Lamu

I just got back from Lamu yesterday. It was amazing. We took a plane there which made everyone extremely happy. We’d been on Mombassa Road before and no one was very eager to repeat the experience. Driving on Mombassa Road is about the same as having someone grab your shoulders and shake you as hard as they can . . . for about eight hours. So we got in our little 40 seater and took off. When we got to the airport we hopped on a boat to take us to Lamu. Lamu is an island off the southern coast of Kenya.
Lamu looks nothing like the rest of Kenya. It looks like it should be in the Mediterranean or the Middle East. All the buildings had white-washed walls with open windows and beautifully carved doors. There are only two cars on Lamu so it’s peaceful and quiet. All transportation is done by dhows and donkeys. One of the best parts was that we could walk around at night. In Nairobi it’s not safe to walk around after dark so we’re forced to take taxis everywhere. In Lamu we could walk down the alleyways or on the beach at night without worrying about anything.
It was also nice to finally have some free time. Last week was mid-term week at USIU (the United States International University) and I had two papers and a test. The trip to Lamu was technically an “educational” trip but we had plenty of time to walk around and just hang out. The educational part involved seeing the ruins of a village, visiting a local school, and visiting a beach to swim in the Indian Ocean. I swam in the Indian Ocean!!
Needless to say I’m going to try to get back to Lamu. The seafood, the people, and the island were all amazing. Another cool thing was that people in Lamu didn’t immediately speak English with us. We met some boys that were about our age and even after we had been in Lamu for two days they were still speaking Kiswahili. The best part was that we could understand almost all of what they said or at least get the jist of it. It was so much fun.
Now I’m back in Nairobi. It is kind of nice to be back