Tide Pooling

Rasta, our guide from the Star Fish Island talked us into another mini trip, a dive trip in the local tide pools. Thursday was our last day in Mombasa, so what better day to go on a little excursion. Rasta and Ali met us in front of the house and we set out on the little grass path. 

Clad in my bikini and havaianas I followed the pack into the tide pools. We had watched the tides drift in and out all week but I was not aware of how vast and far the tide pools ran, ecosystems emerged all along the coastline. For miles the little shallow beds unveiled the homes of little creatures previously submerged by the rocky waves. As we approached the tide pools Rasta flashed a toothless grin, indicating that we were close. At the water's edge he points to a watery pathway, we had arrived at Monkey Bridge. He warned us to stay on the trail, we obeyed for fear of another altercation with the sea urchins. 

Ragged coastlines to the west, a dark blue expanse to east, stormy clouds approaching in the distance from the south. Our path only illuminated by the unsettled sand from Rasta's footsteps. After what felt like an eternity of traversing this watery jungle we made it to our first stop, the "Africa Pool." The first pool resembled the continent of Africa, with a small imprint of madagascar right next to it. The scene from our first pool resembled that of a "Pirates of the Caribbean" set. The pool was filled with kelp forests, sea urchins, tiger fish and lion fish. We explored our new underwater playground for about half an hour then decided to make our way towards our second location. 

The next tide pool was a different experience, cave dives filled with bats! This was my first time seeing bats up close so I was really excited. As we dove into the pool we glided into the small cliffside caves. This little ravine looked like a scene from Indiana Jones. As we dove farther into the cave the light began to fade and we could hear little chirps above us. I looked up to see hundreds of bats buzzing above my head. If you have never seen a bat before know this, they are not cute, but they are a spectacular specimen. Little beady eyes, gnarled pig-like faces  mesh into a little flying skeleton. We gawked at the fury creatures for a couple more minutes then made our way out of the pools. The tides were rising quickly and it was time for us to go. Rasta escorted me to our little escape route because I had already tumbled on this slippery waterway. We got back to the cottage just as it began to rain. The remainder of our day was spent lounging around the cottage waiting out the rain.