trust but we were delirious from no sleep so we got on and as we started to leave, another bus came down the wrong side of the road and blocked everyone in and started a bus pile up with multiple drivers screaming at each other for like an hour. Finally they cleared it up (by one bus driving in reverse up a hill with people almost getting hit and we were off. About an hour later the bus stops and says oh by the way we can’t take you to Diani Beach you have to get off here. So we were shoved off and were like where the heck are we?? So we got another Tut tut and after a very bumpy ride FINALLY arrived at our hostel- a total of 15 hours after we left. The hostel was specifically for backpackers and young people traveling all over and was a 5 minute walk from the beach. Here is a picture of our dorm type room 

After all the transportation drama we finally arrived in paradise

The beach had pure soft white sand and the water was so blue. We just walked on the beach in awe until we came across some camels and of course we had to ride them! Getting on and off was scary but the ride was so high up and fun. The whole time we were walking with an amazing view of the ocean we were all like we cant believe we are riding camels in Africa right now. It was a really cool experience.

view from the top

We decided to eat dinner at a beach front restaurant and as we were eating a monkey swiftly jumped out our table, grabbed all the potatoes and ran away! Luckily I snapped a picture just in time 

As beautiful as the beach was, there was also a side of it I didn't like. Anywhere you would go, groups of African men would follow you, harass you, and try to sell you things. These guys were relentless. At one point my friend showed an interest in buying a necklace or something so we walked a little ahead of her while she stopped to talk to the guy. 1 min later we turn around and there were 8 guys surrounding here trying to sell her things. Also we would see old couples walking hand in hand on the beach with like 3 guys surrounding them and following them. We only got to spend one night at the beach and then had to turn around and make the whole journey back home again but we all agreed it was worth it. Nairobi and Kenya in general is a very chaotic place so just getting a weekend away from the crazy city was so refreshing. 

Our night bus the next night left at 9:30 and we had to be there at 9 so were like we need to leave at 5 to give us ALOT of time because traffic here is so unpredictable. But the manager at the hostel was like oh no there wont be traffic you need to leave at 6. So we believed her and learned our first lesson here- don’t be so trusting! There was so much traffic we sat in one spot for an hour and didn’t move once. After sitting for so long without moving, our driver just turned off the car and got out and left. We started freaking out because we were sitting in the middle of a city at rush hour with the windows down and tons of people walking past looking in our car so we were frantically truing to lock the doors and roll up the windows. Finally he comes back and just says “traffic jam.” We realize that we have moved 1 inch in several hours and were not going to make the 9:30 bus. We started getting scared thinking we were going to be stranded at the bus stop at night in a strange city. All of us were on edge. Once the traffic jam FINALLY cleared we went so fast trying to make it to the bus we said there should have been thriller music playing because we didn’t know if we would make it or not! We come speeding into the parking lot so happy and in shock because it was 8:56. We were like omg we got here with time to spare because the bus doesn't leave until 9:30 right? Wrong. We run to the counter asking where the bathroom is because we had been trapped in a car for 3 hours and thought we would have time to pee. Wrong. The lady was like oh the bus is actually leaving at 9 so its leaving right now. We are like WHAT so we run to the bus and literally jump on it with 1 minute to spare. We were like omg what are the chances. Well we were sitting there and my friend and i were like there is no way we are going to make it on this overnight bus without using the bathroom first (theres no bathroom on these busses) so we ran to ask the driver if he could wait just 1 more min for us to get off and use the bathroom real quick. but as we were running to the front the bus starts moving and we fly forward and almost fall. We were like NOOOOOOO and walked back to our seats so pissed but happy we at least made it. BARELY. But after the craziness of getting there with 1 min to spare wore off we looked around and were like oh crap this bus is HORRIBLE. It was so sketchy and ghetto and bumpy that everyone was flying up and down slamming into each other. We had tears in our eyes laughing so hard at the situation we were in. There were bags flying off the overhead bins hitting people the whole ride because of the bumps and the seat had less leg room than an airplane. I was in a constant battle with the woman in front of me whose seat reclined all the way to my lap and bruised my knees. In situations like that you just have to laugh. Because T.I.A this is Africa! We awoke at 5am to the lights flashing on and everyone getting off. We were like where the heck are we, we weren't even supposed to arrive until 7. The bus driver had driven so fast and crazy that we had arrived 2 hours earlier and were now being dropped at a strange location in the center of Nairobi in the dark. We get off and once again laugh at these situations we get put in. We eventually found our way home but just from this trip we have learned that you have to embrace the craziness of Africa. Nothing is going to go according to plan, everything is harder than it seems, and you will constantly be in a state of confusion but you just have to roll with it. It is a weekend I will never forget!