This was the case for [...]]]> For the western people, used to choose the desired objects on a brochure, in shops or supermarkets, it seems pretty unusual that to buy a lamp you have to select a pattern in the images of a book, make pencil sketches and then look at the craftsman who will create it.

This was the case for Lonno Lodge’s brass lamps, present in the exteriors and in some rooms, and that was the procedure we followed.

It was not easy to find a craftsman, but it was a pleasure to meet Nazir who from thin sheets of brass, with great care and bending, eventually embossed with a clever job of chasing to create unique objects.

His shop is in the old town of Mombasa.  If you go there to meet him, he will welcome you with a smile.

For a concise description of the Sabaki river please see Wikipedia. Pictures courtesy of Adam O’Keeffe.

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Flights to Kenya November 6th, 2009

updated 10/01/2010 Well, obviously there are no direct flights to [...]]]> updated 10/01/2010
Well, obviously there are no direct flights to Watamu, the 2 closest airports are Malindi and Mombasa. Actually  from Europe you can only fly direct to Mombasa or to Nairobi, and from Nairobi down to Malindi or to Mombasa with a local flight.
We can then arrange transfer to/from these two airports to the Lodge, please consider 20min. drive from Malindi to the lodge and 2 hours drive from Mombasa to the Lodge.

Flying to Mombasa:

• From England:
  you can fly with Monarch Airlines that has weekly flights from London and Manchester to Mombasa.
• From Germany:
  Condor flies 2/3 times a week from Franfurt to Mombasa, with several good connection with other European cities (Oslo, Stockholm, Brussels, Barcelona, Kopenhagen, Paris to name a few, see their web site for the full list). AirBerlin too has direct flights from Munich and Dusseldorf to Mombasa, with connection from several other cities.
• From Belgium:
  JetAirFly has a weekly flight from Brussels to Mombasa.
• From The Netherlands:
  MartinAir appears to have a bi-weekly flight from Amsterdam directly to Mombasa.
• From Italy:
  direct flights to Mombasa from Milan, Rome, Bologna and Verona with AirItaly, Eurofly, Neos and Livingston, a good starting point for scheduling and pricing is the Condor web site.
• From Switzerland:
  Swiss has a weekly flight from Zurich to Mombasa, it’s every thursday, with great connections to/from many european cities.

• Ethiopian Airlines has  direct flight from Addis Ababa to Mombasa 3 times a week. From Europe it’s not really a direct flight, but Ethiopian has good connections with several European cities, see their web sites for details, and you’ll be landing in Mombasa flying with a single airline.

Flying to Nairobi:

If you opt for a flight to Nairobi, or if you have no other choice , the list of Airlines flying from Europe to Nairobi is pretty long, and each one has connections inside its own network with cities to leave from:

• Airfrance,
• Air India,
• British Airways,
• Brussels Airlines,
• Egypt Air,
• Ethiopian Airlines,
• Kenya Airways,
• Klm,
• Qatar Airways,
• Swiss Air Lines,
• Virgin Atlantic Airways.

Flying from Nairobi to Malindi/Mombasa:

• Fly540 has direct flights from Nairobi to Malindi 3 times a day (as well as several flights from Nairobi to Mombasa)
• Kenya Airways operates regular fllights from Nairobi to Mombasa several times a day
• also AirKenya has regular flights from Nairobi to Malindi (and Mombasa too), you only have to change airport since it operates from the Wilson Airport.

Kakoneni is a really small village some 30km north of Watamu, a bunch of tiny huts with makuti and tin roofs, sitting 30 mt. higher on the Sabaki river quietly flowing in a natural depression. Actually, there are no [...]]]> Kakoneni is a really small village some 30km north of Watamu, a bunch of tiny huts with makuti and tin roofs, sitting 30 mt. higher on the Sabaki river quietly flowing in a natural depression. Actually, there are no real “attractions”, but the greatness of the place is that with a simply few hour 4WD tour you’re transported inside the beauty of Kenya, bordering the savana, and well far away the tourism of the coast and the parks.
From Kakoneni we drove down to the Sabaki river, trough a natural pond where locals fish their daily catch. A quick walk on the river’s border, just to have a fresh coconut that a few brave guys harvested for us from the very top of a high palm, and then a visit to the Kakoneni Irrigation Scheme, a project joining together 200 really small farms and farmers. It’s a really small irrigation project that simply raise the water from the bottom of the river to distribute it to the farms, producing tomato, mais and vegetables. In a country where community actions are not what we are used to see, this one is a real surprise and we’re really impressed by the results that it produces.
Time for an icy beer, under a baobab tree, and then back to the lodge for a swim in the pool. A trip that you will enjoy too for its natural simplicity.

Mambrui is a really small fisherman village just one hour drive north of Watamu, over Malindi and the Sabaki river. It faces the long sandy beach between the river and Ngomeni salt mines, called Che Shale, where a nice restaurant [...]]]> Mambrui is a really small fisherman village just one hour drive north of Watamu, over Malindi and the Sabaki river. It faces the long sandy beach between the river and Ngomeni salt mines, called Che Shale, where a nice restaurant is opened directly on the beach.

The beach itself is a wild and breath-taking view. In front of you the roaming ocean without the protection of the the coral reef, common in other part of the coast, and behind of you the high sandy dunes protecting a bunch of tiny villages from the strong indian ocean winds. And the beautiful lagoons, and the long lines of palms. And between the ocean and the dunes the beach, huge and desert.

The trip takes approx. 6 hours, including a stop at the restaurant for lunch, travelling trough the palms in one way and for several kilometers on the beach beside the ocean on the way back. It’s a gorgeous place where spending a relaxing day, in touch with the wild Kenya of the coast.