Today is officially the last day of our first month away. It's been fascinating, surprising, breathtaking and unforgettable, and we have been counting our lucky stars along the way.
It seems we have one more lucky star to add to the tally this week because after a sunny and relaxing four days in Lamu on the coast of Kenya, we found out that the State Department had issued a travel warning for the area the day we arrived. Whoops.
(To our Moms - Deep breaths. We're both fine. See proof from today below.)
It seems we have one more lucky star to add to the tally this week because after a sunny and relaxing four days in Lamu on the coast of Kenya, we found out that the State Department had issued a travel warning for the area the day we arrived. Whoops.
(To our Moms - Deep breaths. We're both fine. See proof from today below.)
That said, there were also travel warnings for the coast when Joann was here two years ago, and both then and now our local friends were largely unconcerned and continued to tell us about how amazing Lamu is.
After four days there, we can't help but agree. Lamu is an island that historically served as an Indian Ocean trading post. Its architecture was unlike anything we've seen before, with a mix of African, Arabian and Asian influences.
Donkeys
The small alleyways of the town necessitate a unique form of transport: donkeys! Donkeys still serve as the primary mode of transportation as there are almost no cars on the island.
The small alleyways of the town necessitate a unique form of transport: donkeys! Donkeys still serve as the primary mode of transportation as there are almost no cars on the island.
Dhows
Lamu is also known for its dhows, a traditional sailboat that is still used. It lacks a main sail and has a single spinnaker sail up front that can be re-positioned.
Greg got a chance to try his hand at one when we took a sailing "lesson". We use that term loosely because by "lesson", we mean that we got to sit in a dhow while our captain, Isaac, had Greg steer the rudder and kept yelling "Make move, make move!"
And More!
When we weren't sailing, we were enjoying the gorgeous 12km beach just steps away from our room at Banana House, a beach we had all to ourselves since tourists don't flock here for another few weeks. We essentially only had to share the beach with the cats that wander everywhere in Lamu.
When we weren't sailing, we were enjoying the gorgeous 12km beach just steps away from our room at Banana House, a beach we had all to ourselves since tourists don't flock here for another few weeks. We essentially only had to share the beach with the cats that wander everywhere in Lamu.
We are now on Lake Naivasha, just a couple hours outside of Nairobi, and we're excited to share more about our upcoming adventures. Thanks for following us this past month, and we can't wait to share more tales from the road!
- JC & GK
- JC & GK
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