Just like many other Kenyans who have narrated their tall tale of lockdown in a foreign land, an American couple found itself in Kenya longer than expected.
DamiAna and Dale Trimble had hoped to have a good time in Kenya and they arrived on January 19, 2020.
They were to be in Kenya for three months. This would be the time that they would visit the country by width and breadth exploring different places and cultures.
In their bucket list was a visit and stay in the Coastal region of Kenya and tour Lamu, Kilifi, and Mombasa while sampling life in different beaches.
Then, they would traverse the country to the famous Maasai Mara along with their three children.
Unfortunately, they never got to wind up their trip to Kenya as the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
Their cab driver informed them while returning to Nairobi that flights had been cancelled and dusk to dawn curfew imposed.
“When we heard about that, we didn’t panic. We just said ‘ok’, and wondered how this chapter of life would look like. We had never experienced a lockdown,” DamiAna told People Daily.
They immediately extended their Kenyan Visa stay and booked accommodation via Airbnb. They did not panic at all, they explain.
And just like that, their plan to be around for three months was extended. From then, they learnt so much about the Kenyan culture online through vlogs.
They also became lovers of the Nairobi Arboretum where they visited during morning hours for bike riding and nature walks. They would then shop for groceries thereafter.
“We learnt more about Kenyan food and culture. We also went to the streets and blessed 50 Kenyans families financially during the tough Covid-19 period,” DamiAna recalls.
The couple considers itself the “digital nomads” and they live off travel. So far, they have travelled to more than 20 countries across the world.
The couple holds that travel is critical in their lives because it teachers their children different things.
