14th July - Friday - Sasha

 Friday was our first full day in base camp called ‘Pope.’ 

We had a delicious breakfast of pancakes outside. Then we got on with our admin for the day which was sorting out SIM cards and M-PESA at the mall in Nyali (outside Mombasa). After waiting for a long time, we were all very happy to have functioning SIM cards. Then we headed to the shops and got some snacks. 

After lunch we learnt about all the possible dangers of the sea and then we put on our snorkels to check it out for ourselves. 

This was followed by an intense game of volleyball, where the mvp was definitely the wind. 

We finished off the night by getting to know each other verrrry well with a game of truth or dare.

OCEANS ALIVE SAYS:

Welcome to you all. It’s going to be a busy, fun and educational journey over the next four weeks. It’s great to meet you all and bear with us as we learn all your names! Great to see you already enjoying the beach and volleyball - the best way to unwind at the end of the day!

Getting your communication sorted out first is essential. We have great mobile network here with Safaricom (a Vodafone subsidiary) having the best coverage. Buying anything and everything here is done through MPESA - an innovative mobile banking platform which has transformed Kenya and EVERYONE uses it. It is easy to put money onto your MPESA from your UK account with the Revolut app. Data packages are worth getting too. They are inexpensive and make it easy to use your phone without worrying about data. The wifi at Pope is ok but it doesn’t reach to the cottages.

Karibu!