Lamu, Day 3

Today we experienced the essence of Lamu. When I got up this morning and looked off our balcony-at about 7am, I saw three young men rigging a dhow. It took them about 20 minutes to raise the mast and secure all the ropes. Then they moved the boat to the steps-the tide was in.

We had our almost usual breakfast, a huge plate of fruit but no mango today, instead we had passion fruit, along with the pineapple, papaya, and a whole banana. Then came the eggs and bacon, accompanied by a basket of breads, including toast, croissants, little oval fried bread with some cheese and large triangular fried bread similar to doughnuts. Starter was, as every morning, passion fruit juice. The juice must have sugar in it because the fruit is sour.
Then we went to look for our dhow. I thought I knew which one it was, but the very young man sitting in front of our hotel wasn’t sure he was waitng for us. Standoff until our hotel manager, Florence, showed up and made the introductions. Elaine got a life vest, we climbed on board and off we went with Abdul, age 17, Karem, the old man at 21, and the captain Said, age 18. A dhow uses human balast to level the boat, and Karem and Abdul were hanging off the balance beam on the side of the dhow  and Occasionally shifting ballast  in the bottom of the  boat. Ballast=sacks labled 100 pounds of rice. Filled with wet sand they probably weigh more than that.  Elaine and I both clutched the sides of the boat-of course everyone was on the same side to balance the sail as we raced across to Manda Island. It took about 45 minutes. They deposited us close to the sand, and we scrambled over the side of the boat in a not very seemly manner and waded to shore in clear warm water of the Indian Ocean. Then Abdul brought a large straw mat for us to sit on in the shade of a small tree.

After about a half hour we decided to take a walk. The beach goes for miles and there is the occasional occupant or two. We walked for about a half hour and I went for a wade and and short swim. Then I got Elaine to get into the water. After all, one has to say they swam in the Indian Ocean. Elaine has been a very good sport about this-as this is not her idea of fun.

On the way back Marco stopped us. He is a fellow who targeted Elaine while she was in town. He has a tiny shop on the beach, and also rents snorkel equipment. There is a reef here-though the water is very shallow. We also explored the a very rustic (to say the least) hotel right on the beach. A little isolated for my tastes. They were full.

When we got back to our boat the guys had picked up our stuff off the beach and put it on the boat. Another group had taken over our shade tree the guys didn’t think it  a good idea to leave our things there.

 They prepared lunch for us–on the dhow. Said cooked smapper with tomatoes and some spice on a charcoal burner made out of a large can. He also made a swahili dish of cabbage, onion, tomato paste,and something else-all served with rice. For desert there were bananas and oranges(green). The food was delicious and fun to eat on the dhow.

The guys ate with us, but we had table spoons and they had fingers. Since we were on the water it was easy to wash our hands.

This is  what Lamu is about, water, sand, and I suspect if you know the right people, or you stay for a while, a very pleasant expat social life.

I took another swim, now I can say I swam in the Indian Ocean twice-and we got back to our hotel around 2.30pm only to find there was no water in the room.

I went  to find |Florence and the water, twice, getting stripped each time, and when I came back the second time with the plumber there were two other men in the room. The door to the patio had blown off its hinges.
One guy stood there for about a half hour waiting for the other man to come back. He  gave up and left. Then we left. Then he showed up as we closed the door. We decided too much activity in the room!
Last night had a fabulous meal at an absolute dive called Olympic Cafe. Lobster-but called a “spiney lobster. ” It is similar to a large langoustine. Since we had spoken,earlier to another Said, and come back, he plunked a large grilled prawn on our plates as well. And, much to my delight, the lobster was served with fabulous red bean, rice and three types of curry sauce. 

The only problem with these cafes is the walk back to our hotel. There is no street lighting-though there are lots of people on the street–mostly men, but some Moslem women too.  The dark isn;t the issue, it is the donkey poo. It is all over the place and if you can’t see where you are going….

Tonight is New Year’s Eve. Jean Paul, the man running the restaurant at our hotel is French, as is the manager, Florence. When we asked about tonight he said they would serve until about 10 or so. He thought people were too tired to stay up to midnight. I think he is showing his age. -about 56-65.

We decided to have dinner at the hotel. The atmosphere is so much more pleasant than any of the restaurants at which we’ve eaten. It is more than twice as expensive as any of the others, three times more pleasant and the food isn’t quite as nice.

Lamu, Day 2

Today was explore the old town of Lamu day. We walked through narrow alleys and up steep stairs to look at one of the hotels we contacted but didn’t stay at. Then my travel companion researched sillver jewelry-and ended up with an antique Yemenite necklace, rather like Indian jewelry. We lost each other for an hour, and I strolled the streets alone. Put my head into the meat and fish market and withdrew it rather rapidly. A hip and thigh bone from a medium size animal was lying in the middle of the floor. I thought I didn’t need to explore this market. Next door, the fruit and vegetables were grim enough.
Sunday is a busy day here. Everyone was in the streets. A little girl ran in front of me taking my photo with a toy camera-and saying Jambo- which is hello in Swahili. I posed for her and she was delighted. A fellow named Alfred or Arafat attached himself to us for a while. He pointed out thing he thought we should note as we walked and discussed the Kenyan elections. He remarked on a  wood carving studio, and set us towards the hotel we were looking for. At the far end of the old city the street is dirt and sand.  ”Everything is slow here in Lamu,” he said . No kidding. This was the main street. A little further down the road was paved. But still full of donkey dung.
Everyone here is talking about the election. I stopped to look at the newspapers hanging in the doorway of a book store and the three men inside were listening to the radio. One said,” I don’t understand the incumbent was behind by a million votes and now it is 40,000.” “It sounds like he is stealing the election, just like in the US,” I said. He was surprised. “Wasn’t Bush elected?” he asked. “Not the first time, “I responded. At which he said, “I thought the US was ok, but there is corruption everywhere.” He left muttering. The book store only sold newspapers and school materials. No books.
We had lunch in a local cafe. Poached crab- with rice on the side. Elaine had vegetable soup to start-it was thick and slightly spicy, like an Indian soup. We drank these “juices” passion fruit and lime. They taste really good, but I have a hunch they are made with the local tap water.Lunch cost $15.00 which is not bad-though prices here are like the States for most things.
Who knows what tonight will bring. Try another eatery!.