Lamu Chapter 2: The Land of donkeys

The island of Lamu has only one car, they say, it belongs to the chief. Though how or where he drives it is anyone’s guess. The roads and alleys are barely wide enough to fit you and a passing donkey. Donkeys consist of the majority of transportation on the island, the other is by boat. This has both good and bad aspects. The good part is that it is very quiet and relaxed on the island the bad part is that the ground is almost entirely covered with donkey droppings. However this only detracts slightly from the quaint beauty and ancient reverie inspired by the town’s old buildings and labyrinthine streets. Five minutes after arriving on the island everyone knows your name and who you came with, within a day you know all the restaurant owners and dhow captains and dress makers and their names. Because Lamu is such an interesting mix of tourism and small town charm, everyone you meet has a funny nickname like “fish-brain” or “Charlie Chaplin”. For the first time in 2 months we are able to walk the streets after dark without fear or even strange looks. Some of the other tourists are even wearing TANK TOPS! It’s a crazy place this Lamu. Even though the entire island is Muslim it seems that the crazy antics of the foreigners is seen as harmless or at the very least fastidiously overlooked for practical reasons. This does not make Lamu a party island by any means, as there is really only one bar, two if you count one that floats in the middle of the estuary. But people don’t really come to Lamu to go to clubs. They come for the quiet and the peace and the wonderful overpriced pasta.