...a long road to Lamu, but well worth it
on A Serendipitous Journey (Kenya), 24/Apr/2009 05:34, 34 days ago
Early Saturday morning, after rushing through a gourmet breakfast, we sleepily boarded the mini-bus for another long and hot drive from Mombasa to Lamu.When we were only a couple of hours from Lamu, we were stopped at a police check point and advised to hire an armed officer to escort us for the final leg of the journey. This particular stretch of unpaved road is ill-reputed for kidnappings and car-jackings, so for 500 Kenyan Shillings (less than $10) it’s definitely a worthwhile investment!By the time we arrived, I was very well rested. It seems I slept a little too deeply en route, as at one point I slept with my head on a girl’s shoulder and was also awoken from sleeping with my head literally hanging out the window. :-)Upon arrival at the docks, we all loaded into a small wooden motor boat for the half hour journey across the channel. On the boat, we enjoyed wine, while passing dhows, sailboats, fishing boats and swimmers. The water was such a deep shade of blue and the trees on the shore were so leafy and green that it felt more like I was in the middle of the Thousand Islands near my home in Canada, rather than in the Indian Ocean off the coast ofKenya.We carried on past the town of Lamu to Shela, a quieter area where our quaint little hotel was located. Upon arrival at the docks in Shela, local boys helped unload our bags, then we walked through the maze of narrow pedestrian streets to our hotel.We were warmly welcomed with glasses of freshly squeezed juice and our bags were taken up to our little rooms, which had high poster beds with mosquito netting and overlooked the pristine pool.With the pool calling to us, we quickly changed into our swimsuits and had cannon ball competitions, games of volley ball and informal swimming lessons for those who didn’t know how. Then, a local man invited us to come around the corner to see a “stick-fight dance” that was taking place as part of a wedding ceremony. Curious to see what a stick fight dance was, we ventured out to see. Surrounded by hundreds of guests, men took turns in a sword-fight style battle with one another to music. ... as the groom looked on. I’m still not sure what it all meant, but nonetheless it was very fun to watch. … my favourite part was actually watching the small boys emulate the event on the sidelines!Back at the hotel, following a nap, a lovely dinner cooked by the staff, and a moonlight swim, we called it a night!