The Adventures of Courtney and Arthur: Week 2 of Sister Vacation

With a little less excitement and adventure Bebeth and I made it back down the coast to the Town of Malindi (a favorite Italian destination). We stayed with good friend of Bebeth's (another PCV) named Grover. He was kind enough to put us up for a few nights and entertain us. Grover works for a cooperative of 600 wood carvers. We got to visit the cooperative, which was very interesting. Unlike everyone in the US most Kenyan's number one goal is not to make money. While this can be good and bad it can be very frustrating to an American trying to work with them. Learning about the trials and tribulations of working with a cooperative in Kenya was very helpful for me in thinking about Arthur's and my next few months in Tanzania.

The next few days were spent relaxing (yes I have done lots of that), watching movies, reading, exploring the beaches, and eating local food. Most of the local food that I have eaten is very good (or at least lucky for me I think so).

After hanging out in Malindi Mark joined us (he had to go back to Nairobi to work for a few days). We in a Matatu (a van packed with people that take people everywhere in Kenya) south to another beach town called Watamu. There we explored the ruins of Gede, swam in the ocean, explored the coral islands at low tide, and bargained with the women on the beach for kikois. While for me this was all mostly play Bebeth and Mark did have to work. Since they have started their own company they can work from anywhere by connecting to the internet via their cell phones. This meant for a few hours a day they worked on their computers with beautiful views of the ocean. But all fun in the sun has to come to an end so we headed back to Mombassa for our last night on the coast. Today we flew back to Nairobi so Bebeth and Mark can pack up. On Saturday we all fly to Cape Town were Bebeth and Mark are moving few the next few months to start their company. I will be joining them for three weeks and I will post my next blog from there.

Courtney, Bebeth, and Mark in Watamu