Lamu Tamu

Sweet Lamu.

On our way to the airport, crammed into a matatu, Nate busts out three boxes of teatree toothpicks. They are gifts for our month and a half journey together. Throughout our eight months here, these tooth picks have taken on a great deal of importance for us oral fetishers and smokers. Every time we are together, we are chewing them. To the point where back in Kitui, a Kenyan was trying to describe one of my friends and said ‘you know, he always has a stick in his mouth.’

We get to the small airport and check in, our baggage consists of a small backpack each and 3 shopping bags of alcohol. Being a Swahili island, Lamu does not sell alcohol- good thing we knew to stock up before hand. Sitting in the airport, a man in a nice suite is ushered through the small lobby surrounded by airport staff and other suites. Charles says, isn’t that one of the ODM guys?(ODM is Odingas party) In fact it was Saitoti, one of the head ODM MPs in a contested seat. A few wazungus(white people) in fancy sunglasses and pull luggage walk through, each with a Kenyan guide. This is not how we are used to travel. Sitting in fancy airports watching fancy people led around. Our flight comes. It is a 20 seater plane, we are 3 of the 6 people on this plane. It is more like a private jet. I say we are not used to traveling this way, but this is the 3rd private plane we have been on in less than a month.

The plane lands on a field. Literally grass. There is an airstrip, but it is under construction, so we taxi along side it on the grass. Everything in Kenya, especially roads, is under construction. Climbing off the airplane we are hit by a blast of scortching hot and muggy air. Just to give you a climate reference, we are on the border of somolia. we grab our stuff, walk out of the airport(a field with a shack) and down to a dock where we climb on a canopied wooden boat that taxis us up to the part of the island where our house is. We have no idea if this house/apartment is going to be complete shit, we have negotiated to pay 2000 Shillings a night total, about 8 dollars each, so we don’t expect much, though, tourism is in the shitter, so we had no idea. The boat pulls up to the shore, but the tide is out, so we take off our shoes, the guys roll up their trousers. We are greeted by 2 young men in flowy white shirts and blue shorts-they turn out to be our house boys-they take our bags, against our insistence that we can carry it. Steping out of the boat, I feel the cool water on my calves and the sand in my toes. I instantly smile. I don’t really care what the house looks like if I get to have this sensation for a week. The boys lead us barefoot through a maze of shaded narrow walkways and allies full of arched doorways covered in bougainvillea. I am in heaven. constantly remarking- this is gorgeous! I just love walking barefoot through exotic locals. It makes it all more intimate. They lead us to the ‘apartment’ we have rented. It is a 5 story building and we have the top 3 floors. Most of it consists of out door balconies and sitting areas with a gorgeous view of all the cement houses with thatched roofing that we had just wandered our way though, the brilliant ocean spotted with dhows(sailboats), and the mangrove island offshore. We are flabbergasted. In shock. We have these absurd smiles on our faces, the kind of disbelief as if we had just won the lottery.

We spend the next week laying around our balconies sunning, enjoying the breeze, swimming in the crystal ocean, eating good seafood and a lot of beans with tropical salsa. My favorite day was spent wandering alone through lamu town, through their narrow alleyways just getting lost. Turning corners and running into women in boi bois, full muslim dress of black flowing robe with colorful headscarves, men in white robes and skull caps, and young boys and girls in minature costumes. When I get far enough away from town center, it is quiet, all I hear are the people chatting on their door stoops, kids chasing eachother and the occasional call to prayer. Architecturally this place is a mix of the greek islands and the Italian coast but with a heavy muslim influence. tall dirty white walls warn by the sea air. It is beautiful. old. warn. Remarkable. Gorgeous and wrapped in culture. I just wander.

At the end of each day, at about 4, we all reconvene on our middle balcony with drinks where we just sit and talk and laugh for 3 hours as we watch the sun drop over the ocean. Nate and I set up beds and a mosquito net on the balcony and sleep under the stars in the ocean breeze. This is paradise.

We weren’t used to this type of travel, but man was it nice. For a week in paradise, we spent less than 200 dollars. The rest of our trip will not be in any kind of comparable luxury, but I like that even better I think.

In other news, our fabulous trio is now just an awesome duo. Early last week charles decided that he just needed to get home. I am disappointed to see him go, as I love him dearly, but I understand, as I cant wait to be home also. For now, we are playing around mombasa, saying goodbye to the coast of Kenya that has treated me so well for so many months and trying to arrange a sailboat to Zanzibar. Ok, until next time.