91 – Doing Absolutely Nothing and Loving It

Thu 25th Feb, Lamu Castle Lodge, Lamu, Kenya
It is day 91 (you do know that those numbers preceding the catchy titles are the number of days I spent traveling right?). No great stories to tell here, i caught up on a backlog of these entries, then played too much computer games, before going out in the afternoon to look for dinner and a spot of online time (2KSH/min, rather expensive). There was a great eating place on the second floor of one building, the New Mina Cafe, which served great pilau at cheap prices (100 KSH!). The remainder of the evening was spent sitting around, which is just the way i like it. =)

The people in Lamu are like the friendliest around. Everywhere you turn, it is a friendly Jambo or Habari you hear. Also, you actually hear from the women. When around town, some of the women are clad in their black bui-buis, with only their eyes showing. So i assumed it was something like back in Sudan, where the women are seldom seen on the streets and even lesser heard. Imagine my surprise when i get these fully covered women boisterously going “Jambo” and proceeding to strike up a full conversation with me about where i come from in English. Now that’s a way to be conservative yet articulate at the same time!

Back then, the Swahili city states, from Zanzibar, to Lamu, Pate in the north were big kingdoms. When modernisation occured, places along the coast like Mombasa got developed pretty much but Lamu fell into obscurity and thus managed to maintain the simple way of life that is currently seen today.