Leaving Lamu

After a few days in Lamu, it was time to head back to Nairobi for the Intermission Retreat.  It's only a little more than a couple of hours to fly, so I landed in Nairobi by 1:45 in the afternoon.  I took one of the small motorboats back across the channel to the airport.  Since it's hot weather around here nearly year-round, the airport waiting room is open air.  It would have been nice to have a bit of air conditioning, but at least there's shade.  

 In the photo above, you can see Lamu along the coast of the island across the channel. The water was a beautiful color as we flew down the coast, although the pictures aren't great as the plane window was quite smudged.

Inland, it's dusty and dry.

Once I landed back at Nairobi Wilson airport, I had a while to wait because I had planned for someone from the Monduli crowd to pick me up as they passed the airport on their way up, as they were all driving up that day.  It was a bit stressful at first because I couldn't get my phone to work, even though I'd bought a roaming bundle that should have allowed me to use whatsapp in Kenya.  I couldn't get a Kenyan sim card because all the official sim card sellers are only allowed to sell sim cards to people with Kenyan IDs.  I'm sure it's possible somewhere to get a sim card without said ID, but the places at the airport follow the law.  Finally someone told me that there was a Java House restaurant down by the private jet area that has good wifi.  That was a wonderful move--the food was great, the wifi was strong, and they didn't mind at all that I stayed for six hours since they weren't too busy.  I splurged on the crazy sundae below.  My waiter was really nice; they close at nine except for a side part for private functions, but he offered to let me stay anyhow rather than sending me outside at night.  Fortunately, I had been in contact with the Monduli crowd and Ralph and Twyla Williams had agreed to stop and get me, and they would be arriving soon, so I headed back down by the airport entrance to meet them.  It was pretty late by the time we arrived, after 11 pm.  Tomorrow Intermission begins!

Last Morning in Lamu

On my last morning in Lamu, I didn't need to leave for the airport until 10:30, so I went out early for breakfast and a last walk around town.  It was another beautiful but meltingly hot day, even at nine in the morning.  One of the things I enjoy about traveling to a relatively small place like Lamu is how familiar a place can become in only a few days.  I know to find the most direct path to my room by watching out for a particular tree along the waterfront (the one in the photo below). I know the little shop that always has my coke zero.  I have a favorite restaurant, which I visited again this morning to see if their breakfast is as good as their dinners.  (It was quite good, although a fried egg can't really be compared to grilled chicken with curry sauce).  I'll miss it here, although I do look forward to being back in central Kenya, where it's winter (not likely to be exactly cold, but it won't be 95).  

"Adequate" made me laugh.

Back to the guesthouse (the entrance is under the sign at the end of the alley) to get my bag.

Dinner at Hapa Hapa

I know, I know, pictures of someone else's food is boring.  But I'm sharing it anyway; it was that good.  Every meal I had in Lamu was good.  Food in East Africa tends to be quite simple, and at least in Tanzania, not heavily spiced.  Along the coast, though, there has been a lot of influence from India and the Middle East.  Tonight I had roast chicken and chapati (like thick, soft, fried tortillas) with a yellow curry sauce.  The restaurant, Hapa Hapa (Here Here) was small, and I was the only customer (though it isn't really tourist season, and I was eating a bit late), but the food was wonderful.  I may have to come back tomorrow for more.  (Edit: I did, in fact, go back and have more the next night.) 

Dhow into the Sunset

All along the coast of East Africa, dhow boats can be seen sailing among the island and the old Swahili port towns.  Dhows are an ancient type of sailboat; historians think that they originated in India (or possibly Arabia) sometime between 600 BC and 600 AD (a wide range, but wherever in that range they fall, they've been used a long time).  They have been used along the Indian Ocean coast both on the Indian side and on the African side, in the Red Sea, and along the Persian Gulf coast of Oman for centuries.  

I had to wade out to the board used as a gangplank.

Dhows come in many sizes, although most on the Kenyan coast are small ones used for manuevering around the sea islands.  Larger ones are still used to make the trip between the Persian Gulf and East Africa, using only sails.  They usually carry dates and fish to East Africa and mangrove wood back to Arabia.  To sail with the winds, they usually sail south with the monsoon winds in winter or early spring, and return to Arabia in late spring or early summer.  It's not certain how long they've been used in Kenya, but as Lamu was closely allied with Oman for several centuries and it's known that Oman was an early center for their use, local boat builders could well have been influenced by Omani settlers.  Despite their sleek design, dhows can carry heavy loads of water, wood, and fruit.

The two crew members adjust the sails.

In Lamu, several of the smaller dhows are now used to take visitors across the channel to the outer islands and out to the Shela Point to see the sunset from the water.  As far as I can remember, I had never been on a sailboat before, so I took the chance to go out for the sunset on board the Iman.  

The guys sailing the boat brought a speaker and played music from one of their phones for the journey.  I'm not sure if they were just starting with music they like or felt appropriate, or if they were trying to guess at what I would like, but we started out with a few Celine Dion songs. 

The Norwegian flag and a Kenyan sunset...

The Iman was flying a Norwegian flag; I asked about it and the captain said that the flag had been a gift.  It seems most of the dhows around Lamu fly a wide variety of flags from all over the place, just for fun, I suppose.

I love the contrast of the sail against the deep blue sky.

The symbol of a star and moon on a round dark background is the symbol of Lamu.  It was on all sorts of things in the tourist shops; I did end up buying a magnet version.

We sailed south through the channel towards the open sea beyond Shela. The island of Pemba is on the left. And at least out on the water, there was a bit of breeze to make the humidity bearable.

Shela from the water.

Another dhow sails past a couple of large vacation houses over on the Pemba side.

The beach was a bit more crowded with walkers late in the afternoon than it had been when I walked along it in the middle of day.  Probably a wise choice to wait until it's cooler.

Ruins of an old fort on the Pemba side, near the end of the island where the channel meets the open sea.

The castle-like place on Shela Beach that I walked by earlier in the day

The sunset was a nice one, especially with the sun glinting off the water.  We stayed out until the sun was completely gone, and then sailed back up the channel in the dusk.

Wandering Down to Shela Beach

My second day in Lamu was as bright, sunny and humid as the day before.  I set out mid-morning to wander down the waterfront towards Shela, the smaller town at the southern point of the island.  Everyone had said that it was an easy walk of two and a half kilometers between the towns, and that was true until about halfway there.  It turns out that a good bit of the way is underwater when the tide's in, and I found myself rather stuck. A local woman came along and tried to point me the right way, but we didn't get much further before she to couldn't walk much further without going for a swim. Fortunately, there are boats used as buses going back and forth, and one stopped for us and a couple of other people at that point.

Shela is much newer than Lamu Town, and not as restricted to maintain history.  So, this is where rich people have vacation homes. Thirty years ago, it was a fishing village, but now it's full of boutique guesthouses and such; it's nicer than Lamu Town, but I'm glad I'm staying in the old town.  Shela was too quiet. It's a pretty place, though, and the beach is very nice.  I wandered around the mostly deserted pathways a bit and poked in some souvenir shops before having lunch and reading for a while at my shady table overlooking the water.  

After lunch, I took a long walk down the beach.  The beach is about 12 kilimeters long, but I just walked until it started to curve around the end of the island.  There were only a few people out; I think I met more donkeys on the sand than people.  

I like this shot, except for that guy with the obnoxious orange pants...

Several dhows, the old-fashioned wood sailing boats, came by.  They all seem to have flags from different countries...

Looking across the channel to Pemba Island.  There is a resort hotel over there and some ruins that are supposed to be interesting. 

This incredible building looks like something out of the Crusades; it turns out it's a privately owned villa. 

Back in Shela, waiting for a boat back to Lamu.

Must be carpet-washing day...