“The Sea in Mombasa is as blue as a cornflower, and outside the inlet to the harbour, the long breakers of the Indian Ocean draw a thin crooked white line, and give out a low thunder even in the calmest weather” Karen Blixen, Out of Africa.

Karen Blixen spoke with romantic lyricism about the lure of the sea and the love of Africa in the 1930’s. That spirit is still so deep and true, and it echoes through the ages, with new narratives of destiny and courage. I agree with with her too that “The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.”

When first encountered the heart-breaking blue Mombasa Sea in April 2009…..I stood to mourn the tragic young death of Bassim in Egypt during the new year celebrations in Cairo. Another lost life as children lay dying from the war in Palestine. “It is not OK that young Bassim is dead” the sea would say…….

I came also to start a new life in Kenya, after 33 years in London….after my romantic dreams had died away too. From the beginning of time until today, the curative power of the sea holds true.

“When in the end, the day came on which I was going away, I learned the strange learning that things can happen which we ourselves cannot possibly imagine, either beforehand, or at the time when they are taking place, or afterwards when we look back on them.” – Out of Africa, 1937