At the end of every year, while Europe stays indoors discussing traffic, obligatory dinners and New Year's resolutions that will last until Epiphany, a portion of famous humanity takes a plane and chooses the sun as a minimal form of survival.

If this year the Maldives, Polynesia and other places accessible only to millionaires have to do without footballers and their partners, due to the lack of a break in the championship, there are television personalities, influencers and even chefs (who are now almost more famous than writers and directors) who choose the heat.

From this point of view, Kenya remains a certainty: the world changes, social media and television programmes change, but the coast remains there, ready to welcome the eternal seasonal migration of the wealthy and the highly visible.

Malindi, as always, plays the role of the veteran. Here, the ritual is well established: Flavio Briatore, with Elisabetta Gregoraci and their son Nathan Falco, has once again chosen their (Flavio's and the heir to the throne's, at least) Billionaire Resort & Retreat as their retreat for the Christmas holidays. This is not news, it is a custom. Malindi is the place where people no longer talk about luxury but about the luxury of well-being, where the sea is a constant backdrop and it does not matter if it is not transparent and time seems to stand still just long enough to be photographed well.

Like the ever-present Flavio, you see a few familiar, ageing faces around, former TV personalities, past showgirls and journalists tired of reporting and still alive for lobster-flavoured experiences.

But while Malindi maintains its status as the emotional capital of the jet set of yesteryear, the young Watamu continues to quietly change its skin. It doesn't shout, it doesn't flaunt, it doesn't demand. And perhaps for this reason, in recent years, it has become the choice of those who seek Kenya without having to interpret Kenya.

The same goes for newcomers who see it as a simple winter mooring in the sun and perhaps buy a house there.

This is the case of Aurora Ramazzotti, who was seen a few months ago on holiday with Goffredo Cerza, her son Cesare and her friend Sara Daniele. Even in that case, the subtext was more important than the news: Watamu as a place of return, not of passage, with family and housing ties that make it less of a “destination” and more of a temporary home.

This is where, according to recent reports in the Italian lifestyle press, the famous (among 15-year-olds, perhaps) rapper Ernia spent Christmas 2025 with his partner Valentina Cabassi, a model, influencer and aspiring actress.

A family-oriented and discreet holiday, recounted through images and references that speak of the sea, relaxation and distance from the usual media noise. Ernia, whose real surname seems to be a nod to Watamu (Professione) and Cabassi, a solid couple far from the intrusive spotlight, chose Watamu as a place to slow down after an important year on a personal level.

And Watamu is perfect for this. It is a place where the rapper can be a father on holiday, not a celebrity. Where selfies are possible but not necessary. Where time, instead of being monetised, is simply lived.

This is not an isolated case. In recent years, Watamu has seen — often without fanfare — familiar faces from reality TV, former contestants from Big Brother and MasterChef, more or less recognisable influencers, all united by the same need: to disappear for a while without going too far. Here, there is no noisy social life, but a gentle sociability, made up of beach restaurants, low tides that look like a lake and evenings that end early because the sun waits for no one the next day. There are those who swear that even these days there are many, but you will forgive us if we cannot identify them with the acronym “very important persons”.

However, they undoubtedly contribute to tourism revenue, and it is mainly for this that we must thank them.
Then maybe someone will realise that they are in Kenya.
And while the fake VIPs alternate between iconic resorts and more intimate beaches, the Kenyan coast continues to do what it has always done best: welcome, absorb, transform. Without haste. Like a tide that rises and falls, indifferent to fame, but always ready to reflect it.