Mon 5th. Left Taveta an hour and a half late..so 9:30. Had to switch vehicles in Voi because the majority in mine were going to Mombasa. Arrived Malindi after 4pm….but at least I saw some nice giraffe by the roadside as we went through the Park. Had a bite to eat at Shukriani and checked into my hotel ..Comfy Palace. Went to Stars and Garters for a drink. On way back stopped at Urafiki as it was just around the corner from my hotel.
Tues 6th. Decided not to rush off to Lamu but spend another day in Malindi. Went Coco beach, which maybe I should call Silversands – not sure. Relaxed on the beach. Had a coffee at Baobab restaurant…quite nice views. Then Shukriani for food…enjoying their maharage na chapati. Had some of their snacks as well. Stopped at Urafiki again. Asked a young lady customer if I was being charged the right price for my beer… Her first time there…we got chatting…her cousin arrived… Got on very well with the young lady…Faiza…lots of chatting before we went our separate ways. Had bought my Tawakal ticket to Lamu for 1,300kes.
Wed 7th. We left about 9:30 and journey took 4 hours. One army checkpoint stop where we had to disembark from the bus with our luggage. The soldier, when he saw my British passport, then went on about how the British colonised and raped the country and as a result the country was in its current mess. More alarming, he said that if he had had six bullets in his gun ( I presume he meant in those days) he would’ve shot them all into my chest. Hard for me to know what to say….I was somewhat taken aback. Fellow passenger said to me how that was weird and extreme. Maybe because he felt sorry for me he bought my ferry boat to Lamu for me. 4 hrs to Mokowe and 4.5 to Lamu. Followed by Mangrove for a samosa snack. Checked in at Sea Shells Inn. Then Police canteen for dinner of maharage n chapati.
Thurs 8th. Walked about 45 minutes to Takataka Heroes where they build dhows from waste plastic…bottles, bottle tops, flipflops. There’s a sign saying the Flipflopi project, and I got to see the Flipflopi boat close up, which I first saw nearly 4 years ago in Shimoni when it sailed down from Lamu. They are in the process of building a full size Dhow.. .impressive…don’t know how long it will take. Took it easy after that. Watched a film crew outside the Fort. Dinner at Police canteen…varied my diet a bit; ugali with my maharage. Coffee at Sunsail. One drink at Petleys so I could say Hi to Ali the barman.
Fri 9th. Walked to Shela and the beach. Didn’t stay long as the tide was out and a strong wind was blowing. Spent s couple of hours walking the backstreets looking for a specific door for Mike P – one we had filmed a year and a half ago. I won’t go into ..Why..too complicated. Dinner at police canteen. Either on this day or the following day, I varied my diet again and had rice with my maharage. I had seen a sign outside the Lamu House htl for a Swahili band music evening, so I went along to that. Good fun. And chatted to a guy from Nelson NZ.
Sat 10th. Walked around again. Good fun actually. And I came across Jannatt House which had a little pool on it’s courtyard; Lamu still full of surprises…I thought only Petleys had a pool. Bought my bus ticket for the next day with Mombasa Raha. They wanted 700, compared to Tawakals 1,200. I figured I could survive 4 hours in an older bus. And of course the really fun thing was that I arranged to go to the Floating Pub. A shorter visit than usual. Just had the one drink…esp as they cost 350 there. Left for the pub around 3pm and only stayed about 45 mins. Dinner followed by coffee, then back to Sea Shells for an early ish night as I had to wake up by 05:30. Fabulous 4 day Lamu visit.