| The three of us flew from Nairobberry (Nairobi) to Lamu (Island on the "Swahili Coast", the coast of Kenya. It was a short flight, something between one to two hours with one stop in Mombasa. LAMU IS AWESOME!!!! I have not seen traditional Swahili culture before and it was really nice to see the real deal. The people were warm and friendly, but not overtly, which can be the case in Africa and tourist destinations. The three of us each had our own large, breezy bedroom overlooking the ocean, with a four-post antique queen size bed, nicely decorated with wooden shelves, chairs, tapestries, and quietly beautiful carvings. We enjoyed the rooftop terrace overlooking Lamu town, the main street, and the island across the waters of the Indian Ocean. (And each room cost about 3 or 4 dollars a night!) We drank THE MOST AMAZING MILK/FRUITSHAKES for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We chewed Mira plant a harmless stimulant (AKA khat, a local version of caffeine » check out the UN’s take on it), that tastes bad by the way and doesn't do much anything unless you chew a ridiculous amount; an amount we never found. We took a donkey ride (something only done once in a lifetime, even if given the choice to do it again) across the island to the fishing boat (dhow) building village. We did a lot of lounging around Swahili style, which is completely relaxing. Local meals of traditional Swahili foods like pilau, biriani and fish were so delish and cost about US$0.60 a meal. Lamu has got to be the most chilled out place this side of the world. I hung out with the hotel owner, the mayor of Lamu, a police officer, an electrical technician and two of their close friends everyday while Jon and Ryan did their own thing. We left Lamu in good spirits, knowing that this was basically the last we would see of each other after more than 3 months of traveling together. It was the perfect way to end our journey together. |