The honeymoon before the wedding

We left for Kiwaiyu on Saturday April 4th. Julie, Cleber and I took off into the friendly skies and 1 h and 50 minutes later we were in paradise.

The take off was an adventure in this 13 seater, needless to say I didn't even hint to my mother just what type of airplane we going to be boarding as she would have enjoyed the wait for my return. And what a mother doesn't know can't hurt her right, mom? The pilot had a special suprise for us in that he flew right over the National Park which was filled with animals including ostrichs and giraffes. The view of Kenya from the air is truly breathtaking as you can see for miles across the plains. We flew up along the coast and viewed both Mt. Kenya and Kilamanjaro from our seats. After regaining my breath, I was truly just able to sit back and relax. And then we landed. The airport was a sandy stretch of land with a small open air hut. No lights, no airline employees and certainly no tarmac which would prove our demise come our departure. We exited the plane and got into our waiting landrover only to be taken 1 km away to a waiting boat. It was by far the most expensive "taxi" ride as it cost 4000 schillings, roughly 40 euros. When they got you they got you you just grin and bear it. The motor boat took us to Mike's camp where we would be staying a few hours to allow for the tide to rise so that we could eventually arrive at our camp, Champli. The first thing we did after having descended the boat, was to race to the other side of the mountain to go snorkeling along the coral reef. Julie is a mad woman about water- she swims every morning without fail in Nairobi so here was a literal paradise for her and she allowed herself no limits. We were natually little prunes by the time the three day adventure was done. Dinner at Mike's consisted of a table laid out in this open area with candle light and lovely dinner companions, including Mike himslef, Rosie,the wandering blond who was currently working a season, and Dre, who we believe is on a constant vacation and is apparently married to a man with a helicopter. Dinner was a king fish grilled and marinated in this amazing sauce, which of course only tastes as good when you're on a island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Dinner ended and we were very eager to get to our own camp to call it a night.

With everything reloaded onto the boat we headed out into the night to our camp. It was everything we could have hoped for an then some. It is a community camp run and benefitted by the community of people who live on the island. Simple as it was beautiful due to the nature and animal life that surrounded us. Cleber and I settled into our romantic and luxurious hut and drifted to sleep under the mosquito netting and the sound of the channel waves lapping against the boat in the lagoon. I cannot imagine a more wonderful honeymoon and for all intents and purposes it was to be ours. We had just decided to skip the marriage.