Blogs from Lamu, Coast Province, Kenya, Africa

I'm not sure whether I should write about Lamu in my blog. It seems to be unheard of outside Kenya - hidden behind the plains of the Masai Mara, the beaches of Mombasa, and the peak of Mt. Kenya, doesn't appear on package tours or safaris - and therefore seems to have remained under the radar of most mainstream tourism. And thankfully so, for here, just off the northern Kenyan coast, just 40 miles from Somalia, is a little piece of car-free paradise that the world is yet to discover. I'd be lying if I said it's not touristy - the number of smart hotels and restaurants on the sea front prove that it is - and it is the talk of the town in the backpacker hostels in Nairobi, but it's managed to keep it's ... read more

Jambo from Kenya. The first couple of days travelling in Kenya were nothing short of the hardest two days we have had on our trip. It all started in Moyale, a town split by the border. After only finding disgusting accommodation riddled with cockroaches and our favourite, unclean communal toilets (an Ethiopian specialty) on the Ethiopian side we decided to risk it and cross the border hoping for something better, the problem being there was only one daily bus out of the place and it had long gone by the time we got there from Yabelo. We had no problems crossing the border, this is one that we were nervous about as they have had sporadic banditry right up to Moyale in the past, so getting across this with no hassle was a relief, although there ... read more

Paradise Lost A conceptual image of Paradise is reality, but can only be found within the architectural framework of an idealist’s imagination. Just as Happiness and Sadness, Good and Evil—these concepts do not exist, yet are everywhere. They are undiscoverable, can’t by found, hidden from the materialistic world; but they simply wait, readily available to be experienced whenever the heart is open and the mind is broad. In The Island of Lost Maps, author Miles Harvey states: These days… not even the truest of true believers would dare to put Paradise on a map. Yet despite the cynicism of our age, we humans have not lost our urge to quest after that place of perfect contentment, never quite finding it but never giving up hope, sometimes drawing so near that we can almost smell the faint ... read more

Nach der rasanten Busfahrt von Malindi und einer ziemlich nassen Bootsfahrt zur Insel Lamu, sind wir tatsaechlich auch angekommen: Wir steigen aus dem Boot und werden erst einmal von Beach Boys belagert. Jeder moechte unsere Rucksaecke tragen, um ein paar Groschen zu verdienen. Das ist eigentlich ganz gut, aber leider halten unsere kenianischen Rucksaecke das nicht aus und beide reissen noch auf dem Weg zum Hotel. Na ja, was solls, wir sind ja erst einmal angekommen. Ab hier laueft die Zeit noch ein bisschen langsamer. Auf Laum gibt es keine Autos. Entweder man laeuft, faehrt ein Boot oder reitet einen Esel. Kein Wunder, dass man hier nicht so sehr in Eile ist... wie auch. Die Strassen in Lamu haben Eselbreite. Es vielmehr enge und verwinkelte Gassen, in denen sich Esel und Menschen aneinander vorbei schieben. Die ... read more

Nach unserem kleinen Ausflug nach Italien ging es schneller als gedacht wieder nach Afrika: Morgens um 9 Uhr steige ich den Bus nach Lamu. Mir schlaegt die muffige Luft alter Bussitze entgegen. Mit dem Gestaenge der Sitze im Ruecken, einer Ladung lebender Ziegen im Kofferraum und Huehner als Sitznachbarn ging es in einer alten Klepperkiste als Bus Richtung Norden. Die Strasse ist zwar asphaltiert, aber das eine oder andere Schlagloch hebt mich aus meinen Sitz und schleudert mich wieder in den alten Sitz. Ich muss die meiste Zeit lachen, denn das ist besser wie jede Achterbahnfahrt. Wir kommen schneller voran als gedacht und die Haelfte der Kilometer haben wir nach 2 Stunden hinter uns. Doch dann biegt der Bus ab. Zunaechst denke ich, der Busfahrer hat sich verfahren oder die Karte falsch gelesen oder wir halten ... read more

8.04.09-8.07.09 I just returned from Lamu Island, the most perfect island off the coast of Kenya. We stayed in the most gorgeous hotel. I think we overpaid for the place but we got the penthouse which was two stories on the top of the house which was about the fifth story (no elevators here). I slept upstairs every night in the open air. It was really windy but so warm and I wish I could sleep outdoors every night. All the buildings are very open on the sides except for normally the bedrooms and there are no cars on the island except the district commissioners. That means all the roads look like alleyways and there’s this constant maze of alleys and donkeys running around that you have to navigate. It reminds me of what I would ... read more