.....following a day of getting organised and then a 7 hour drive to the coast on Sunday I have been reflecting on the over and misuse of the word 'we' !! "Did we pack my cap?" 'What's this we shit ?" the Americans would say as opposed to "Is that the Royal we ?" for us Brits.

Packing to go away to a hotel in Kenya is ALOT easier than packing to go away in Zim or South Africa .... essentially it's swim suits, sarongs, flip flops, reading material, laptop, few outfits for evening, toiletries and LOTS of sun lotion BUT should anything get overlooked then at a price it can be bought here. Steve is responsible for putting his clothes out (I physically pack them along with mine) and diving gear ... I do Luke's clothes - he must pack any sundries like DVD player for the car etc. and Anna is totally responsible for her own.... so why do I feel guilty when they, sorry 'we' forget things ?! Anna's favourite trick is not bringing enough to read and then hassling me for anything I've got ..... when my back is turned she will start to read my current book and then moan when I want it back!!

Anyway it is all worth it to get here and enjoy this wonderful coast. There is no land border to cross and once out of Nairobi the journey is fairly predictable. It is hot and sunny. The beach is gorgeous - all the seaweed from October has gone leaving an expanse of white white sand. If we leave Nairobi by 5AM we can be here at lunchtime giving us half a day on the beach. Luke has taken a scuba-diving course and will 'top-up' to full PADI next time .. he has done well and enjoyed his first dive. Anna knows various people from school in the resort so has friends to be with in the evenings. So far the food has been fabulous ... lots of fish and calamari, fresh tropical fruit and refreshing drinks. The hotel operates on 60% repeat business so is a very friendly place with attention to amazing detail. It is certainly a favourite of x-pats as well as the Brits on package tours. There is a good mix of people and ages so something for everyone. Hoping to go off to the reef and do some snorkelling while the others dive in the next couple of days and maybe take a glass bottomed boat trip to the Marine Park. Just about to finish my first book of the holiday and really looking forward to the next one 'Wolf Hall' which has come highly recommended. I am sure we will be back soon enough but in the meantime I will continue to enjoy the next 4 days in this tropical paradise...