Back from Lamu aka Paradise

The town of Lamu began life as a 14th century Swahili settlement, but the island has seen many visitors and influences, including Portuguese explorers, Turkish traders and the Omani Arabs. All left their mark, but Lamu developed its own particular culture, which has ultimately endured. Lamu’s narrow streets remain unchanged, and in the markets and squares around the fort life moves at the same pace as it always has. There are no vehicles on this island, and the donkey and the dhow remain the dominant form of transport. (http://www.magicalkenya.com/default.nsf/doc21/4YMS72FZEI2?opendocument&l=1&e=2)

Ok enough of that brief history session and let me tell you about the Lamu that I experienced.

Dana and I left on Saturday afternoon- we were delayed about an hour in Nairobi due to the rains, but that didn’t matter as we lounged on the benches, chatted, and got hyped up for the trip. When they finally called our plane to board we didn’t realize that it was first come, first serve seating so we ending up sitting in the flight attendant chairs that face backward- looking at everyone.

The flight was only an hour and a half and when we landed I knew this was going to be a great place to spend the weekend. The air was humid and the sun was fierce- just what I wanted after being in the rains of Nairobi for a long time. From the airport you then take a boat to your hotel- we were staying in an area called “Shela” and our hotel was called the “Island Hotel”. We were staying in the “penthouse” which was the rooftop room- overlooking the roofs of Shela and the water… it was wonderful!!

We immediately made our way to the beach where we found white sand and blue water- completely ideal. As the sun set we then had a drink at the ritzy hotel called “Poponi”. Side note- I am so used to beer that costs a little over $1 now that I was outraged to find out that the beer in Lamu is $2.50! (I know, it’s ridiculous since I am used to paying about $5-6/beer in Canada). It was at Poponi that we met “Dude”. He introduced himself as “Dude” so of course, being the inquisitive person I am, asked “SO- you are telling me that when you were born your parents named you Dude”. His response “No- that is my nickname, my born name is Mohammed”. Dude was born and raised in Shela and runs a dhow- taking tourists on trips. He was trying to convince Dana and I to take his trip, but we thought it would be best to stick with the hotel dhow. Dude was quite the character- he has somehow managed to be quite the linguist. He can impersonate any accent- so it was quite entertaining to hear an African man from Shela speak in a Scottish, Australian, and American accent.

The next day we went on a dhow (sailboat) ride. We started at 9 am and finished at 5 pm. It was amazing! Dana and I had our private sailboat with Captain Abdul and another shipmate (don’t remember his name).

We went snorkeling and watched them catch fish for lunch and then they docked the boat at a secluded island where Dana and I went swimming again, while Abdul and the other guy made lunch. It is fair to say that I have never had fresher fish than that before! We had yellow snapper, grouper, and calamari! It was great- accompanied with salad and fruit.

It was at lunch that the shipmate said to me “Ah- you look like lobster!”… Umm… thanks! So I knew that my time in the sun was coming to an end. On the way back on the sailboat I managed to find bits of shade, but Dana was soaking in every bit of sun possible. When we docked at 5:00 pm we then had some juice (very good in Shela) and then made our way back to the hotel for showers and supper. It was at this point that Dana started feeling poor and we both figured that she had way too much sun. It was an early night for both of us- Dana went to bed early as she was sick and after a comfortable hammock nap I then went to bed.

The next morning Dana was still not feeling well so I went for a walk on the beach and had an early morning swim. The water was so warm- even at 7:30 am when I went for a swim it was like swimming in bathwater. This was the last day of our trip and unfortunately Dana spent most of the day in the hotel room, not feeling well, while I read, sat on the beach, napped in the hammock and took in the rest of the town of Shela.

Overall, Lamu is an amazing part of Kenya. I would highly recommend a trip to Lamu or the Kenyan coast!!

For pictures of Lamu/Shela go to: http://amandakenya.shutterfly.com