Musings on mahamri and coral reefs in Kilifi

Chumani village in Kilifi, where my buddy has set up a sustainable mixed farming homestead, is a 10-minute walk from one of the most gorgeous, white sandy beaches on the East African coast. In Chumani the skies are blue, the air is warm, and the moon and stars hold a beauty contest every night.

Plus, Chumani has the most delicious mahamri this side of  Pwani, made fresh every morning by Mamake-Anna and her daughter Anna in their low thatch-roof kitchen-cum-restaurant by the side of the short stretch of road that turns off the Mombasa–Kilifi highway into the villlage and straight to Chumani Beach.

Legend has it that this road once had a big chunk of chuma (‘metal’ in Kiswahili), which slowly became a landmark. As time went on the village came to be known as the place with the chuma (Chumani).

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Birding Naivasha (after the rain)

Naivasha, on the shores of the eponymous Lake, is one of Kenya’s Important Bird Areas, or IBAs.

I took these pics on the morning of 27 Sept 2016  after a good downpour the night before. The air was warm and filled with birdsong as the birdies frolicked in puddles or perched high up on the trees and power lines, showing off their splendid colours. Jewel tones, dramatic yellows, emerald greens, rum-and-raisin, dark blacks – all were represented.

NB: I think those are their names…

Same shore, different scales

While in Mombasa on the Kenyan coast recently, I got up super-early to catch the rising sun (on camera).

Close to shore was a small ‘glass boat’ – ready to take tourists later in the day to look at colourful reef fish through its see-through floor.

At first I missed the flicker of distant lights beyond the reef, but with a zoom lens and slow shutter, two commercial liners came into view. They moved slowly towards one another, then crossed paths.

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