Only 25 kms north of Watamu is Malindi, a seaside Swahili town, bigger than Watamu. Already founded in the 13th Century, the city centre has some interesting, yet crippling, historical buildings. Since the 1960s, Malindi has been known as “Little Italy”. The tourist resort is brimming with Italian owned restaurants, pizzerias, delis and gelato shops. Italian restaurant menus offer after-dinner liquors such as Limoncello and the African beach boys – hawking snorkel trips, woodcarvings or ganja, all make their pitch in Italian. What an odd sight.
