Fri 6th….We walked up to road junction from the villas. Gave ourselves plenty of time and the bus to Lamu was a bit late so we waited for 1.5 hours. Got the seats we’d pre-booked and the journey was very smooth. Only stopped a couple of times for ID checks and I only had to get off the bus once…so a much more relaxed journey with the armed escort. And the journey itself was only 3 hours.
At Mokowe there was the usual scrum to get on a speedboat taxi and the usual arguing over price…but I knew it was 200 so was quite calm. 15 minutes to Lamu town. Mangroves i1,000nitially the the Lamu buildings come into sight.. lovely approach. At the jetty there was the usual melee but I knew exactly where we were headed; the hotel being just one street back behind the museum.
Sea Shells was very comfortable and I was happy to only be paying 1,000ksh per night. We took it easy. Went to Mangrove restaurant for a snack. We wandered the streets, giving Mark a feel of the place. We ended up at the police canteen for a couple of beers and ate beans and chapati for dinner.
Sat 7th. Really took it easy. Decided not to do any excursions yet, but to wander the backstreets…there are enough of them in Lamu. After drinks at the police canteen we decided on dinner at the Sunsail hotel. I had octopus and chips. Delicious and tender.
Sun 8th. I walked by myself to Shela. Didn’t go too far around the point. Had a couple of swims and I think I caught a boda back to town. Met Mark at Mangrove for a snack lunch , followed by more exploring of the back streets. I probably did a little clothes washing..the odd shirt…and used the flat roof and the breeze for quick drying… I think dinner was at the police canteen again.
Mon 9th. After a Mangrove breakfast and a walk around the streets, I went to the floating pub on my own…. Mark was a bit concerned about getting in an out of boats due to his bad knee. I negotiated an ok price for the boat. Was surprised to see a dik dik on the floating pub but apparently it was somebody’s pet.
I didn’t stay too long. Had our usual pre dinner drink, but decided to have dinner at Mangrove. I satisfied my craving for a curry and had their chicken curry; unfortunately I then had a bad stomach for the next 4 days.
Tues 10th. Went by boda boda with Mark to Shela. Didn’t go beyond Peponi as it’s difficult for Mark to walk on soft sand. We wandered some Shela backstreets which I had never done before. We ended up at the newly refurbished Kijani htl and enjoyed a large pot of coffee. A very nice setting.
Walked back to Peponi and caught a boat to the floating pub. We had just one drink, and Mark was very impressed with the place. Well, who wouldn’t be…. Our boat didn’t come back to collect us , but another guy was passing and we got a lift with him. I somehow got away with paying him the small sum of 150. He looked at me incredulously, but he was busy getting money from his tourists and I cheekily got away with it. !!! The usual drink at the police canteen was followed by a snacky dinner at Mangrove. We went to Petleys for one drink; Mark had to experience what might be the oldest hotel on the island. A nice place to stay if you can get a good price as it ha little pool.
Wed 11th. After breakfast we went down the opposite end of town. Just to show Mark that actually there’s nothing much there. Boats being repaired. Litter on the beach. We walked back through more backstreets. It was both lunch and dinner at the Mangrove with the police canteen squeezed in for a drink.
Thurs 12th. I walked to Shela and went around the point and explored the sand dunes. I went quite far in and climbed high up; had never been that far into those dunes before… good fun. But all the time I was keeping an eye for the possibility of being attacked…. It can happen.
Managed to get a boat back for 150… excellent price considering the boda boda is 100 . Met Mark and went to the police canteen for the last time. Mangrove dinner. Earlier than usual but decided against Petleys and went back to Sea Shells. It was a bit early for me so I went to Sunsail for a coffee.
Well, Lamu was amazing. And the biggest difference was by sheer luck the boda bodas had been banned from the promenade a week before we arrived. Once again you could relax and enjoy walks without the worry of being knocked over by them. And the other big difference for me was having to walk much slower accompany Mark. But it meant I actually saw a lot more of Lamu and in more detail. Once again a magical visit to my favourite place in the world…. Love it so much; can’t wait to go back.