Loving AfricA - The Funzi Keys Resort
Transcripción
Loving AfricA - The Funzi Keys Resort
Visual | Travel | Culture | Document Loving Africa The Coast of Kenya 21 p A G e s PHOTO REPORT This Issue we will take you to the Black Continent! Some of our earliest human ancestors walked on East African ground more than two million years ago; we have explored it and now we take you on a voyage you have always dreamed of..... A Shiny Pearl Travelling with all the senses ready to perceive opens the mind wonderfully. You wish to find ancient, untouched and magic places. Flying to Kenya we expected to find them, and we have found more than that – a land under the spell. Our trip starts in Nairobi, but unfortunately, we had no time to stay there. We should better say that our trip begins on the road, in a muddy Land Rover with a plan to visit four marvelous places. On our way alongside the eastern coast we came across several European families living in the bush. We are on the Diani Beach now, on a coral wall overlooking the Indian Ocean. Travelling to this place we can recall easily the era of leisure travel on a grand scale. We have met a comfortable and glamorous Africa here. TB | Amando Africa think for you. The space and the views are hard to describe as it is really difficult to imagine such a luxury in the middle of the coral beach overlooking the ocean. The atmosphere is pleasant , quiet and comfortable. In the world we live, there is a new prized facet of luxury, that is, the facet of time. Nowadays time has become the ultimate luxury – time to reflect, time to enjoy, time to savor life‘s pleasures, time to simply sit still. This place gives an appealing impression of time abundance – it offers to take advantage of the time to truly relax and enjoy Alfajiri is a private villa that has earned oneself, friends and family. reputation for courtesy and knowledge. It is one of the most notable hotels, a gracious house, an oasis. Fabrizio Molinaro and his family have created this dreamlike place. Actually there are three villas in Alfajiri: Beach Villa, Garden Villa and Cliff Villa. All of them have different exterior and interior decoration. The furniture and artefacts have been collected in different countries around the world. The villas share a large, open-sided living area with a massive makuti roof, as well as a pool and a bar. Furthermore, there are more surprises as Alfajiri is a kind of urban oasis. You just have to relax and leave the hosts TB | Amando Africa Any scene in Alfajiri space evokes feelings of peace and well-being. We enjoy being surrounded by the sun, sea, abundant bird-life, visiting local villages, playing golf, eating fresh seafood and handpicked fruit of trees and bushes around Diani. It is obvious that the large gold sanded beach with Alfajiri`s villas as a shelter will provide you with a glamorous stay taking you through the time, from the past to the present and on. A sweet little luxury always there to enjoy. Why not?Leaving this pearl I knew that our next stop was going to be different, and it really was.... Alfajiri Beach TB | Amando Africa Island Keys This time we are on an unspoilt island in the Indian Ocean. Funzi Keys‘ is tucked away in a beautiful natural scenery. On the border with Tanzania, Funzi is a perfect hideaway which provides a shelter of freedom and complete harmony with the nature. Cottages or bungalows, set along the high-water line convert this island in a small idyllic village. Made of stone and thatch with large netted windows, the bungalows represent that close-to-the-nature ideal. No limits in the space nor in the mind. TB | Amando Africa This is very important to understand the concept of Funzi which is to «get funzied» as Alessandro Torriani, the owner of this Eden on Earth, has named it. You get funzied within the space; there is nothing that prevents you from enjoying the breeze, the air, the scent. You get funzied with the ocean contemplating ancestral beauties of the underwater world. You get funzied with silence around you and inside you. «No rules» is the first and the most important rule here. “Wish” is the first and the most important word. It permits everybody here to have an own world (on your own or accompanied with Torriani‘s family or whoever of the Funzi‘s friends). TB | Amando Africa You can spend nights by the fire listening to Africa in total privacy. Each cottage seems to be a separate world – it is easy to stay all alone in this wilderness. However, at the same time it is so easy to be intimate with whatever surrounds you whether it is a landscape, an animal or a person. You can choose whether you prefer to have your meal alone or in a company enjoying Funzi´s traditional cuisine. Funzi simply humanizes the humans. TB | Amando Africa 10 Life is relaxed here . Take your flip-flops, a straw hat and go for a walk... or lay down on the sand with a juicy drink while watching the local fishing dhow sail by. Or, you can entertain yourself - enjoy sailing, creek fishing, snorkeling, windsurfing and canoeing, or perhaps take a boat trip up the Ramisi River or Funzi Creek for an unforgettable glimpse of kingfishers, crocodiles and even dolphins! This is the way life goes in the Funzi world. 11 TB | Amando Africa Kenya is Hemingways, too Thus, being “funzied” we set off for our next stop, a great adventure place, Hemingways. An unusual airline takes you (15 minute flight by a light aircraft) from the hotel‘s own airstrip to Mombasa. On our way from Funzi Keys to Hemingways we passed through Mombasa. The city was founded by the Arab traders in the 11th century and quickly became the most important trading centre of the East Africa exporting mostly ivory and slaves. Vasco de Gama was the first known European to visit Mombasa and got a rather cool reception, in 1498. Two years later the town citizens were sacked by the Portuguese who built Fort Jesus. Fort Jesus is a Portuguese fortress built in 1593 on Mombasa Island to guard the Old Port of Mombasa. It is built in the shape of a man, and was given the name of Jesus in an obvious religious reference. TB | Amando Africa 12 Today, it is one of the finest examples of 16th century Portuguese military architecture. The fort quickly became a vital possession for anyone with the intention of controlling Mombasa Island. When the British colonised Kenya, they used it as a prison. vvvVasco da Gama was responsible for Portugal‘s success as an early colonizing power. Besides the first voyage itself, it was his astute mix of politics and war on the other side of the world that gave Portugal a prominent position in the Indian Ocean trade. Following de Gama‘s initial voyage, the Portuguese crown realized that securing outposts on the eastern coast of Africa was vital for maintaining their trade routes to the Far East. This little trip through the past made me think of those landscapes history, which is really immense and very often recalled. Hemingway makes part of that history as well... that of ‘20s, 30’s of the XX century. When-ever we learn about places we find out that Hemnigway was there; it is not surprising anymore, moreover, it would be rather weird to learn that Heningway wasn‘t there ... Nevertheless, one thing is certain - he must have enjoyed it a lot here, in Hemingways. The name itself suggests a great adventure. The area of Malindi has been interesting as a fishing area since the colonial days. The waters of the Indian Ocean are inhabited by numerous species, especially those big ones. Fishermen love this ambience. Hemingways has always attracted those ones with active spirits. However, it has always given shelter to the ones who simply wanted to enjoy it being in an agreeable horizontal position. It is for all tastes. Twenty miles south of Malindi and sixty miles north of Mombasa, there is a place overlooking the beach of Watamu Marine Park. There are few hotels along many miles of coastline. Hemingways Resort famous for Big Game Fishing is one of them. Here, you find a kingdom of the big and silent. Playful sailfish (locally known as suli,suli), Striped, Blue and Black Marlin have attracted many a fisherman. Sharks are often caught while fishing for Tuna. A rarity that is found in Kenya is the Great White shark. Broad Bill is arguably the strongest fighter in the ocean and Giant Trevally, locally known as Karambesi, is a slow-growing fish which is generally caught and released. 14 TB | Amando Africa This world is amazing, and perhaps considering the size of these beasts you get even more curious, you are eager to learn more about them. So, we have learnt that Wahoo is the fastest fish in the sea, then there are plenty of Kingfish, Barakuda, Dorado, and a very strong Yellowfin Tuna which always gives an exciting performance. Three miles down the coast from Hemingways there is Mida, a tidal lagoon of mangrove creeks teeming with exotic bird-life and the venue for Hemingways‘ Sundowner cruises on an Arabic dhow. On the coast of the finest coral reefs there is a fabulous underwater world for snorkelling and diving in Hemingways. Just imagine that your little cruise is accompanied by dolphins. These are some of the pleasures the ocean gives, we leave you the rest to discover. TB | Amando Africa 15 Where we want to take you now is to another Another excursion could take you to Gede. journey. The Arabic word safara Discovered just a few years ago, the remains meaning «to travel» is an elegant term for of the 13th century, Swahili settlement propo- what safari is supposed for many a gentleman ses a journey through the history. Not very far – strong exciting, overflow of emotions. from Hemingways you can even go for a walk Or, one of the ways to find oneself – confron- in a real forest, the Arabuko-Sokoke. Virgin ting the great and divine nature. I prefer this rain forest is adorned with rare and unique rather romantic idea. Anyway, there is a large species, such as Sokoke Scopps owl, a notable excursion menu of safaris to such game sanc- Ancient elephant and shimmering butterflies. tuaries as Tsavo East and West National Parks. After visiting Gede and a piece of history of this Safari of our days is different since we have surprising land, you can pay a visit to the farm changed the objective of the rifle for that of nearby. It is a real live snake farm that produces the camera. This colorful wild world of diffe- venom for the anti*venoms manufacturing. rent shapes is a real pleasure for the sight. This time, the time passed rapidly as we were completely involved in this active Africa. It will be difficult to forget fun evenings in the resort with vivid conversations about fishing and safari, all of them, nature orienated. Felicity In the Bush Jill, a European African and, moreover, Kenyan, tells us her story: « In 1979 a group of friends visited the mouth of one of the tributaries of the Tana River, Kenya‘s longest river that originates on the slopes of Mount Kenya, and runs through dry lowland in the north into the largest wetlands of the country. They had heard that there were amazing channels, wildlife - including some of Kenya‘s largest elephants that are fed of the Doum Palm nuts. Lions, buffalo, bush buck, water buck, crocodiles and hippos. They were also amazed at the birdlime. The group was not disappointed... » From that experience Renaldo Retief, Jill‘s husband (who was working on the Tana River, buying fresh mangoes from the local Pokomo Farmers for export to Europe), and two friends - Terry O‘Meara, a surveyor and explorer, and Charlie McConnell, a tour operator, decided to put up a camp at the mouth of this tributary. The camp has grown from a group of ten tents at the base of the dunes into a lodge with 6 cottages built with local materials of drift- wood, galana stone, hessian palm frond roofs. King-sized beds evoke past times, those of the first explorers, and you begin to feel as one of them, surrounded by wonderful views over the dunes, sea and delta. The Tana Delta is tucked into convenient curves and ridges in the high rampart dunes separating the delta from the Indian Ocean. The highest point of the dunes provides the dreamlike setting for the dining area, with a platform for watching the sunset and the stars. No building, no lodge, no other town or city or village is visible from here, although you can see for 20-30 kilometres in every direction. Everything here is totally different... Arriving in a boat bending the river between the channels of the delta, and hardly seeing the thatched roofs of the cottages hidden in the dunes is already exciting. You know you will have to search for your room as the rooms are not set in a neat row! There is a surprise around every corner – the creation to be enjoyed. In the middle of the bushes, tranquil gentle breeze brings the scents of fresh limes and mangoes. Mango is the king fruit here. It is so nice to wake up with thousands of sounds - hundreds of birds and voices of the river Tana and the Indian ocean waters. After this nice conversation it is gorgeous to start a day with a walk or a boat trip along the channels with a guide who can lead you in these adventures through the waters and dunes. The Tana Delta expects its guests to be very friendly to the nature, interested in environment first and foremost; to enjoy the spell of the Indian ocean beach which stretches for twenty kilometres with no lodge nor person to meet on the way; and to savour the freedom, the silence, the fruits of the earth and the ocean. Outside this solitary world there are local commu- of Boran cattle that are fed of the grassland and water from nities fighting with the wildlife that steals their crops. At the Tana River, and occasionally get grabbed by the crocodi- the same time these people are aware of the fact that the les. Then, there are the Pokomo, who are mainly horticultu- wildlife is of great interest and maybe they can turn the ralists and live on the river. Their main product is mangoes menace into an asset that will sustain them in future. which they used to export to Europe, but big multinational As friends and guardians of this land, the Tana Delta people companies have overtaken them. Renaldo is helping them are entrusted with the conservation and protection of the in looking for a new market to sell their fruit. region and its inhabitants. The Tana Delta is a real friend of Fortunately, there are no cities nearby. The nearest is Ma- Africa.... lindi which is 70 kilometres away. But it is another story to In the Tana Delta Dune Lodge there is a community fee that tell. is a part of the payment. This is 20$ per person per night. Life is going well at the Tana Delta.....There is a pride of lion This money goes to the Trust that has been formed bet- that is living near the camp and drinking from the swim- ween the Lodge Management and the local community. ming pool. There was also a python that ate a Civet cat in There is a new resident Manager and his wife, Robert and the camp compound two weeks ago. Sarah O‘Meara. They are also Directors of the Lodge and Life goes well wherever there is a soul to follow it. And it have its philosophy and interests at heart. Renaldo and can be stated that Tana Delta has it. The soul. his wife Jill are working more with the communities, trying to get their participation in the area conservation up to a After the Tana experience you can‘t help asking mature understanding. yourself: and what now? Nevertheless, as you get to another The EU founded a programme to help the community. The place you just understand that there are so many precious Credits: Photos : Jesús Lopez EU paid for the building of the two community bandas, built worlds....existing on their own. Text: Angelina Mrakic in the same style as the cottages at the Lodge, but smaller. Finally you realize that a travel is not just a mere pleasant Art direction: Eyck Liefold These bandas are quite away from the Lodge, nearer to the excursion. This idea made me think of Margaret Fuller, an communities, and the visitors may stay in. The villagers are American writer, who, writing about Italy, if I am not mista- learning to take a full responsibility for their guests, their ken, says that Italy is so beautiful, worth of being loved and Hotels | Places: Alfajiri : www.alfajirivillas.com rooms and take the guests on boat trips to see the hippos embraced, not spoken about. The Funzi Keys : www.thefunzikeys.com and crocodiles. The money they receive will be used for the Anyway it was a great pleasure to tell you this story. And Hemingways Resort : www.hemingwaysco.ke community‘s benefit. you, you can always love it and embrace it. The Tana Delta : www.tanadelta.org There are different tribes that can be found while visiting local villages. Orma tribe are cattle farmers with large herds TB | Amando Africa 21