ABecause the long weekend in Zanzibar wasn't enough, the next week I went for another dose of vitamin Beach but this time in Kenya. I haven't seen that much of the Kenyan coast for the time I have been in the country, so I was super excited to go to a new place. With six other friends, we booked flights to Malindi on Friday afternoon and my Airbnb-buddy Nyssa and I found this amazing villa on the beach between Malindi and Watamu called Nyumba Ya Madau.
After a bumpy ride through the villages where the kids would wave and shout 'caramello' (this part of the Kenyan coast has a lot of Italian residents and influences) to the taxi full of wazungu, we arrived at the villa. It was a-ma-zing! First of all we had the whole house for ourselves, 5 bedrooms that sleep up till 10 people and the house itself was stunning. It was made in that Swahili style that I absolutely love, with white walls, a little seat with a library and art on the walls, wood crafted mirrors and furniture, amazing bathroom and I can keep on going. It was just perfect just, look at the photos below :). Luckily, I stayed in what I think was the best room: the first room on the right when you enter, it has doors that open with a view of the sea! So you could actually wake up seeing the sunrise! Thinking back of that room while being back in Nairobi where it's 'winter', I really wanna go back now! The other great thing about going to this place with a group is that it has lots of seating space. There was the little library corner, a big dining table outside, some more chairs and couches with pillows on the patio as well and two big stone seats outside. Upstairs there was another area which was perfect for playing card games in the evening and than a bit further from the house but still inside the fence, there were sunbeds which were perfect for tanning in privacy during the day and star gazing at night. The first day I went looking for starfish with one of the local 'beach boys' and found the cutest little starfish that you could hold on your hand. From the sandbank almost right in front of the villa, there was a perfect view of the sun setting over the palms. The sky was all sorts of pink, orange and yellow and purple and the sea was super clear. We walked back to the house where the chef of the villa had prepared us some nice fresh red snapper and meatballs. It's important to bring your own groceries in advance when you arrive at the place later on the day, since it is a bit further from Malindi town and the supermarkets. You can ask the staff of the house to buy the fresh seafood and fish for dinner but also make sure it's well in advance before dinner! After dinner we played cards and salad bowl upstairs and had a few drinks. Another nice thing is that there is a swimming pool next to the house, its right outside the fence and shared with some other apartments but since it was low season, we were the only people there anyway when we went for a midnight swim. The next day was pretty much the ideal beach-day, consisting of lots of relaxing, reading, working on our tan/sunburn, swimming off the sandbank in incredible warm and clear blue water and a great lunch at one of the local beach restaurants that had amazing fresh seafood platters. Luckily we did, because the food from the chef at the house in the evening was not very special. However, the chocolate mousse he made was pretty good! We had a nice relaxed night where we stargazed on the sunbeds outside, with an iPad app to try find the star signs before we went to bed. The next day we relaxed in the morning, tried to get that tan really on point before going back to cold Nairobi and packed our bags. I think this house was the second best for a group stay after the one in Shela, Lamu. And I liked the beach/ocean a lot, especially because of the sand bank but my friends said Diani was better (I still haven't been so can't judge, haha). Can really recommend this place for a chill getaway with friends, its a bit far from Malindi so not ideal if you are looking for a party weekend. But if you are with a group you can bring your own booze and stay at the house, or walk 5 minutes down the beach to one of the beach bars and you can sure have some fun! >>> https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/298448?location=Malindi%2C%20Kilifi%20County%2C%20Kenya
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