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.

Easter Break: Welcome to Lamu!

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon when I landed at the Lamu airport.  The airport is on an otherwise mostly deserted island across the channel from Lamu Town.  There are only a few flights a day, so the local boat-taxis know when to be on hand to ferry everyone over.  I followed the rest of the crowd down to the end of the pier and found a boat with no problem.  The trip over costs about a dollar.  

Travel Advice: Vietnam (Ha Long Bay)

If you go to Vietnam, you need to see more than just the cities.  One of the most famous areas to visit is the beautiful Ha Long Bay.  Search for it in google images and you'll see why.  The easiest way to go is to go with a group from Hanoi; they can book it for you at your hostel.  I don’t normally like group trips, but this one was really good and meant I was able to fit in a lot more activities than I would have on my own.  We spent the night on a boat in the bay, went kayaking, explored a cave, swam from the boat and from the beach on the island, got foot massages, spent a night in beach huts on Monkey Island,  saw a floating city, saw monkeys, ate a lot of prawns, rode bikes or hiked to visit a secret army hospital built in a cave, and enjoyed the scenery. The only precautions I would have are, if you are traveling by yourself, be sure and check if you will get a room to yourself or will be expected to share with someone, and when they tell you that the hike on monkey island to see the monkeys is an easy half-hour stroll, they are lying.  I don’t remember how much the tour cost exactly, but it seems like it might have been around $100 for two days (everything, including food).  The only thing to buy was if you wanted drinks other than water.  Anyhow, it was worth it.  

After Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, many travelers go on to the beaches of South Vietnam; I didn’t have time to do so. But, if you do, I hear they’re really beautiful.