Monday, August 11, 2014

Butterflies and Ruins

Late one afternoon we visited the complex that holds both the Kipepo Butterfly House and the Gedi Ruins.

We started in the butterfly house where we learned about the local business of capturing and breeding many of the local species for export. This is a good, apparently sustainable, source of income for locals. The building itself was beautiful and the butterflies were gorgeous!



 








The Gedi Ruins are neatly nestled in forest a few kilometers inland from Watamu. We had a wonderful guide through the ruins who gave us the history of the Swahili people who built these incredible structures back in 13th or 14th century. Among the structures are a palace, a mosque, and numerous stone houses. Many of the houses had their own wells and even some bathrooms with drains and toilets.




Kara invites us into 'her' palace

  

 


 

The city is thought to have been abandoned in the 16th century, now the only inhabitants are these overly friendly Sykes monkeys! 


 



 

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