The area is pretty dry and dusty and the road from Malindi to Lamu ferry was pretty bad and unsealed. For access to a UNESCO site, it is not a good introduction to the island. Lamu can be accessed by an airport at Manda so maybe those are the kind of tourists they want. There were only 4 backpackers on the bus and the rest of the pasengers were locals getting off at small dusty villages on the way.
The main crops seemed to be sisal, maize, bananas and coconuts. A lot of the land that had dry grasslands were used to graze animals and grow palm trees that are used for thatching the local daub huts.
At Mokowe, which is the end of the bus route and the ferry landing to Lamu Island, we couldn't get off the bus for locals touts wanting to carry our bags a few metres to the ferry boat. After fighting them off we had to contend with the touts who had accommodation on offer. We had booked through http://www.hostelworld.com/ and we were met by one of the staff members who was easily identifiable with a tee shirt advertising the guesthouse. She was sent to make sure that we were not taken away by any of the other guesthouse owners. There are not many tourists coming to Kenya, because of the riots at the last elections, so there is a lot of competition for the very few tourists who do come here.
The wind was up and the ferry bounced about a lot. One of the huge empty polystyrene boats that was tied up to the ferry we were on, ended up blowing up on the side rails and the Muslim women on board screamed and shouted hysterically. Although they were born on the island they have never learnt to swim and so are very nervous on the water. I would not like to sit beside them if the boat tipped over as they would claw you to death trying to climb up on you to save themselves.
The waterfront.The guesthouse was owned by Arnold from Germany. It was spotless and offered free internet, a delicious breakfast and an informative welcome. There was a cool rooftop area where we could relax and meet the other guests. It was a short walk through the narrow 1 and 1/2 metre lanes with their open sewers.
Sometimes we had to jump out of the way of the locals on their donkeys. There were about 6,000 donkeys at one time and when construction booms the donkey population booms too. The only person with a car is the District Commissioner, however, we did see a couple of rusty ambulances that didn't look like they could move, as well as a couple of new tractors that were donated to the island to carry the rubbish.
I came to Lamu in 1976 as well as and I would have to say that things have gone backwards since that time. The open sewers in the street are as black as they were in the 1700s, according to some of the old stories we read about the place. But, of course, nowadays they are not only blocked with grey water and organic matter but also plastic bags. The rubbish piles up outside shops and peoples' doorways and it gets eaten by goats and donkeys and blown about by the wind, and scavenged through by the hordes of cats and crows or chooks . When the tide was out the seafront was full of trash and most of that was broken household items and plastic bags. The council banned plastic bags but everyone still uses them. There are a few wooden slatted rubbish cages on the waterfront but what the wind doesn't blow into the ocean the donkeys spread through the streets. When the rubbish piles get smelly the locals burn them and then start to pile up more waste on top.
The town is a living example of the Swahili culture that once dominated the entire Indian Ocean coast. These carved doors are on many of the houses in the old town. Outside the front of the houses are also plastered seats, like a chaise lounge, where the men sit or lie and discuss matters with other menfolk. There are many Muslim sects on the island so some women wear a full veil while others pin a black scarf over their head. A sect similar to one we saw in Yeman wear pastel coloured capes with a bonnet, similar to Little Red Riding Hood, and a matching skirt.
The men sit about the town square in front of the old fort near the market. The sea used to come up to the bottom of the tree but now it is several metres off the seafront.
Generally the local people are friendly and greet you with a 'Jambo'"(Hello) or 'Karibu' (Welcome). We ate fish most nights in the seafront restaurants as it was lovely and fresh.
One evening we went on a sunset cruise on a local dhow. The 3 men on the boat cooked up a huge black snapper, on their charcoal grill on the deck at the back of the boat, and some stir fried local vegetables. They followed this up with baked chocolate bananas and fresh mangoes. The sun sets really quickly. It was wonderful to see the old dhows still being used but there are also a lot of fibreglass speedboats buzzing up and down.
The one day we decided to walk along the beach front to Shela Village it was really windy and we got sandblasted. The beach was as I remembered it but now there are lots of weathly Kenyans and foreigners who have built houses in the village. Some of the tourists shops were brand new, empty, and expensive.
From Lamu we went back to Mombasa for one night and then back to Nairobi for another night. From here we caught a flight to Addis Abba in Ethiopia. We are not sure what the internet connections will be like in Ethiopia and may only be able to write without photos. We have heard that only locals can get SIM cards here.
