Blogs from Lamu, Coast Province, Kenya, Africa - page 3

All week I’ve been trying to cut corners, looking for a way to get to far-flung Kiwayu - and the luxe Kiwayu Safari Village - on the cheap. The hour-long speedboat ride would set me back Ksh15,000 each way - a round trip total of four hundred-plus US bucks - so instead I’ve prowled the waterfront and hung around the jetty, grilling local captains on cheaper options. In the end, I hatch a scheme that shows off a certain African flair for low-budget improvisation. By way of the Ksh400 ferry I’ll arrive on Paté Island, and from there, I’ll attempt to arrange a speedboat to neighboring Kiwayu. I’m trying hard to ignore the sheer lunacy of a round-trip expedition that will involve twelve hours at sea. And I’m trying equally hard to ignore the possibility that ... read more

As the days pass in a drowsy blur of donkeys and bui buis, Ramadan blows in like a whirlwind of spiritual whoop-ass. Islam’s holiest month arrives with the new moon, on a festive night where the sky is cluttered with stars and the locals are boisterously out in the streets. There’s an odd ceremony by the waterfront at dusk, where a group of men are standing at attention. They dip their heads and wring their hands and shuffle a bit from side to side - perhaps anticipating, with the pure, holy anguish of faith, the trials of the month ahead. I wait for some sort of signal to mark the start of Ramadan: a thunderous call to prayer from the mosques, or a harsh siren wail, like the one that rings in shabat every Friday in ... read more

Though it’s miles - literally, figuratively - from the clamor of Mombasa and the teeth-gnashing nuisances of Malindi, Lamu’s proving to be just as slippery when it comes to peace and quiet. Along the waterfront I’m accosted by young guys in Bob Marley t-shirts, colorful kikoys wrapped around their slender waists. They come up to me, arms outstretched, as if they’re just catching up with old friends. “Brother, what’s the plan?” they’ll ask, clasping my hand and clapping my back and flashing broad, dazzling shit-eaters. These are the dhow captains of Lamu, the town’s equivalent of the beach boys who busy themselves around other coastal towns with wearying persistence. They have names like Captain Sunshine or Captain Happy or Captain Coconut (and, fittingly, his sidekick Captain Rice). They point to boats bobbing on the murky water ... read more

Hello! Here is our update from our post-volunteering travels to Lamu on the coast of Kenya near the border of Somalia. It is amazing here. A Swahili town with narrow walkways. It is a Muslim society and the people are just amazing. So kind and funny and welcoming. We are staying in a small guesthouse which was built, acording to Charlie who works here, a few hundred years ago. We are in the top room which has a balcony and is super breezy. We are right next to the mosque which makes for some early mornings with the pre-dawn call to prayer. but we are loving it here. We could easily live here. The fruit is so fresh and the Indian Ocean on our doorstep. We have taken two Dhow trips. These are the acient sail ... read more

On Friday morning me and 4 of my fellow volunteers (Ali, Naomi, George and Tom) caught a matatu up to Malindi airport to fly to Lamu. Unfortunately our flight got cancelled and we ended up sitting on a bus for 5 hours! The road to Lamu is very bumpy and pot-holey and about 60 miles away from our destination we had 2 armed guards join us because of the risk of bandits and the fact that we're very close to Somalia! We arrived in Lamu late afternoon and checked into our budget hotel (GBP2.30 a night). We went out to a restaurant called Bush Gardens owned by a guy called Satan! The food was nice enough but it was so slow! We must have waited about an hour and a half for our starters alone! ... read more