Feb 1st 2011 5 weeks from Kenya to Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar. No plans one goal. It is the opportunity for adventure and experience. Please be involved and message me. If there is somewhere you feel I must see let me know. Please help me with the adventure give me a GPS location, a great restaurant, a amazing festival, a dive location.
Be part of this adventure..
Thank you
KCB is the international bank of Kenya. This being said they do not accept travelers cheques, foreign bank cards and the machines only accept visa cards with 4 digit security codes. I officially ran out of money yesterday on the dhow trip. Now I owe 5500 ksh the amazing thing is people I do not even know have offered me money.
The plan to see steven and have dinner with his family. i have lost one full day to hanging out banking or lack of banking. Did manage to get lunch bought for me from Sam my sailing companion Great guy.
I have a backup plan. I called Sue and she was sooooooo kind and sent me money through western union as I have no confidence the LAN line will be fixed by tomorrow morning. It has been two days and they only managed to get someone to even show up at 345 today. The branch manger Mr Godana has made many calls so I thank him for his assistance. Things here move at a different speed. The only disappointment is the loss of a lovely day waiting for funds.
The reason for this blog is tell you all about the amazing experiences you can have and share. It will also tell you of the pitfalls and backup plans you may want to plan for. Sitting here with a pint of fresh mango juice and a big bottle of water. This is a good day!
Relying on others is hard for me to take. But the overwhelming kindness is wonderful. The thing about Muslims. In the Koran If a person is hungry you must feed them. I am not a Muslim and they treat me like a friend.
Dhow boat with captain Ali This was all arranged throughout the hotel manger and then through Omar sharif. It sometimes takes three to do one thing but they get it done in style. Off to the bank at 830. Turns out they do not do visa cards. So running off to the Kenya international bank. Well it turns out they have a line down. It has been down for the past 3 days. Now its15 min after 9 and the trip leaves at 9 am and I am still broke. The bank manager swore to me that he would try to get it fixed and was willing to stay till 5 pm and wait for me.
I ran to the boat. waiting patiently on board was a Belgian names Lise and Sam from England. We are all individual travelers. Our captain Ali is a tall lean man and his 1st mate fish brains alway had a smile on his face. Really that was his nickname.
The day was a wonderful warm start. Barely a puff of wind. We limped out into the straight with no care in the world. Starting to get the whole Hakuna Matata here in kenya. Life is short no stress. We sailed out into the Indian ocean and dropped a few lines to catch fish. Captain Ali started to catch fish one after the other till he had 5 in the boat. not one of us caught a fish and only one bite between the bunch .Then we set off under a strong breeze to Raskithau island for lunch on the beach.
Captains Ali's catch. To get a trip email captainmtemi@yahoo.com
Best food on Lamu so far. And it was cooked over a fire on the Beach.
Lamu beaches were voted one of the top 10 in the world. Lamu island has a 12 mile stretch if sand with no homes. Watch out for bandits that hide in the sand dunes and wait for you to go swimming.
The way back to old Lamu town was a breeze. Had to make it to the bank to see the manager and the other Dhow was racing us. made it with minutes to spare. The manager was out front with the bad news. No luck. Will have to try tomorrow. Well Hakuna Matata.
I retuned to Yumbe guest house and was moved to a lovely room with a amazing sea breeze and a view.
Hard to describe the morning at the coral castle " yumba guest house" up at 6 grabbed the gear and out the door. Had to take a few videos so you would understand. It could be a mix of a ancient village in Greece and a small coastal town in turkey mixed. For those of you that are political.. Tough ;). That is what it looks like. There is a labyrinth of alleys and turns. Make sure to make a mark in your head or forget finding your way back. The mornings are always the best time to experience the country it's slightly cooler but only slightly. The beach boys the local touts that want to sell you a trip, be your tour guide, or anything as long as they can make a commission. It can be tiring but if you politely say you want to be alone they shake your hand and let you go till the next one approaches. This is the slower season which is a blessing and a curse. That means just at many touts and half the tourist. Jambo and hello you hear all day long. Lamu is the friendliest place in Kenya so far.
The main street in Lamu town
Yumbe guest house 1500 ksh per night including breakfast. I will move to an upper room today with more of a breeze.It's is a coral castle with a lovely inner court yard the staff are nice and breakfast is included. Up stairs are the rooms and two sitting areas they call them relaxing places even have two small beds for afternoon naps. The breakfast was simple but nice. I would suggest staying here on your next visit is you are a couple or single traveller. The wildebeest is the other suggestion. I did tour the guest house but the only room they had was three floors and could sleep 6 people so the rate was 2500 ksh per night way more than I need. the open air no walls thing is lovey to. The breeze at night is a must as it goes down to 25 at night with the humidity is a sweaty sleep Well after a 2 nd night I woke with bites to my upper thighs and lower back. Damn bed bugs. I was aware they were here but hoped I would not encounter them. When I get home I will have to wash my cloths in hot water and wrap my my pack etc. So far this has been the only annoyance. In the whole scheme of things it's not a big deal just itchy. Hell it's only a bug. I have to say they could really use a good maintenance person in Kenya. Most of the places I have stayed in have many broken items. Lights , taps, water not working, electrical out, toilets broken. The room I am in now the sink broke off from the wall the the shower head fell off on my head when I had a shower. Due to what I do for a living I am surprisingly not at all concerned Hakuna Matata is the word of the day. No worries If I got upset about the little things I would forget to enjoy all the wonderful things. And there are so many wonderful things! Oh yes am now waiting for the banks to open as the machines here do not take my bank card. So I officially have 54 ksh and I still owe a night at the hotel and the snorkeling trip is 2000 ksh. It's a mad dash to the bank and then hop on the boat for a day of fishing and snorkeling. Holding off on the diving till Zanzibar.
Palm leaves for Homes keeps the rain out and holds back the heat.
Traditional boat made on the island. With maintenance they can last up to 30 years.
Fruit stand
Fish Market
The islands largest mosque
Sunday market the colors never get old.
A man making a headboard by hand.
There is only one car on the whole island so you may have guessed this is the cab company
My little followers . Steve and we got a bag of sweets and handed them to all the children as we wandered through the village
Sorry I am really starting to like the donkeys. Expect a calendar for when I get home. "The asses of Lamu". Catchy eh!
Late! Running to the boat does not mean I cannot get a shot of the local grain trucks. Locals fisherman dividing the catch
