The Swahili Coast is not a true surf destination. Too windy, too misplaced in the groundswell sphere. Name comes from the Arabicsawil(“of the coast”), first stuck by Arabs to the Bantu-speakers from West and Central Africa who’d already staked many villages facing the blown-out slop raking shallow coral reef formations fronting lagoons that today are praised by kiteboarders. Almost two decades from my first Swahili exit, I wanted to dip back into this special slice of Earth. One could spend a proverbial lifetime grokking its labyrinths, its role as a world nexus and ultimately in shaping the modern identity of East Africa. Cryptic as the zone itself, one could also spend a proverbial lifetime sleuthing Swahili surf. It can be. Just don’t start with Somalia.

Featured: Kenya’s central coast, the Zanzibar Archipelago, Mozambique’s Quirimbas Archipelago, Comoros, and Mayotte.