This post is originally from March 10, 2026

So this will come to no shock to you all I’m sure, but in true Heather fashion I’ve managed to keep the hospital streak alive on this trip. A week ago I started to get a volatile stomach situation (if you know what I mean). I thought it wasn’t that bad and I was fine to try to ignore it, but Liza insisted we go to a hospital since she didn’t want me to be sick when we head to Kenya (smart wife I have). It felt silly walking in with such a minor complaint, but thankfully I did because my bloodwork showed that I did have an infection and the doctor was pretty sure it was either e. coli or salmonella. Yummmm! They gave me all the medication in an iv cuz I was also a bit dehydrated and sent me on my way with a suitcase of drugs. So Princess Poopsalot has not been feeling 100 this past week, but hey – what would a vacation be without a side of ecoli?! 

It is interesting to see how they do things differently than they do in  Canada. At home, IV fluids are hanging from rubbery/plastic bags, here they are in glass bottles. At home they give you a plastic cup to pee in, here they use a cardboard bowl (weird but there’s no chance you’ll miss! ) And at home you pay for your medication at the pharmacy, but here the pharmacist hands you your medication in a metal cage that is locked and alarmed, and only when you pay at the front counter will they free your meds.

The last week has been a bit of a blur. We’ve had so many visits with friends and family that it’s hard to keep count. Although it’s been incredible for Liza to have these visits, I can see how it has become an extreme roller coaster. She becomes so excited to see her loved one(s) before the visit and then there’s this emotional high when they’ve connected. The visits are amazing but always too short, and then there is the heart breaking goodbyes. It’s not just once, this is happening day after day.  Living abroad is no joke and I can’t even put into words how grateful I am that she leaves this all behind for me. I’m one lucky gal, that’s for sure! 

So after our final goodbye’s to the family it was time to set off to Kenya.

On Sunday our flight leaving Cape Town was at 6am. For most of the world the only thing one would complain about was waking up at 3:30, but when in Cape Town there is something much bigger to think about – your safety. You see CT is safe (with an asterisk). If you are in the right areas in the day, you are totally safe. If you are in the wrong areas in the day, not so safe and if you are pretty much anywhere at night, you are NOT safe at all. The disparity between those who have  and those who don’t are quite drastic. And the sad thing is, there are far more that are desperate and have nothing. With the desperation, there is in increase in crime and that makes being in the wrong place at the wrong time dangerous. 

So saying all this, driving the roads at night is not ideal. Instead of stopping at a red light drivers tend to slow down in advance and slowly make their way to the light (kind of like what we do in snow). This tactic is so that if anyone comes out to carjack you, you can get away easier. And if there is no traffic you just run the red light, no questions asked. Crazy right!?  When we left at 4am, Liza’s brother was adamant that he drive ahead of us to make sure we got to the airport safely – that’s just the normal way of life here. 

Our first week in Kenya we are exploring on our own in a coastal town called Malindi. Our accommodation is unreal. I found it on Booking.com – it’s an entire suite owned by an Italian lady on the top floor of a condo complex. It’s super bougie and we have the perfect view of the ocean and a gorgeous pool. I feel like there are two official languages here in Malindi – Swahili and Italian. There are so many Italians here, most of them old and leathery. It’s kind of sad because at the restaurants you see so many old men with beautiful young Kenyan women. Again, desperation will make a person do anything. 

Yesterday we met with a guide who helped us arrange a few excursions while we are here. Before he left he asked us if we were interested in getting massages. He told us that his sister is a massage therapist. At first he said that she could come to our accommodation, but then he quickly changed his story and said she also has a really nice place right near the ocean. He arranged to pick us up this morning and take us by tuk tuk and it would only cost us about $30 CAD each. Great! So he picked us up and drove toward this beautiful hotel and spa. Liza and I were both thinking whoa, this is nice … and then he just kept driving … down a dirt road until he couldn’t  drive further due to a massive tree blocking the road. We got out of the tuk tuk and followed him along the dirt road lined with shacks (you know the ones – they are made of corrugated tin) to one called Juliana’s Massage. Let me first give you the full picture. It’s well above 35 degrees Celsius and humid! The tin shack, although I’m sure lovely, could only be a zillion times more hot. And to make it a bit more unbearable, only one of us could go at a time. Meaning the other would have to sit in the hot sun on the dirt road for an hour (probably having locals try to sell us something). I fully imagined that Juliana would not need to use massage oil as I’m sure my sweat would have been enough in that sauna. In retrospect, I wish I took a photo of this scene, but at the time we were a bit flustered and just wanted to get out of the situation. We both quickly knew we would rather be back at our accommodation swimming in the pool, but felt incredibly terrible to say we wanted to go back. We paid Juliana, but you could tell our guide Saidi was hella annoyed with us. Tomorrow we will spend the whole day with him so hopefully he won’t spit in our food!