L'amour in Lamu

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!

Sweet People

Jumatatu 20 septemba

KiSwahili word of the day is : "Tamu" for Sweet. Also can be used for "delicious!"

I have arrived in Watamu, named for "watu tamu", sweet people. I am staying at Tiki House which seems too good to be true. Its hidden off the main road, has a beautiful garden, a kitchen, hammock, and couches. The beds are Arab style and the people who work here are so helpful and friendly. I booked a snorkeling tour for tomorrow.

I have already gone to the Gede ruins and butterfly park. The Gede ruins are much larger than the ones in Mnarani and my guide, Kendi, was really cool. She was doing an unpaid internship, so we bonded over being students.

There are SO many italians here. Children in the street run up to me saying "ciao!" and speaking Italian.

I met an older American couple at an Italian restaurant; they had lived all over the U.S. so gave me great tips on American national parks.


Jumanne 21 septemba

KiSwahili word of the day is "Mikoko", Mangrove trees.

Thankfully my guy showed up to take me on the snorkeling tour, so he dropped me off at the ocean and I got on a glass bottom boat full of Kenyans and Italians. Everyone was really tan. And everything was said in either Italian or KiSwahili for the rest of the day.

We went so far out away from shore but still the water was very shallow. The reef is very large and the water was clear. There were a lot of fish, but compared to snorkeling in Maui, it was nothing spectacular. But still fun.

We stopped at a beach for lunch and were fed so much! Rice, prawns, lobster, fish, and shrimp. By the time the lobster came around I couldn't eat anymore, so I still have never eatten lobster. So good...

I paid another 500 KSH to go out in a dhow tour around the mangroves. I saw barracuda eggs and crabs. Awesome.


Jumatano 22 septemba

KiSwahili word of the day is "Msafiri". Traveler.

I'm in Malindi! (I later found out in Mombasa that Vasco de Gama was chased out of Mombasa so relanded in Malindi, where he received a warm welcome and received a wife, named Malindi, from the sultan of Malindi. The city is now named after his prize wife.)

I was sad to leave Watamu because I really liked the people that I had met. I am feeling slightly uprooted. I'm staying in Premier Guest House. I arrived an asked my took took driver to take me to one of the lonely planet recommendations and we got so horribly lost and were driving around forever on dirt roads (dying) bumping around and his gas was on empty, so any minute I was expecting it to break down and I would be stuck in the middle of no-where. Finally I was begging "Please! Just take me to any guest house! I really don't care!"

I saw the Vasco de Gama pillar and made a new friend, Muhammad. He comes from Somalia. He was really intelligent and friendly, but I think was mostly just interested in me helping him get refugee status in the U.S., which I have no idea how to help with, so eventually we parted ways. He left in 1993 and was living on Lamu for a long time. Good luck to him.

So excited to leave for Lamu tomorrow!

Pekeangu

Jumamosi 18 septemba

KiSwahili word of the day is: pekeangu. alone. As in "unasafiri pekeako?" "ndiyo, ninasafiri pekeangu." I travel alone.

Safe and sound in Berachah Guest House in Mombasa. I have a really nice room with a window and a television. When I spoke in KiSwahili to the man showing me the room, he moved me up to a better room in the front of the hotel with the TV, which I didn't watch but really appreciated his consideration.

I am listening to the call to prayer coming from the mosque accross the street. I also met another woman traveling by herself. She is from the UK and older than I am. She was telling me about hiking Mt. Kenya with her brother and we talked about porters. She specifically wanted to climb Kenya and not Kili, because Mt Kenya can be climbed without a guide and porters. BUT going up, she saw this other group with the porters carrying wheel-suit cases on their heads going up- disgusting. I can't beleive that people would make the porters do that.

I sat next to a woman with a very animated baby the whole bus ride. The baby didn't cry once. Maybe almost half of the 8 hour bus ride was spent with the woman feeding her baby. Sweet but awkward.

Really no problems with the bus ride though. All of it was paved and minimal traffic.

Jumapili 19 septemba

KiSwahili word of the day is "mnara" for minnarette (unfortuanately I cannot spell in my native language...)

Made it out of Mombasa on a matatu to Kilifi, only about an hour and a half. I finished seeing the ruins and snake park and my hotel, "Dhow's Inn" is so nice!

The snake park in itself wasn't that great, but my guide was very animated and dedicated to the care of snakes and stopping snake trafficking. He was an undercover agent essentially. 007 Kenya. His role is to catch snakes that have come into people's homes to hunt and release them again into the wild far away from homes. He also has been very involved in catching people who illegally export snakes to other countries. He goes undercover to find the people involved then notifies the government. Unfortunately, it is hard to get the government to actually take action so he has been frustrated. Most often snakes are exported to Germany, now there is also a growing demand from Japan.

I also learned that all snake antivenom in East Africa is produced in South Africa. And considering that black mambas, green mambas, and other fun poisonous snakes are endemic to this area, creating a factory in Kenya that would manufacture antivenom could be very lucrative. For a green mamba bite, you have 40 minutes to get the antivenom but for a black mamba, 15 minutes only. Crazy! My guide's dream is to open an antivenom factory with a snake-park and a clinic that specializes in treating snake bites. Hope the best for him.

I also saw the Arab ruins. My hotel was actually in Mnarani, on the other side of the river from Kilifi, and was named for the minaret at the ruins.

The Arabs caused the birth of KiSwahili and traded clothing and other goods for hides, iron ores, and slaves. They converted many Africans to Islam, so the ruins at Mnarani are of ancient mosques.

I also learned about mkilifi, the tree for which Kilifi is named. Drinking a tea made from its leaves is said to cure 40 illnesses, including malaria. The leaves taste bitter like quinine.

I learned also that before the Arabs, Africans worshiped the Baobab tree. Even today some people come to slaughter animals at the trees and place coins inside it. I got to taste the baobab fruit, which was really dry and sour. It was disgusting. He said it is good for pregnant women and tastes good on fish; its probably high in vitamin C. The shells of the fruit can be used to make drums or mouse traps. It can also be used to make soap and shampoos.

My guide was really great. He also told me a lot about the history of the area and issues today. There is a lot of malaria in Kilifi, because of the creek. The hospital there gets additional funding for this reason so my guide says the Kilifi hospital is better than the one in Malindi.

At dinner I fed feral cats and made a new friend who was very eager to show me the beach at night. Thanks, but no thanks.