Lamu

I finally made it to Lamu! It has been on my Must-See in Kenya list since I arrived. It was actually the last place on the list until I finished my book on the plane so was left reading my guide book and have now added a few more!

We flew over from Nairobi and had to get a lil boat from the airport across to the town (the archipelago is made up of 7 islands). My lovely friend Slavica jumped onto the boat and straight into the captain's seat......we thought she'd be asked to move, but istead they indulged her and let her steer. Was so funny....we all had a free shower so were rather awake and rejuvenated after the short crossing!

Captain Slav

We got off the boat right next to the Donkey Sanctuary (Island Taxi rank) which rather delighted us! Our hotel was a short walk up the narrow streets (think two donkeys in width) and alleys behind it. We met a lovely girl from Mombasa, Remi, on the plane who was staying at the same hotel as us-we were the only guests, and the three of us became inseparable.

Remi, Slav and I awaiting our dhow

We took a dhow boat to tour the islands and to go fishing. Lamu is so beautiful. Due to the recent pirate behaviour it was also completely quiet. Understandably tourism has been badly affected which is very sad,  but it was great to visit without the crowds. I had also foolishly told some of the girls Slav and I teach gymnastics too that I would demonstrate cartwheels when I returned, so wanted to use the time on the deserted beaches to privately practice! Fortunately, it seems that cartwheeling is a skill much like riding a bike that you don't seem to lose! The girls were impressed when I showed them on Monday!

The next day was Donkey Day! We decided to catch a donkey to a nice beach and then back so headed to the rank! Well, as expected we were three giggly, shrieking girls, wobbling about at first as we got used to the donkeys, trying to keep our balance, which was a challenge as we couldn't stop laughing at how ridiculous we all looked! It was at this point that I spotted a girl from my school. Oh, the shame! I didn't bump into her again, it was literally just at that moment that we saw each other, possibly the worst moment  to be noticed on the trip! Sadly she wasn't the only one took an interest in us as tourists. A lady ran after us with a video camera (not a tourist one either....this was definitely TV!) and people unashamedly took their phones and cameras out to snap us! It was worth the shame though, we had so much fun and a lush day at the beach.

We don't look that silly!

For the return trip I had brought high heels! I couldn't resist the photo opp despite the strange stares-well people were staring already, so may as well give them a lil treat! The donkey owner took a shine to me though and thought the way to woo was to jump on the back of my donkey on the route back. Rather than impress me, it scared me! Especially when he tried to get a bit amorous! (oh the power of heels!) so the photos are sadly not being posted-a squirming Hannah sitting as far forward as possible to avoid him is not my best look (Remi and Slav got a lot of laughs from this though). You can see how far forward (poor donkey!) I have moved to and of course the shoe here!

We didn't actually see any other tourists on a donkey, so understandably we were quite a spectacle! Poor Remi fell off twice which me and Slav could not stop giggling about. We did sustain a few donkey injuries but our laughing and re enactments for the rest of the trip more than compensated!

The town is very quaint and sweet. It was fun to wander through and get lost in all the alleys, only to be met by donkeys.

The old Swahili doors are beautiful, and the history on the island is incredible.

We enjoyed shopping. As expected, lots of pretty wooden, carved objects, and of course, tourist shopping wouldn't be complete without a wooden bra! (Uncle Stephen, you need to extend the range further than bow ties!) I think we are all regretting not stocking up on new underwear in Lamu!

Lamu was a refreshing break. Not having to aggressively drive or carefully avoid matatus, animals and crazy drivers was great. It was lovely to be able to walk about and not worry about safety. It did make Nairobi seem extremely fast paced though. Everything was sloooooooowwwwwwww. Every meal took over an hour to arrive and the popular African expression pole pole (slowly slowly) has definitely taken on a new authentic meaning! Great for a few days, but lush to be back in the city!