Meeting a Masai in Lamu

The following day we couldn't go to the beach because someone had badly burnt legs and feet and needed to stay out of the sun, I won't mention any names. Do you know how bad it hurts to burn your feet? The morning was just spent relaxing and reading (we took turns running up and down the stairs with Noah) in one of the daybeds and in the afternoon we went out to explore the cool and shaded alleys of Lamu old town. Even if Lamu old town isn't very large it is easy to get lost in between all the dwindling lanes,imagine trying to find yourself home in the middle of the night. Fifteen years ago there was no electricity on Lamu and even today the lights goes out every now and again, especially during the festivities, it is therefore advisable to bring a torch if coming here. There is little crime here and even as a woman you can safely walk home by yourself in the middle of the pitch black night.


Behind every corner we discover a new restaurant, a hotel or a little furniture workshop. We stop to have dinner at one of the local restaurants by the water, it's very simple but clean and the food turns out to be excellent. When you wine and dine in Lamu you have to expect to wait quite some time for your order, they make everything from scratch here which is really nice when you think about it. I am not really sure what goes on in the Lamu kitchen and maybe I don't want to know either but the waiting is worthwhile.


The next day we hit the beach again and suddenly we catch sight of a Masai, dressed in his traditional red sarong, what the he..is a Masai doing in Lamu? It turns out that Nakkuieiu ( I have no idea how it's spelled) or Jackson which is his English name, stays in Lamu for about 6 months every year to do business. His business is selling beautiful Masai beaded jewellery to tourists like us, I bought a beautiful bracelet for myself and one for Mats.

Nakkuieiu's home is Amboseli, a Kenyan national parks that borders to Tanzania with great scenic beauty and a landscape dominated by Mount Kilimanjaro. He tells us he is 33 years old, he is married with 3 kids (one is newly born) and owns 12 cows. His English is not the best but he has a good sense of humor and when we ask where he stays in Lamu he points to the sand dunes. - I live there and when I see a muzungu (white people), I come forward, I yell and kill them with my stick and then I take their bags. When saying this he takes a step back not sure that we will understand that he is joking. Like most Masai his face is very beautiful and it's hard to take your eyes off him, he's got the circular tattoo on either side of his cheek. I read that this tattoo is made at a very early age in order to distract flies away from the eyes and towards the open wounds, it this is true I don't know. Nakkuieiu also has pierced and stretched ear lobes which are decorated with colorful beads.

We spend the rest of the afternoon talking to Nakkuieiu and then catch a boat back.