Lamu is a tropical island located in the Indian Ocean in the northeast of Kenya, Africa. It was once called the most beautiful place in the world, and was also included in the World Cultural Heritage List earlier. In order to better appreciate the sunrise and sunset of Lamu, the famous Bill Gates bought land and built villas on the African continent opposite Lamu Island. The local Africans call Lamu Island paradise.
Masked Africa
It takes nearly 2 hours to fly from Nairobi to Lamu Island. In the last few minutes of the flight, the blue bay, green jungle and white buildings weave a beautiful picture at our feet.
From the small Lamu Airport, we went to Lamu Island in a dhow, a dhow handed down by Arabs. The Islamic boy Abdullah, who came to meet us at Kijani Hotel, told us with a smile that the first landing was Lamu Island when Zheng He sailed to Kenya 600 years ago.
Now there are also Chinese ancient porcelain, textiles, chairs, and even a manual noodle machine on display in the Ram Museum. It is said that many Chinese sailors had to settle here due to ship damage. Now there is a village called Shanghai Village on the Pattay Island opposite Lamu Island. Most of the people in the village are Chinese. Lamu Island is the most densely populated island in the Lamu Islands. At present, there are 17000 people, 99% of whom are Muslims. The reason why the population is concentrated here is that only Lamu Island can produce groundwater without salty taste.
The moment I stepped into Lamu Island, I couldn't help wondering, is this East Africa? Thin narrow alleys surrounded by white walls, impenetrable women in black robes, men in Islamic hats, donkeys carrying bags around, vicissitudes of life and colorful Dwow wooden boats moored at the seaside - Rahm is a medieval Islamic world, No wonder the ancient city of Lamu was included in the world cultural heritage in 2001.
Arab businessmen not only brought Muslim civilization to the island, but also brought donkeys to the island. Now Lamu is famous for the "Donkey Island", the only means of transportation on this island is the donkey. There are 6000 donkeys on an island with only 17000 residents. Donkeys are indispensable partners for life on the island, because the transportation of goods is basically done by donkeys, and in addition, it is done by flatbed trucks pulled by people. Therefore, donkeys enjoy a high status here.
Cantonese who eat delicious food here should never say "dragon meat in the sky, donkey meat underground, boss, last dish of donkey meat" - the consequences will be very serious. There is even a donkey hospital on the island, which provides free treatment for the sick donkeys on the island and feeds the donkeys who have lost their mothers. The donkeys of the "gained" walkers in the coastal alleys have also become a landscape of the island, and donkey riding has become a game for tourists to try their hand.
Mysterious alley
Lam has many places worth exploring. Its houses and buildings are particularly unique. Most of the buildings can be traced back to the 18th century or before, and the building materials are sourced from local sources, including coral stones for walls, mangrove columns for supporting wooden doors, and complicated carved shutters. Hiking is the best way to find Lamu. Lamu Island is small. It takes only 40 minutes to walk straight from one end of the island to the other, and takes 5 minutes by speedboat. Most tourists will choose to take the Dhow, a romantic wooden sailboat.
The island is full of mysterious alleys. Under the winding of these alleys, Lam in the 21st century is not much different from 400 years ago. Black men in round hats, children in long gowns, donkeys carrying goods all went into and out of narrow alleys. Muslims chanted prayers five times a day and walked around the alleys clearly. Compared with other bustling islands in the surrounding Indian Ocean, the residents of Lamu Island have kept their own life, and the arrival and departure of tourists have not affected their enjoyment.
Apart from a slightly wider road at the seaside, there are almost no decent roads on Lamu Island, which are basically alleys that only allow two people to walk side by side. Of course, you don't have to worry about the problem of evading goods. Every 3-5 meters in the alley, there must be a recessed space in front of the door of a family. A row of stone benches will be built for their relatives and friends or pedestrians to avoid, rest or even sleep.
Wandering in the city of Lamu, I feel curious. The streets are full of old buildings, and the dilapidated buildings in the alleys are surrounded by gorgeous trees and flowers; The donkey carried heavy bags without complaint; Cats plot night movements at the entrance of the alley; The woman in black walked past, leaving a reverie figure.
This is the only place in Kenya that has no criminal record. The residents on the island are very friendly. When taking photos in the street, there are always cute children smiling at the camera. Passers by will say "Jambo" more often. This kind attitude not only teaches people to put down the caution of wandering in the dark streets, but also makes me deeply love this lovely island.
Seafood feast on fishing boat
You can visit the ancient city by your feet. To see another beauty of Lamu and the Indian Ocean, you need to rely on the traditional dhow. The sailboat took us to explore the islands north of Lamu, the most popular of which is Manda Island. On the day of sailing, the weather was overcast and rainy. Several men in the company went to the sea in high spirits. Despite the bad weather, coral still loomed in the water, and one of the fellow tourists was kissed on the toe by a sea urchin.
The boatman said that if the weather is sunny, you can see groups of tropical fish, starfish and clams. Near the mangrove near the shore, we saw local people holding crabs in bamboo baskets. The crabs here are as big as plates and cheap. You can buy one kilogram for 5 dollars. That night's snack will be available. We agreed with the boatman to take us to the island opposite Lamu for barbecue that night. The boat fare plus food ingredients plus food ingredients processing was only 45 dollars in total.
That night, instead of taking us to the opposite island, the boatman stopped the boat in the middle of the bay, and we barbecued in the charcoal stove on the boat. The lights on Lamu Island are on the opposite side, the stars are on the head, the sea breeze is cool, and the crab meat is tender and sweet, which is beautiful
