Work, Work, Work, PLAY!

I sincerely apologize for slacking in posting updates, but it is the result of one thing – we have been extremely busy! You can’t fault me on that, can you? However, I have been keeping up with my journal so I will back post some entries starting with September 22, 2010.

In mid-September, our friend Nate (from Denver) came to visit us so we (Madison, Nate, Sach, and I) went to an island called Lamu on the Kenyan coast for 5 days. If we can do trips like these once a month then life would be just dandy, but I know that's not reality:) - well at least not at this point. We took a 2 hour, one propeller plane ride to the island from Nairobi. I truly appreciate the simplicity of traveling here –you can book flights 1-2 days in advance for the same price if you booked it 3 weeks in advance, you don't have to arrive at the airport 90 minutes ahead of time for domestic flights, IDs aren't checked at check-in (not sure if that’s the most secure, but it works), and you have the opportunity to identify your bags before climbing the stairs to the plane to make sure your bags come with. I have never been in a smaller plane than this (besides when I went skydiving). There were about 14 of us on the plane - I sat right behind the pilot (pictured above). Next to the pilot sat a passenger. I thought it was the co - pilot at first, but then Madison informed me it was a passenger, which makes sense as he was taking pictures the whole time and he was about 15 years old. But we made it to the island safe and sound and then took a speed boat to Shela, where we rented a house.

The house was absolutely beautiful and most peaceful (minus the construction sounds of a new house being built next door, but I didn’t let it bother me) with an unbelievable view (pictured above). It was 4 levels, 2 kitchens, 4 large bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, and an indoor pool. The house also came fully staffed with a chef (Evans) and two assistants who were all extremely helpful. We wanted to take Evans back with us to Nairobi to be our professional chef – as all of his meals were delicious (we didn’t even venture out for dinner to a local restaurant, as we kept looking forward to the next meal he would prepare) and we enjoyed a variety of fresh seafood straight from the water in view. We were a 2 minute walk to the beach, a couple minute stroll to "town” which was comprised of various art galleries, grocery shops, restaurants, and souvenir/clothing shops. I had a love/hate relationship with the beautiful, old-style, architecture amongst the homes, buildings, and streets. Every time I left the house I had to be hopeful I would find my way back as it’s a maze of narrow walkways amongst the buildings around the island. I think it was finally on the 2nd to last day that I made it back to the home without getting lost or wandering around aimlessly for 15+ minutes before calling Madison to come and find me.

I appreciated the fact that there were no cars on the island- if you wanted to go to "Lamu town" from Shela you can enjoy a 30 minute walk, take a dhow (a wooden boat) or ride a donkey. Of course I had to experience the donkey ride from Lamu to Shela (pictured above) - my tailbone still hurts from it – but I definitely got the hang of it by the end and perhaps I will have the opportunity to do it again.

Our time on Lamu island was definitely a chilled, relaxing time had by all. There wasn’t much night life on the island (thank goodness:) so we played cards or board games at night and then hit the beds early. We all enjoyed a beautiful sunset dhow ride one evening (pictured above) and another dhow ride to ruins on Manda Island that date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. Other than that I befriended the locals on my morning runs to Lamu town, visited Jay, my tailor friend in Lamu town on a daily basis who made the boys custom pants and various skirts/dresses out of kikoys (local Kenyan cloth) for me, enjoyed walks along the beach, soaked in the sun, did some reading, and enjoyed being away after being on the “go” constantly during the previous weeks.