Blue Lamu Moon

Well I can say I’ve seen paradise now.

I started the trio trip with Isobel, Gemma and me in tow, from Nairobi to Mombasa to Malindi to Lamu, back to Mombasa, and now sittin in Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania.

That is more hours on cramped and bumpy buses than I care to think about, but on the bright side, I’ve finished three and a half books.

Mombasa was a colourful city, whether it was the noise and traffic, the middle eastern style of the place or just the vibrant and amazing fruits we havent seen in three months, i’m not quite sure. Though I do suspect it was the fruits.

An overnight stay in Mombasa and we were away up the northern coast, a little place overlooking a dismal beach in the rain caught our attention, but not long enough to stay the night. Back Matatu it was. For those undeducated chaps out there a Matatu is like a Tarago van used for public transport in kenya, you can generally fit about 25 on a packed one, even though there are only 12 seats.

The next stop on the coast was a little place called Malindi, a brilliant place to stay if you’re into the whole beachside, paradise, bleeding money out of your ears resort thing, but for budget travellers it’s not the most ideal spot. The place is a popular destination for holidaying italians, so there is an abundance of italian eateries and a couple of em not too bad at that.

The beaches in Malindi though brilliantly white, were covered in seaweed, not that pleasant to swim in, so we were off again, this time to an island just off the upper coast of kenya, a little archipelago called Lamu.

Now Kenya is a country covered in people, most often the people you meet seem nice and genuine but the conversation quickly turns to what can they get from you, the mentality process goes something like this:

*Look a Mzungu (swahili for white person)*
*Greet Mzungu*
*Act friendly as all hell and ask Mzungu a series of questions about themselves*
*Edge the conversation to themselves and their predicament*
*Proceed to ask the Mzungu for their phone number, hat, watch, money, hand in marriage, jewelery or any other assortment of things*

Not everyone in the country is like this, just the ones that are super keen on getting friendly, often the ones who stop you in the street. Sometimes you just get yelled at with a “Give me your bag” by some complete random, or people will chant “OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA” to which you politely mention you’re Australian, they give you a funny look and continue chanting.

This is just a small assortment of the strange things people do when white people walk by. So when people helped us with our bags off the ferry onto Lamu Island, helped us to a brilliant hotel and even offered a boat ride ONLY ONCE and then didnt even ask for our names, let alone a phone number. I had to say I was impressed with the place.

From our hotel in lamu we had a waterfront view, sights of grass-thatch rooves of the old town and a breakfast included, we could sit on the roof and watch the palm trees wave lazily at the small sailing boats wafting through the blue waters, reading a book with our feet up and our heads back.

The whole coast of Kenya has a huge Islamic influence, the island of Lamu was no exception, the houses of the old town wove a maze of small roads criss crossed in a higgeldy piggeldy fashion, intermixing the middle eastern style of building and closeness with the palm thatched rooves and island feel. It was as if the place had been made by those people who decorate a place to feel like a tropical paradise, until you realised that THIS was their inspiration for it all.

The people were genuinely friendly, never asking for more than a simple greeting or a wave, the accomodation and food was absolutely chipper and at smashingly cheap prices. On our second day we took a Dhow cruise (a traditional little wooden sailing/fishing boat) out to another of the islands for lunch. We were hitched with a couple of decent brits for the ride and found out they were staying in the same hotel as us, from then on we were stuck like glue.

The whole feel of the place, wandering through the street in the morning to see children running and playing, yipping “JAMBO” (Kenyan word for G’day) at you and bouncing on their way, the board games played on the side of the street by the older kids and the abundance of small side doors leading to brightly coloured clothe shops, souveneir stores, carving workshops and the ilk. Oh and i Havent even mentioned the beaches! Those pristine white beaches with clear water, sand as smooth as talcum powder and water so warm you could swear you’d just peed your pants.

On our second day we took a donkey ride to another of the picture perfect beaches, yes donkeys, here’s a hint. if you ride a donkey, use double padding, their spines stick out like no-ones business, and it rubs.

The island of Lamu is littered with donkeys, the first thing you hear in the morning, if not the muslim call to prayer is bound to be some stubborn donkey makin’ a racket. Theres even a donkey safe haven, for injured or old donkeys.

I won’t keep you too much longer, as I needa catch a nap before I head out to Zanzibar tomorrow, but I want to tell you about Ramadan. Because of the massive arabic influence most people follow it, so all day fasting is followed by most, which means restaurants generally dont open till 6:30 p.m.

It makes one slightly guilty walking around snacking on an icecream or chips when everyone else is starving, ya’ get more than a coupla’ dirty looks. Though at night the place comes alive, the food is good, the people are exhuberant and the town comes alive. Theres the added bonus of Ramadan foods, which are bought out just before sunset, they’re deep fried delicacies ranging from meat samosas to chicken flavoured bean things, to rice pudding tasting cakes (dubbed exotic sea sponges due to the texture) and donut ball things. It really is a lot of fun trying it all out, brilliant finger food.

Lamu was paradise in a nutshell.

Well I’ve written over 1000 words now, that should be enough till I get back from my stint in Zanzibar…. perhaps, im still keen to upload more photos.

Well all of you look after yourselves and please send your wishes, prayers and good luck my way, I’m sure I’ll find a use for it all

Till next time chaps

-Josh

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