Alhamisi 23 septemba
KiSwahili word of the day is salama. Peace.
I also made a YouTube video of my time in Lamu:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G90z3zLBbg
So today was a trip and a half. It begins with waking up and taking the bus to Mokowe to get the ferry. So far I have been spoiled with the Kenyan roads (so far so paved!) so I didn't mentally prepare myself for this journey and had a seat in the second to last row so was bumping all over the place on dirt roads and my bottom hurt so much every time the bus slowed down, I prayed that we were in Mokowe and it was time to stop.
ALSO there were checkpoints somewhat reminiscent of Hotel Rwanda; with armed guards and spikes in the road that had to be manually moved out of the way for buses to pass. I found out later this evening that these points were instated 3 years ago, but prior to this there were lots of bus robberies and everyone on the bus would be killed... so I am very thankful for the extra precaution.
The scenery was gorgeous though. So many ponds with lilies and monkeys! and my favorite scene was this baboon standing on top of a grass hut, with only banana trees and grasses around and a circle of baboons surrounding the hut and looking up at the first baboon... it was like nature was reclaiming civilization. or just a scene from the Lion King.
Finally at Mokowe I get onto the ferry with maybe 75 other people, all their luggage, chickens, and vegetables and the boat itself I cannot believe that it actually floats even without all the luggage and people. So the whole time I am gripping the side of the boat and trying to stay calm, but somehow we made it safely to Lamu.
I was taken to Yumbe House (GORGEOUS! even though a little more that I wanted to pay) and arranged a Dhow Tour with "Captain Happy" or Omar Shariff who would later become the bane of my existence. The whole time I was in Watamu, I felt badly for being so suspicious of everyone so placed my trusts fully in Captain Happy.
Omar Shariff took me all around Amu (the main town on Lamu), really fun, then through Kashmir (everyone is obsessed with India so many towns on the island are named after places in India) then finally we went to get tea with his friend.
His friend was building this very nice apartment complex. If you have ever seen a movie depicting a Columbian drug lord, this is kind of what the scene looked like. We met with the owner, 2 other Kenyans, and this other American was there who was just traveling after spending a year volunteering in Rwanda. We were both equally confused over what was going on, and my new friend refused to drink any of the tea or food offered.
Omar Shariff and I returned to Amu and he bought me dinner then was very eager to show me the stars from his apartment. HELLS to the NO. I appreciated his generocity in showing me around town and promising me a ride to Shela Beach on his donkey, Shakira, but the man was super sketch and had really bad body odor.
When I got to the hotel I was asking one of the guys who worked there about Omar Shariff, and a lot of what Omar Shariff had told me didn't check out, which I had already suspected. O well. Today was good anyway. Omar Shariff is a character. He is the sketchie Kenyan version of Danny Brooklyn. Maybe this is why I was so eager to trust him. He reminds me of my friend.
Ijumaa 24 septemba
KiSwahili word of the day is : rafiki. friend.
I met the American from the night before with a new guy, a Brazilian living in Italy and who had just finished working for some time in Zambia. So great. We walked to Shela Beach which was absolutely unreal. Kilometers of clear waters and white sands and no hotels in sight. We played in the waves then I turned around and the tide was already past our bags. The ground was so flat that the tide came in rapidly, I could literally see it moving across the sands. Really cool.
Then we were all desperate for a beer. Lamu is mostly Islamic, so the only beers were either really over priced at the resort or at the bar at the police station. So in Lamu, essentially, the only place you can drink or buy alcohol is at the police station.
As we were leaving the police station and going back to one of the guest houses, we were approached by Ali Hippie offering us this food and cultural experience. The Brazilian immediately starts gushing "I don't believe it! I don't believe it! THE Ali Hippie? I must get your photograph for my blog!" I am frantically flipping through Lonely Planet... "who the hell is Ali Hippie?" then finally fall back and ask the American what is going on. He explains that Ali Hippie was in some guide book in the 1970s, but recently there have been a lot of Ali Hippie imposters. My Brazilian was super excited to meet an Ali Hippie imposter finally after 6 days on Lamu and was just messing with him.
Anyway this guy was waiting outside Causarina Guest House for us for 2 hours while we hung out and learned how to chew qat. I have the final rejection on tape.
What a great day.
The three of us stayed up late talking and drinking by the main ferry port then were hanging out on top of Causarina. They have a nice porch area but too many trees to get a good view. The view from Yumbe is a lot better, but I'm paying 1000 KSH more for it.
Boat ride with Captain Happy tomorrow. Duh na na!
KiSwahili word of the day is salama. Peace.
I also made a YouTube video of my time in Lamu:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G90z3zLBbg
So today was a trip and a half. It begins with waking up and taking the bus to Mokowe to get the ferry. So far I have been spoiled with the Kenyan roads (so far so paved!) so I didn't mentally prepare myself for this journey and had a seat in the second to last row so was bumping all over the place on dirt roads and my bottom hurt so much every time the bus slowed down, I prayed that we were in Mokowe and it was time to stop.
ALSO there were checkpoints somewhat reminiscent of Hotel Rwanda; with armed guards and spikes in the road that had to be manually moved out of the way for buses to pass. I found out later this evening that these points were instated 3 years ago, but prior to this there were lots of bus robberies and everyone on the bus would be killed... so I am very thankful for the extra precaution.
The scenery was gorgeous though. So many ponds with lilies and monkeys! and my favorite scene was this baboon standing on top of a grass hut, with only banana trees and grasses around and a circle of baboons surrounding the hut and looking up at the first baboon... it was like nature was reclaiming civilization. or just a scene from the Lion King.
Finally at Mokowe I get onto the ferry with maybe 75 other people, all their luggage, chickens, and vegetables and the boat itself I cannot believe that it actually floats even without all the luggage and people. So the whole time I am gripping the side of the boat and trying to stay calm, but somehow we made it safely to Lamu.
I was taken to Yumbe House (GORGEOUS! even though a little more that I wanted to pay) and arranged a Dhow Tour with "Captain Happy" or Omar Shariff who would later become the bane of my existence. The whole time I was in Watamu, I felt badly for being so suspicious of everyone so placed my trusts fully in Captain Happy.
Omar Shariff took me all around Amu (the main town on Lamu), really fun, then through Kashmir (everyone is obsessed with India so many towns on the island are named after places in India) then finally we went to get tea with his friend.
His friend was building this very nice apartment complex. If you have ever seen a movie depicting a Columbian drug lord, this is kind of what the scene looked like. We met with the owner, 2 other Kenyans, and this other American was there who was just traveling after spending a year volunteering in Rwanda. We were both equally confused over what was going on, and my new friend refused to drink any of the tea or food offered.
Omar Shariff and I returned to Amu and he bought me dinner then was very eager to show me the stars from his apartment. HELLS to the NO. I appreciated his generocity in showing me around town and promising me a ride to Shela Beach on his donkey, Shakira, but the man was super sketch and had really bad body odor.
When I got to the hotel I was asking one of the guys who worked there about Omar Shariff, and a lot of what Omar Shariff had told me didn't check out, which I had already suspected. O well. Today was good anyway. Omar Shariff is a character. He is the sketchie Kenyan version of Danny Brooklyn. Maybe this is why I was so eager to trust him. He reminds me of my friend.
Ijumaa 24 septemba
KiSwahili word of the day is : rafiki. friend.
I met the American from the night before with a new guy, a Brazilian living in Italy and who had just finished working for some time in Zambia. So great. We walked to Shela Beach which was absolutely unreal. Kilometers of clear waters and white sands and no hotels in sight. We played in the waves then I turned around and the tide was already past our bags. The ground was so flat that the tide came in rapidly, I could literally see it moving across the sands. Really cool.
Then we were all desperate for a beer. Lamu is mostly Islamic, so the only beers were either really over priced at the resort or at the bar at the police station. So in Lamu, essentially, the only place you can drink or buy alcohol is at the police station.
As we were leaving the police station and going back to one of the guest houses, we were approached by Ali Hippie offering us this food and cultural experience. The Brazilian immediately starts gushing "I don't believe it! I don't believe it! THE Ali Hippie? I must get your photograph for my blog!" I am frantically flipping through Lonely Planet... "who the hell is Ali Hippie?" then finally fall back and ask the American what is going on. He explains that Ali Hippie was in some guide book in the 1970s, but recently there have been a lot of Ali Hippie imposters. My Brazilian was super excited to meet an Ali Hippie imposter finally after 6 days on Lamu and was just messing with him.
Anyway this guy was waiting outside Causarina Guest House for us for 2 hours while we hung out and learned how to chew qat. I have the final rejection on tape.
What a great day.
The three of us stayed up late talking and drinking by the main ferry port then were hanging out on top of Causarina. They have a nice porch area but too many trees to get a good view. The view from Yumbe is a lot better, but I'm paying 1000 KSH more for it.
Boat ride with Captain Happy tomorrow. Duh na na!
Marie! I just figured out that you have been writing about your journeys!It sounds like you are having an amazing time. I'm so happy for you, I can't wait to talk to you when you get back! <3
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