The Journey to the Coast of Kenya

We've been in Lamu for 5 days now and we are not sure when we are leaving :0). It's so relaxing here and a huge contrast to Nairobi. We had spent two days in Nairobi and we were looking forward to getting out of the city and breathing some fresh coastal air.

The bus ride from Nairobi to Mombassa takes 7 hours - Ours took 13! About 30 mins outside Nairobi the bus broke down. JM and I took the opportunity to chit chat with the other traveller's - And as it turns out we had plenty of time to chat because the bus driver had to wait for a new tire to come from Nairobi (the traffic is insane!). 6 hours later we were up and running!! :0) By the time we got to Mombassa it was 3 am and we decided that instead of paying for a hotel we would sleep in the bus. 4 hours later we jumped on another bus for Lamu.

The bus ride was bumpy to say the least ( I bruised a rib on the way down!). But we met some really nice people and the scenary was really beautiful. I was especially taken by the Somalian women on the side of the road - they sell mangoes, peanuts, chickens etc. to the people passing by bus. Times are tough in Somalia right now and there are a lot of refugees near the Kenya-Somalia border (close to Lamu). These women are so beautiful with their dark, fine features and bright kangas (wraps).

Lamu is an interesting place to say the least. The streets are about 4 feet across with no cars only donkeys (and dung!). The architecture in Lamu is very impressive (lots of large hand-carved wooden doors and mosques ). 5 times a day you can hear the call to prayer throughout the town.

Lamu was built in the 13th century but people have lived here for much longer than that! The Arab, African, Portuguese influence results in an interesting culture (and food!). In Lamu you will see women wearing bwibwi's and ninjas (better known to us in the West as Burkas with only the eyes showing). Yet the town is coastal and very relaxed or in Swahili polepole (slowly slowly).

The Swahili people are descendants of Africans and Arabs and their language - Swahili- derives from Bantu rather than Arabic. It is spoken along the coast of East Africa - where the Swahili people predominantly live (there are also some Africans from other tribes that have travelled to the coast for work ). The people here are very kind and welcoming - and as it is a very small town of mostly practicing Muslims the streets are very safe to walk at night.

JM and I lucked out and after some hard bargaining we got an amazing room (basically the whole top floor ) in a traditional Swahili house (thatched palm tree rooves ). We also met a really cool guy named James from Texas (who totally reminded us of another amazing Southerner - our good friend Eamon).

Lamu was a hard place to leave but after 6 days we headed back down the coast in search of beaches and crystal blue water. On to Watamu!