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A note on power cuts

18 Feb 2026 · 2 min read
The garden in the evening

Mtwapa loses the grid sometimes — usually on hot afternoons, occasionally during a storm. Most of the time it is back within minutes.

When it is not, the generator catches it. There is a five-second gap during which the pool light flickers and the radio goes off. Then everything comes back, slightly warmer.

The Wi-Fi is on a separate UPS. It does not flicker at all.

If you are the sort of person who reads by candlelight when the lights go out, the candles are in the kitchen drawer to the left of the sink. Matches are above the stove. Returning the candles after, please — they are good ones.