Beaches of Kenya: the perfect getaway |

MALINDI — This is the place for sun-worshippers who have had it with Mazatian, are fed up with Fort Lauderdale and tired of the same old mob in Maui.

Finding a Canadian here would rival Stanley's hunt for Dr. Liv- ingstone, although you would not be the only white face on the coast. The Italians and Germans come to Kenya in such droves that the hawkers on the beach invariably stant their pitch with ‘Ciao!’

Even so there is lots of silver and sand between Somalia and Tan- zania, Swahili fascination, hippos galore behind the sand dunes, some bargain prices and net a little contrast.

Getting there is part of the expe- rience. The first leg is effortless by KLM to Amsterdam, where a brief stop is recommended to adjust to the new time zone and pick a few tulips, then another overnighter to Nairobi, where KLM deposits you in another world.

Forgotten your yellow fever in- “noculation? No problem, just pay a 50shilling ($3) bribe and wel- come to Kenya.

The connecting flight to Mom- basa is a Kenya Airways DC-9 that looks like it has beer crop-dusting half the Congo. Nobody tells us 10 identify our bags on the tarmac and see they are loaded

The flight is just “50 for 50 minutes and we see Kilimanjaro piercing the clouds to our right. ! sink into my broken chair and read a letter in a Nairobi newspaper

- about how Kenya Airways’ stewardesses are made to look like sex symbols suitable for a phonographic (sic) magazine.

We make it to Mombasa but our bags don't. When they do my col- league is missing a pair of $300 shoes.

Dinner that night is curry by candlelight on the veranda of the Mombasa Club, next door to the formidable hulk of Fort Jesus, a legacy of the Portuguese, the world’s worst colonistz.

These days there are more expa- triates working in Kenya than there ever were white farmers. While we are there a Danish teacher working in Nairobi and holidaying south of Mombasa is murdered by robbers armed with bows and arrows.

We drive nortb to Malindi, a lit- tle town of dusty streets and barefoot children, plus a dozen hotels fronting a glorious beach.

travel talk

David Wishart

Italians own half of them, the Germans have invaded a few more, and it's up to the Driftwood Club, which has the best bar, and the Silver Sands Villas, which has the best rooms, to soak up the English-speakers,

The Silver Sands charges $150 a day for a couple including breakfast and dinner — not cheap by Kenyan standards but there is something about being able to take 14 steps and dive into a palm- shaded pool, and =:ach at a beach bar where “usker beer is 50 cents a bottle.

Ckoose from the following sailings and receive free

airfare:

RNoordam ft. Lauderdale to Vancouver May 6/21 days Westerdam Ft. Lauderdale to Vancouver May 7/18 days Westerdam Vancouver to London, UK, Sept. 21/34 days Noordem Vancouver to Ft. Lauderdale Oct. 3/18 days

Holland America Line Panama Canal

Cruises

The five offices bringing you this special offer are locally-

owned, independent travel

agencies dedicated to giving

you the best in service and value for your travel dollar.

Call these convenient ications for full details:

as. Saft ducouter

2" 926-45

Malindi is for the quiet life, the place to relax after a safari, to windsurf before the cool monsoon winds and watch fishermen come ashore in primitive dugout dhows with catches of parrot-fish,

Just a little way up the coast is Lamu, an $80 roundtrip by Equatorial Airlines. le is a small island with a town that is a living museum. There are no cars in the narrow streets, Inany women wear the black wraparound bui bui and men full length white robes and kofta caps.

The Portuguese were here, then the Arabs for many centuries, fi- naily the British to break up slave trading. Latterly it was a hippie haven and it is now drawing bet- ter-heeled travellers intrigued by its history, quiet and superb beaches.

For just a few bob (and that’s what a Swahili boatman will say) you can take a sailing dhow along the sea front to Peponi Hotel, all white and elegant and perfectly romantic if you don’t mind paying the Danish owners $170 a day double for a room with meals

Then there’s a $23 train ride from Mombasa to Nairobi, with dinner $4 in an art deco restaurant car and a good night’s sleep before the morning panorama of a plain littered with wild animals.

Finally, Nairobi, the splendid Norfolk Hotel and a ramshackle taxi-ride around the potholes to the airport and north through the night was an experience to remember.

F.,.& Your Lung Association

37 - Sunday, January 15, 1989 - North Shore News

TRAVEL Mi

Seon murder butts and sleuths for intriguing murder mystery weekends at the {nn of the Sea.

Enjoy the beauty

VETELE ANY, MET inn of the sesh

MYSTERY

solving the crime. s Dilferent themes

investigating and a

doubl occupancy JANUARY 27 & 28/89

389 MAZDA 626

STARTING FROM

4-Dr, DX, PIS, tilt, AM/FM radio. All season radials.

ROCK BOTTOM PRICES.

P.D.I, & FREIGHT $325 METALLIC PAINT EXTRA

760 MARINE DR. RORTH VANCOUVER

987: 158

February 3, 4, 5, 1989 P.N.E. Food Building Vancouver, B.C.

ENTER TO WIN A FABULOUS LIVINGROOM - DININGROOM or KITCHEN SUITE COMPLIMENTS OF GRANTREE FURNITURE LTD. NINE (9) BRIDAL FASHION SHOWS. THREE (3) PER DAY. Complimentary Reception following each show.

THREE (3) DAYS OF LEISURELY SHOPPING For All of Your Wedding Requirements at the Wedding Showcase. THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN PRIZES DRAWN FOR DAILY. SHOWTIMES: FRIDAY’ —3:00 PM. - 9:00 PM.

SATURDAY 10:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M. SUNDAY — 11:00 A.M. - 5:00 PM.

REGISTRATION FORM NAME: ADORESS:

TICKETS SPECIAL 3-DAY PASS BRIDE: & GROOM: $15.06 DAILY GUEST PASS: $10.00 ea. plus 50¢ S.C, ea.

Number of Tickets Required: ____ Cheque Enclosed: VISA ___ MASTERCARD _____ Credit Card No: DATE OF MARRIAGE: Credit Card Expiry Date: TELEPHONE NO.:

MAIL TO: WEDDING SHOWCASE, P.O. BOX 266, PITT MEADOWS, B.C. V3Y 266. FOR INFORMATION call 736-2116 / 465-5046. .

CITY: PROV.: POSTAL CODE:

PROTECT YOUR LUNGS DON’T SMOKE

o”