Kitesoul Magazine #26 International Edition

64
KENYA
A kiter seduced by the love islands
Having the good fortune of riding in a dream spot is dangerous
for a kiter’s life. The Indian Ocean which offers a
thousand shades of green, white sand like talcum powder,
water that marks a temperature of 28 degrees and the wind
blowing at 20 knots every day kidnap you and you do not
want to leave. The risk is to take root on that beach, remain
planted there without any intention to move to not give up
on these fantastic conditions. But moving, exploring new
beaches and promote the discipline of kitesurfing along
the Kenyan coast is one of the tasks I have been assigned.
Discovering new beaches along the coast
The school that I manage is called Watamu Kiteboarding
and is located inside the Garoda Resort, an elegant African-style
lodge overlooking the beach of Watamu Marine
Park: the spot according
to a list compiled in
2016 by CNN is among
the 25 most beautiful
in the world. The kite
center is located in a
corner of paradise, but
we just opened the season
and we must make
ourselves known, beat
the territory to hunt for
other beaches where to
take our students and
recruit new ones.
The chance to get out of this "garden of Eden" just comes
from one of my students. His name is Michele and is here in
Kenya as a responsible of the tour operator Bravo at another
Watamu resort, the Seven Islands. The village has younger
customers and is located in one of the most evocative
locations of this coast: the Love Islands Beach. Michele
asked me to participate in the briefing that welcomes
guests, present my school and propose kite demonstration
lessons. So, one morning I decided to go.
In this piece of Africa, animals rule
I prepare the equipment, a kite of 12 meters, harness, a
board for my session on the water and a trainer kite with
two cables to do the lessons. As a guard of the school I
leave Tom, a local boy who works with me as an assistant,
and I walk towards the main gate of the Garoda. Along the
way I pass through the "technical" area of the resort that
includes the back of the kitchen, space for garbage treatment,
the gas storage and laundry.
Right there I see some guards with the classic khaki uniform
and a stick. I hear voices and I find that one of them
has just captured a small cobra that skirted the shadow of
the wall. Now he keeps him hanging from a stick to show
it to everyone. I take a look too: it is black and shiny. It is
not the first snake I see around, indeed we are in Africa,
a step away from the bush and nature won’t stop in front
of a few tourists drinking cocktails. A few meters after to
point out that here animals rule, monkeys are sitting on
the branches of trees and when I pass by they jump on the
wall to get closer and see if I have anything for them. They
stare with those little shiny eyes, attentive, then when they
realize that I got nothing
for them, they I look at
each other, as if to take
heart, or they pretend to
look the other way.
When I arrive at the Garoda
gate, the guard on
duty smiles at me and
comes towards me: "
Good morning Mr. David.
Are you ok?" She is
a woman who knows me
well because often lends
beach service. For safety reasons, whoever comes out of
the resort must say who it is, where it goes and the time of
come back. If you are in the car this is searched, including
the trunk. Hakuna Matata for me, that is no problem, so I
left the gate and said goodbye.
Moving on with a Bajaji, the helmet is optional
To reach the Seven Islands which is located about 6 km
north of Watamu, I cannot walk. The choice is between classic
taxis, useful for long distances, the tuk-tuk, sort of Ape
Car vibrating around on dirt roads as if it were always about
to split and Bajaji. This is a bike that takes the name by the
Indian factory of the produce, the Bajaji Auto Ltd.: here in
Kenya they sell only one model, the CT 100, for ease of maintenance
and finding spare parts. The Bajaji are everywhere,
driven mostly by guys who work for taxi companies. Those
who are lucky enough, buy a used one for 600-800 euro and