Manda Island, snorkeling and a fun picnic on the beach - viewed through a series of short videos (a vlog post of sorts)

Hassan's young (in-training) assistant for the day

The café below is where the idea for our picnic on the beach started. While strolling around one morning, Gloria and I happened upon Tamarind Tree Café, actually built around a tree. We decided to give it a try and climbed up to the top floor, where we enjoyed the view and a mid-morning soda.



As we were leaving, the owner of the establishment asked if we were interested in snorkeling, which indeed we were! She introduced us to her husband, Hassan, and we arranged a day to meet. Somewhere along in the conversation, a picnic on Manda Island was also mentioned and we negotiated a price for our upcoming adventurous day.

After a few mishaps as Hassan attempted to organize things plus some difficulty getting the outboard engine to actually work, our first stop was the coral reef near Manda Island. As always we thoroughly enjoyed the beautifully colored fish! I'll never cease to marvel at the stunning view that reveals itself when you wear a mask and put your face in the water. Wow, it's like entering another world!

At some point while I was snorkeling, my leg bumped into the barnacles on the coral and caused a rather deep gash at the back of my ankle. When I climbed back up on the boat and discovered it was bleeding a lot, I tore off a piece of my leso and wrapped it around my ankle. Hassan insisted we inform Gloria and then get me to the hospital, but I didn't want to interrupt her enjoyment. Instead, I just kept pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. Later when Gloria (a nurse) joined us at the boat, she said the wound was deep enough for stitches. But I was comfortable with sticking to our plan for the picnic! [The gash did stop bleeding and eventually the wound healed.]

The beautiful site for our picnic on the beach, in the shade of lovely acacia trees

Our view of Shela beach across the channel, plus some fishing boats

Yummy veggies cooking

Our fish grilling over the open fire

I loved the simple style of how Hassan cooked, using the materials at-hand. It reminded me so much of my many years of camping.

And - oh, my! - the meal was absolutely delicious! Just when Gloria and I finished our large portions of fish and veggies, Hassan offered us fresh fruit. Of course, we couldn't refuse the second course.

Our adventurous outing had come to an end and it was time to return to Lamu Island. It was a very fun day we won't soon forget. I hope you enjoyed the videos and photos of our picnic on the beach! Perhaps you, too, will visit Lamu and Manda islands some day.

[FYI - A 'vlog' is a type of blog where the medium is primarily videos.]