I don't do water.
And certainly not the sea.
This began to change when I visited Lanzarote, Canary Islands in February this year for my birthday and Sid patiently spent hours in the shallow pool reteaching (if that is even a word) me how to swim. I got extra help from a very flirty Aussie swimmer who spent close to an hour 'helping me learn to walk the water, mate'
Anyho.
Coming to Mombasa.
We checked into the Serena Beach Resort and Spa. Leaving the boys to figure out the technicalities, S and I automatically gravitated towards the rich blue that we could see in a distance. A quick detour to the acqua marine of the pool surrounded by the lush green coconut trees that swayed gently in the breeze coming in from the Indian Ocean and we were smitten.
We spent less than 10 minutes in our rooms, long enough to change into swim suits and headed to the beach which we chose in favour of the more docile swimming pool (which was 'infested' with rowdy young boys at that moment anyway).
The gorgeous lush resort opened into the beach.
I breathed deep as I took in the sight of the beach.
White sand.
Bright Sun.
Coconut trees that whistled and whispered in the strong breeze
Clear waters.
Gentle waves.
Atrocious amounts of sea weed that oddly enough added a lot of character to the sight that met my eyes
A quaint yet brightly coloured masai boat anchored in a distance, a quiet reminder of who this beautiful land belonged to
Scared of water, I typically just go in ankle deep even when the waters are clear (yes, you read it right, ankle deep!) but there was something about this stretch of sea that seemed to simply call out to me. The clouds gathered and it became darker but I soldiered on and before I knew it I was a good 15-20 feet away from the beach! When I looked back and saw that the beach was so far I absolutely panicked, but that is another story all together and we are not going to go there.
The boys swam and hollered around and I gingerely picked out slimy weed from the sea, my nose wrinkled in disapproval that amused my husband no end. So there is yours truly having quite the moment, mesmerised by the ebb and flow of the waters around me when something would just slither past my legs. Not screaming with diffculty I would reach out and pull some more weed. That is when it was time to crinkle my nose and throw the weed away. In the sea.
So, yeah, it did not help much.
Anyway.
So there I was doing my thing, happy and content. Sid and B were far ahead into the sea hopefully swimming when I first spotted him.
With one hand dangling beside him and the other lightly on the sail, the contraption effortlessly in his control, he skimmed the waters with style.
Mombasa's own James bond.
Or Ronney as we would later find out. Crusing the waves like a pro. Ronney, the wind surfing instructer who offered a 45 minute course for less than two pounds. An hour later I was on the surfing board taking lessons from him.
'You' he said pointing to me ' seem to have a good body'
'I am sorry' I said indignantly settling my swimsuit as demurely as you can in the middle of the sea.
'Good wind surfer's body' he said.
'Aah, that ways' I said feeling kinder towards him.
And with that, feeling quite confident, I hopped onto the surfing board like a pro. Then proceeded to fall at the rate of about 30 falls per minute. I am not exaggerating. Okay, maybe a little bit. Suffice to say that I fell quite a lot. Ronney explained to the me the mechanics of the waves and the science behind the winds.
'Become the water ' he said passionately to me.
'Become the board' he said equally passionately a little later.
'Become Ronney' he then said dramatically pointing to himself as I tethered dangerously on the board unable to control the sails. The moment I heard him ask me to become him I guffawed uncontrollably, lost the little balance that I had and the entire contraption fell on me.
I carried on my right thigh a HUGE red mark for days afterwards.
Roney's conclusion, when we ended our session was that I have very good balance ( he told me I could dance on the board) but little strength.
'You eat too much rice' Roney said accusingly as I tried to looked ashamed of my rice eating self.
'Try eating more keri keri' he added helpfully.
'Keri keri?' I repeated.
'Yes, keri keri'
'Okay, keri keri' I said not daring to find out what keri keri was.
After my session ended, it was time for another first. My first fresh coconut. Okay, I have spent all my life in northern India. Coconuts don't grow there, so all you 'I gew up on coconut' freaks do not get all superior because my first fresh coconut experience was indeed quite special.
I sat crosselgged in the Indian Ocean, tired and exhausted from Ronney's wind surfing lesson and drank fresh coconut juice as the waves lapped around me.
It was during a lavish twenty course dinner at the resort later that night that I first spotted him. Blonde hair, blue eyes and the cutest smile I had ever seen...*swoon* but more on him in Friday's post.
After dinner, the four of us ambled along to our rooms walking past the multiple pools that the resort boasted of. Deciding to take a detour we found ourselves sitting on sun beds under the coconut trees beside one of the many pools, the muted sounds of the sea reaching us in gentle rustles. (I worried all the while that a coconut from the trees around us would *ploink* fall on our heads, it was so windy after all)
'The stars' I said to Sid dreamily looking at the clear sky and pulling my jacket tighter around me ' Pretty stars! what are your names!'
A minute later, Sid had fished out his phone, directed it towards the sky, opened some app and began to rattle off names of stars that I obviously wanted to know.
Duh-uh.
However, I got pretty excited when the app told us that though we did not know it, we were actually looking at Saturn.
That is how the day ended. With Sid and me trying to figure out which of the million stars that twinkled back at us was Saturn.
I was content and already in love with Mombasa. What I did not know was that the next day would bring withitself the single most incredible experience of my life. An experience that would teach me so much about myself. More about that on Tuesday
Hakuna Matata,
R
PS: I am trying to post on Tuesdays and Fridays. See you on Friday. Or Tuesday ;)
And certainly not the sea.
This began to change when I visited Lanzarote, Canary Islands in February this year for my birthday and Sid patiently spent hours in the shallow pool reteaching (if that is even a word) me how to swim. I got extra help from a very flirty Aussie swimmer who spent close to an hour 'helping me learn to walk the water, mate'
Anyho.
Coming to Mombasa.
We checked into the Serena Beach Resort and Spa. Leaving the boys to figure out the technicalities, S and I automatically gravitated towards the rich blue that we could see in a distance. A quick detour to the acqua marine of the pool surrounded by the lush green coconut trees that swayed gently in the breeze coming in from the Indian Ocean and we were smitten.
We spent less than 10 minutes in our rooms, long enough to change into swim suits and headed to the beach which we chose in favour of the more docile swimming pool (which was 'infested' with rowdy young boys at that moment anyway).
The gorgeous lush resort opened into the beach.
White sand.
Bright Sun.
Coconut trees that whistled and whispered in the strong breeze
Clear waters.
Gentle waves.
Atrocious amounts of sea weed that oddly enough added a lot of character to the sight that met my eyes
A quaint yet brightly coloured masai boat anchored in a distance, a quiet reminder of who this beautiful land belonged to
Scared of water, I typically just go in ankle deep even when the waters are clear (yes, you read it right, ankle deep!) but there was something about this stretch of sea that seemed to simply call out to me. The clouds gathered and it became darker but I soldiered on and before I knew it I was a good 15-20 feet away from the beach! When I looked back and saw that the beach was so far I absolutely panicked, but that is another story all together and we are not going to go there.
The boys swam and hollered around and I gingerely picked out slimy weed from the sea, my nose wrinkled in disapproval that amused my husband no end. So there is yours truly having quite the moment, mesmerised by the ebb and flow of the waters around me when something would just slither past my legs. Not screaming with diffculty I would reach out and pull some more weed. That is when it was time to crinkle my nose and throw the weed away. In the sea.
So, yeah, it did not help much.
Anyway.
So there I was doing my thing, happy and content. Sid and B were far ahead into the sea hopefully swimming when I first spotted him.
With one hand dangling beside him and the other lightly on the sail, the contraption effortlessly in his control, he skimmed the waters with style.
Mombasa's own James bond.
Or Ronney as we would later find out. Crusing the waves like a pro. Ronney, the wind surfing instructer who offered a 45 minute course for less than two pounds. An hour later I was on the surfing board taking lessons from him.
'You' he said pointing to me ' seem to have a good body'
'I am sorry' I said indignantly settling my swimsuit as demurely as you can in the middle of the sea.
'Good wind surfer's body' he said.
'Aah, that ways' I said feeling kinder towards him.
And with that, feeling quite confident, I hopped onto the surfing board like a pro. Then proceeded to fall at the rate of about 30 falls per minute. I am not exaggerating. Okay, maybe a little bit. Suffice to say that I fell quite a lot. Ronney explained to the me the mechanics of the waves and the science behind the winds.
'Become the water ' he said passionately to me.
'Become the board' he said equally passionately a little later.
'Become Ronney' he then said dramatically pointing to himself as I tethered dangerously on the board unable to control the sails. The moment I heard him ask me to become him I guffawed uncontrollably, lost the little balance that I had and the entire contraption fell on me.
I carried on my right thigh a HUGE red mark for days afterwards.
Roney's conclusion, when we ended our session was that I have very good balance ( he told me I could dance on the board) but little strength.
'You eat too much rice' Roney said accusingly as I tried to looked ashamed of my rice eating self.
'Try eating more keri keri' he added helpfully.
'Keri keri?' I repeated.
'Yes, keri keri'
'Okay, keri keri' I said not daring to find out what keri keri was.
After my session ended, it was time for another first. My first fresh coconut. Okay, I have spent all my life in northern India. Coconuts don't grow there, so all you 'I gew up on coconut' freaks do not get all superior because my first fresh coconut experience was indeed quite special.
I sat crosselgged in the Indian Ocean, tired and exhausted from Ronney's wind surfing lesson and drank fresh coconut juice as the waves lapped around me.
It was during a lavish twenty course dinner at the resort later that night that I first spotted him. Blonde hair, blue eyes and the cutest smile I had ever seen...*swoon* but more on him in Friday's post.
After dinner, the four of us ambled along to our rooms walking past the multiple pools that the resort boasted of. Deciding to take a detour we found ourselves sitting on sun beds under the coconut trees beside one of the many pools, the muted sounds of the sea reaching us in gentle rustles. (I worried all the while that a coconut from the trees around us would *ploink* fall on our heads, it was so windy after all)
'The stars' I said to Sid dreamily looking at the clear sky and pulling my jacket tighter around me ' Pretty stars! what are your names!'
A minute later, Sid had fished out his phone, directed it towards the sky, opened some app and began to rattle off names of stars that I obviously wanted to know.
Duh-uh.
However, I got pretty excited when the app told us that though we did not know it, we were actually looking at Saturn.
That is how the day ended. With Sid and me trying to figure out which of the million stars that twinkled back at us was Saturn.
I was content and already in love with Mombasa. What I did not know was that the next day would bring withitself the single most incredible experience of my life. An experience that would teach me so much about myself. More about that on Tuesday
Hakuna Matata,
R
PS: I am trying to post on Tuesdays and Fridays. See you on Friday. Or Tuesday ;)
3 comments:
Love it, love it, love it!! muuuaah
thanks you dalbir jee ;)
as always..pen down beautifully...love it...
Post a Comment