Lamu
Archipelago
Our first real getaway in Kenya was to the archipelago called
Lamu off the northern coast about 100 km south of Somalia. Considered
one of the original Swahili locations--Lamu Town is the oldest Kenyan town--combines centuries old Arabic influence,
African laid-back
rhythms tossed with a bit of the Greek Islands of 50 to 100 years ago.
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When Rick and I landed at the Lamu Airport (Far L), we noticed that it
was really an airstrip with a couple of large huts and two sets of
airplane access steps stowed under a tree. And the airstrip itself was actually on Manda Island which has no fresh water so must import all its water daily by boat from Lamu Island. We found our luggage--we were 2 of the 4 passengers at the time so that was easy--then walked down a dirt road to a dock (Above L) where we were picked up by a boat (Above R) to reach the Kijani House Hotel on Lamu Island (Far R in yellow). |
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Our room at the Kijani House was a suite with loft and balcony.
The view from the balcony while the tide was high (Far L) was an
idyllic seascape. Less so at low tide (Above L). On our boat from Shela, the town where our hotel was located, to Lamu Town was 10 minutes including climbing into and out of the boat. Except for the occupants on the other boats we passed (Above R), the picturesque coastline looked like the Mediterranean. However, once we landed in Lamu Town and starting walking with Mr. Hamid, our guide, it felt as though we were in stepping into the early 1900s (Far R). |
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| There are no
cars on Lamu, and if you don't have a donkey or donkey cart, you
walk down the dirt streets (Far L). Mr. Hamid proved to be a
very knowledgeable guide, talking about the old construction (often chunks of coral as in lighter grey Above L) vs. new stones and mortar (darker grey) not nearly as sturdy. Viewed from the roof of an historic home under renovation, many buildings looked more like ruins (Above R). The 14th century mosque (Far R) provoked a lively yet friendly religious discussion with Mr. Hamid. |
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The islands depend on donkeys, so no one can afford sick ones. The
residents started a Donkey Sanctuary (Far L) for orphan or sick
animals. Most of the streets are not as wide as Main Street (Above L)--maybe 2 donkey-widths. In fact our impression was that the town could have been in Morocco or Egypt more than Kenya. To get the full Swahili experience we sailed on a dhow (Above R), uniquely local to Africa's Indian Ocean coast. We witnessed a beautiful sunset (Far R) with a large flock of birds rising from the sea. Then our sailboat got stuck in the sand so one sailor pushed and the other poled us back to our hotel in the dark. |
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| As
we walked to breakfast on Monday morning, a local turtle (Far L)
paused to greet us. On our way back from breakfast, we heard
loud grunting sounds, then saw that our friend had found a romantic spot for his/her friend (Above L). Rick rushed to our room to get his camera--purely for scientific documentation. We boarded a boat one last time to leave the beautiful scenery (Above R). Then we waited at the departure lounge (Far R) for our flight to Nairobi. |
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