I Have Been to Paradise

Wow. That's how I sum up my week at Turtle Bay. We had the most amazing week. It was really fun and relaxing. I am so thankful for my time there.

Turtle Bay is located in the city of Watamu on the coast on Kenya. It is an all inclusive resort. Since Sabet and Suzy have been there many times, we received the resident and repeater discount which made it more affordable. After an eight hour drive, I was so excited to see the ocean. It has been over three months since I have seen the ocean and I missed it so much. Once we got there, we were shown to our rooms which were awesome. We got a free upgrade to beachfront rooms! Our patio opened up to the beach. Hannah, Agum and I shared a room. The beach took my breathe away. I have never seen clear, blue water or white, soft sand before.









Turtle Bay has so much to offer. They really do a nice job of providing a great vacation for their guests. We were fortunate that it wasn't very crowded. All of the staff are very nice and accommodating. Whenever you pass an employee, they are quick to greet you, “jambo!” (hello). There is a team of employees called the Fun Base Team. It's their job to make sure everyone is having a good time. There is always something fun to do. Among the events they organize are: beach walks, water aerobics, darts, ping pong, beach games, dancing and water polo. They also do a kids club which Hannah, Jed and Agum love. It's nice because the parents can have some time off. One of the events I looked forward to most was water aerobics. It was so fun and a great work out.







They also offer many water sports such as: kayaking, pedelos (paddle boats), scuba diving, wind surfing and boggie boards. We took out the pedelos a couple times and also went boogie boarding. Mark and Sabet kayaked, too. One morning, Sabet, Hannah, Mark and I went snorkling. We rode a boat out to a reef. It was really pretty. At first I was freaked out by the fish around me and almost hyperventilated. Fortunately I was able to calm down quickly and enjoy the view around me. It's a whole different world under there. We also did a few beach walks. In the morning, the tide really went out. You can see a lot of cool animals. There are a bunch of eels out there. We fed them bacon. Turtle Bay also does a lot of charity work. One program they are involved with is rehabilitating turtles. Suzy got to help set one free.

















Every evening after dinner, there was some sort of entertainment. The first night there was a cool, Christian choir that performed. They were really good. Other nights we had performances by African dancers, bands and acrobats. The acrobats were my favorite. They were incredibly talented. The stunts they did were amazing... and all on concrete too. The last night, we were treated to a performance of Phantom of the Opera by the Fun Base Team. It was hilarious. After the acts finished, the disco started up. The first night I taught Sabet and Mark the Electric Slide. Mark did some break dancing and became quite popular with the old ladies.







How have I not mentioned the food yet? The food was great. Every meal was a buffet which was served poolside. One night, however, they set up the tables on the beach. It was really beautiful. There is also a pizzeria and a snack bar that we went to a few times. Everyday at four they served crepes and pancakes. My family will be happy to know that I was brave and tried new foods including: lobster, crab, sashimi, and calimari among others. Mark won a drawing (thanks to Suzy entering it for him!) for a free dinner for two at the Blue Turtle. It's a restaurant that costs extra to go to. I got to go with him and I am so glad. The food was incredible. He had lobster and I had Chateau Briand. YUMMY! The food was nice, but what I loved the most was the drinks. After going to places where you have to pay for every drink, I was thrilled to have all the drinks I wanted for no extra charge. Although they offer alcoholic drinks, I preferred the drinks on the kids menu. I had so many Red Splashes (sprite and grenadine)!







A typical day for us at Turtle Bay would be:

Up by 7:00 (Thanks to sharing a room with kids, I was up early everyday), followed by breakfast, then we jumped in the pool for a while. At 10:00, the kids went to kids club. 11:00 water aerobics, hang out in the pool or read/nap on the beach until lunch (12:30 or 1:00). Then back in the pool until the kids went to kids club again at 3:00. Hang out by the pool or beach, get crepes at 4:00. Get ready for dinner at 7:00. 9:15 watch the entertainment and then hang out by the disco, watch a movie and go to bed.

One day we went to the nearby city of Malindi. We went to the Falconry where they have lots of animals (many birds, a giant turtle, snakes and crocodiles). We got to wear a glove and catch a hawk in our hand and the kids rode a turtle that is over 100 years old. After that we walked around the shops for a bit and then had lunch at The Old Man and the Sea. It is a restaurant where Earnest Hemingway wrote the book. They had really good food.














Much of our time was spent in the pool. Everyday I was in my bathing suit from 7am to 6:00pm. I had so much fun playing with the kids. Agum was especially fun to launch in the air. The pool was also a huge source of laughter. We laughed so much. One incident ended up not being so funny.... well it actually was hilarious, but it ended in an injury. While in Safari Style, Mark and Sabet dove though the kids' small inner tube. Mark and I decided he should try it again. The hole is so small, but he made it. We thought for sure Sabet would get stuck so we asked him to try (always looking for a laugh!). When he made it, we decided to step it up a notch. Could Mark jump through it while I held it in the air? Yes, he could. We asked Sabet to try this one, but he was skeptical (rightfully so) and wanted to see Mark do it. No problem. Because it fell out of my hand the first time Mark jumped through it, we asked Sabet to hold the other end. Mark made it through ok (although it was ripped out of our hands), but hit his head on the bottom of the pool. I didn't realize he was hurt until he popped up and said he hit his head. I looked at it and there was blood all over. We thought he might need stitches, but Suzy cleaned it off and wrapped it up. Fortunately, he was fine. Apparently the no diving sign is there for a reason!







Turtle Bay was incredible. It had a really nice atmosphere. All the other vacationers were from all over the world and were really nice. It was fun getting to know people and say hi when you saw them around. The kids made friends in the kids club, too. We had a nice blend of relaxing and fun activities. I loved doing my devotions either on my patio or on the beach. Sometimes while I was lying on a beach chair, I would close my eyes and just listen to the wind and the ocean, thanking God for His creation and for the blessing of being there. It was so beautiful. It really was nice to relax before going back to Sudan and enjoy each others company before Mark leaves on Wednesday. I feel rejuvenated and ready to head back to Tonj on Friday.











PS We were able to watch the Superbowl. It was on at 2:00am on Monday morning. Since it was an international broadcast, we didn't get to see the commercials. It was a great game... close until the end. Go Saints!