Beach bums

We were quite happy to kip in our rock hard beds that night.

Alllaaaah Akbahr! screamed the megaphone loudly at 5 o' clock the next morning and one could hear people's footsteps in the dark alleys, still no sign of daylight. For people getting up at that inhumanly early hour I guess it would be a safe wake up call, I bet the muezzin just got up to yell his prayer and then went straight back to bed. We woke up 2 hours later feeling refreshed and hungry for breakfast. The table was set with freshly pressed juice, fruit salad and yogurt, scrambled eggs and toast, jam, banana pancake and coffee with hot milk - yummy!

After breakfast we set off for Shella beach, it would take about 45 minutes to walk there but it would be difficult if not impossible to walk there with a pram so we went down to the jetty to find a boat. After some dealing we found a "slow boat", a dhow with a motor, that would take us there safely in about 15 minutes for the price of 500 Ksh ( 5 Euros). I am sure giving tourists lift back and forth to the beach is a quite lucrative side business for boat owners here.

As usual the quay was crowded with people and donkeys and we wonder how we will manage to get down to the boat since there are only steep cemented stairs leading down, however the locals turn out to be most helpful and before we know it Noah, the pram and ourselves are on our way. Apparently a recently introduced law require boat owners to supply life jackets on board so we both got dressed up in bright orange life jackets while Noah already had his own, now we really must have looked like dumb tourists! Never mind, we were out on the Indian Ocean and the sun was shining ( I will add photos asap I get hold of a bloody cable). The engine sounded like an old sewing machine and Noah was sitting on top of it, humming a song, we passed the shores of Lamu and as we came closer to Shella the houses grew larger and more elaborate but without feeling too touristy.

We were let off at the quay of the legendary Peponi Hotel which was first opened in 1967, it does not have any of the facilities or services of a posh hotel but nevertheless manages to attract 5-star guests. What Peponi has is plenty of personality, charm & delicious cocktails. It is rumored that Andreas Casiraghi, the handsome son of Princess Caroline of Monaco comes here to dance by the bar. If you aren't very interested in the celeb gossip I can tell you that the restaurant offers fresh oysters, tuna carpaccio, grilled fish, lobster in mango sauce, food that melts in your mouth while you are sipping on a glass of a chilled South African chardonnay.














We continue on to the beach, locals are watching us curiously, they have probably never seen anyone with a pram here before or at least not on the beach...The reason for bringing the pram was because there's no natural shade to hide from the sun and there sure are no sun chairs or parasols for rent either, even if someone could have made a fortune from it.

We found ourselves a nice little spot and plunged into the green water. The temperature of the Indian ocean is just perfect, along the shore it must easily have been around 30+ degrees I am not kidding! We got home later that afternoon feeling happily burnt and with sand enough to open up a smaller beach.... in our room.

Lamu a different kind of paradise

Since our last driving adventure turned out to be a bit bumpy flying to Lamu seemed to the better choice. I've seen a photo of the airstrip of Lamu and it's nothing more than a sandy stretch in between the mangroves and the ocean so I already knew we would not fly a jumbo there, not even one of the smaller jet planes could land there. It turned out to be a 12 seated propeller plane plus the pilot. I´ve never been a real fan of flying so I felt rather brave climbing on board. No safety instructions hmm, I then remembered a story told by a friend of mine who once flew on a small plane in Norway. The air hostess -at least they had room for one, started the safety instructions and half way through she said, of fuck it, if we go down, we go down, very reassuring.

The ascending was rather shaky and I felt nervous for a while, Noah fell asleep almost at once, little cool guy that he is. Once we were up among the clouds I couldn't complain, it was a rather smooth journey and felt a bit like sailing. When we were about to land, there were some really strong wind so we didn't float over the airport or airstrip like one normally would, we flew down so to speak. Imagine sailing a large boat into port during storm, well I guess it would be something similar to that. However it did not last long and I was happy we had reached our near destination
(I tried not to think about the journey back), I wiped my slightly moist palms, got out of the plane and tried to look cool. An instant almost unexpected heat welcomed us.















Lamu is a different kind of paradise, a little island in the Indian Ocean just off the Kenyan coast. The history tells about a wealthy trading port busy with merchants, sultans and their slaves tracing some 600 years back in time. The dwindling alleys, coral and limestone houses comprises the oldest and best preserved East African Swahili settlement, now part of the UNESCO World heritage. Even today the island attracts noble visitors such as princess Caroline of Monaco, Mick Jagger and so forth and it is not hard to understand why, here they can be totally undisturbed, no paparazzi, empty sun kissed beaches, the warm Indian Ocean and delicious seafood. However I am quite sure the celebrities don't stay in Lamu town, more likely at one of the 5-star hotels located on a secluded beach.


In order to get to Lamu we had to cross the straight by boat, you could actually see the town from the opposite side. The jetty was already full of people waiting to cross, most of them were not tourists or at least they didn't look like tourists to me. The warm breeze was a blessing to our warm bodies, we tried to hold on to Noah in the pram, the jetty had large gaps of missing wood but with some effort we managed to get both our bags, our son, now dressed in a bright yellow life west on board a boat. It would cost us 400 Ksh to cross, an equivalent of 4 Euros.

As we are approaching the quay children are jumping in and out of the water giggling and screaming with joy while women are piercing at us through their black bui bui's. Lamu is a Muslim society and one is likely to see veiled women and men dressed in the traditional kanzu. Our hostess later tells me that this is indeed a Muslim society but not an overly strict one, for a Westerner the bui bui may seem strict but we do not know what goes on underneath.. Everywhere we are greeted with a smile and a - Karibu (welcome) and it seems rather genuine. I have to admit though that we were a little shocked by the ruralness of Lamu, I mean we did know that there were no cars here except from one 3-wheeled ambulance and a Landrover and that donkeys were the public transport but I suppose we were still in a Swedish state of mind, expecting neat and cleanliness.

This is not some typical holiday resort built to cater for the needs of tourists, this is Lamu, real and raw and far more interesting. We follow our porter through the narrow alley ways, trying not to step in donkey poo oh well sooner or later we will but in the meantime I would like to remain clean thank you! Most alley ways are only 1 to 2 meters wide and one quickly has to find a door way to hide in while donkeys pass with their heavy load and believe me they come at full speed. The town is about 10 alleyways wide and dates back to the 14th century, apparently some 40 houses are interconnected by upstairs passages so Muslim women in those days didn't have to leave the houses, sounds a bit like prison to me but maybe it was convenient.

We stop in front of a large carved wooden door, just behind Lamu fort, this is the entrance to Subira House, formerly a house owned by the governor of the Sultan built about 200 years ago, now a restored and beautifully renovated B&B run by a Swedish couple. Stepping inside is like entering another world, walking around town you wouldn't even know these oasis existed but behind a wooden door lies many secrets. We step into a beautiful courtyard, the center of the whole house, with two floors built around and above it. We take our shoes off and feel the smooth, warm limestone floor under our feet, we climb the stairs with exceptionally high steps to the first floor looking over another open courtyard with a small garden of flowers, a frangipani tree and pink bourganvillas hanging down from the roof. The first floor has 4 rooms all beautifully decorated in swahili style with four poster wooden beds, small tables with inlayed pottery and outside on the terraces you can relax in one of the daybeds decorated with colorful fabrics and pillows. The architecture and beautiful design of these swahili houses allows for a social lifestyle yet in privacy. All the open spaces and terraces lets the ocean breeze cool the interior and its inhabitants. Late in the evening the floor is still warm from the strong Kenyan sun, Lamu is situated only two degrees south of the equator.

To be continued...

Merry x-mas & Happy New Year

We're off to Lamu island paradise today. I'll tell you all about it when we get back.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you!

Africa's most dangerous animals

The holiday season is approaching and that must be the reason why I haven't written in a while, I am in a pre-holiday mood. Not that I have been super busy but it's really hard to get to the computer when you have a hyperactive little boy who just loves computers. Many of you have asked for photos and I assure you, I am doing my best to find a cable that connects camera to the computer. The one we have is in a container still waiting to be sent from Sweden, not very clever I know.

I really should tell you more about Masai Mara, because it was really amazing! Looking at the vast landscape almost made you feel as if you had stepped into a painted picture.


We saw large herds of elephants some with small calves, we managed to get really close. At another stop a large, old,wrinkled male crossed the road just in front of our car. It didn't seem to take much notice of us or maybe he was just bored with people. A little later we were told that only last month, 18 people had been killed by elephants in Masai Mara..ooooops! Some dumb tourists had seen the baby elephants, thinking they were so cute and stepped out of the car, of course the elephant mothers saw them as a major threat and went berserk. One thing that surprised me was that there was no information or signs on how to act in case you were confronted by an animal at least not what we could see. There really ought to be signs and rules of how to behave within the park so as not to disturb the wild life and to ensure its preservation. That would make life easier on both animals and human beings.

We also saw hippos enjoying an easy life, relaxing in shallow pools of the rivers. Now that we're already talking about being killed..this gigantic creature that may seem like a floating gentle, kill most people in Africa second to mosquitoes. Here is the list of Africa's most dangerous animals:

1. Mosquitoes
2. Hippos
3. Buffaloes
4. Elephants
5. Crocodiles
6. Lions
7. The Desert Locusts (grass hopper)

For more horror tales on Africa's most dangerous animals


We also got to see crocs, buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, gazelles and the list goes on.

The highlight though, the queen of the savanna, the lioness. We had driven to numerous locations to find the lions, however for an untrained eye they are really hard to spot, they nicely blend into the surrounding bushes. Then we got a tip from a park ranger, who kindly even turned back to come and get us in order to point out their hidden location. There they were, three beautiful lionesses, sun baking in the equatorial sun. We sat there in the quiet with our car windows down only 3 meters from them. What a strong, graceful animal! Noah got a bit excited and couldn't help pointing and talking loudly, since we did not want an armless son we quietly drove off with smiling faces.



P.S Intressant artikel om hur man kan hjälpa familjer i Kenya.( In Swedish, sorry)

Here is how you can help Kenyans to a better life, lend money to an entrepreneur!

Breathing in the wild

The tarmac ended just before the Masai Mara gateway town called Narok, which is the provincial town of Masai Mara.

Apparently the tarmac hadn't reached Narok due to politics, more likely to mean the bribe wasn't paid. Oh yes, Kenya is indeed one of the most corrupted countries in the world and it has reached endemic proportions here. I remember a while ago when there was an outcry in Swedish papers claiming that Ericsson had used bribes to get an Indian contract, well hello, how else would they get it? Unfortunately bribery is the way to do business here despite laws such as the Anti Corruption law and Economics Crimes Act. The legal and institutional framework simply doesn't work to stop corruption mainly because most public officials earns a small fortune (in Kenyan terms) by acquiring and accepting bribes hence delaying different projects.

Narok seemed to be a busy little town, what I find amazing is how men and women manage to look so clean and tidy despite living in tonnes of dust. Their clothes are always immaculate, white shirts with no stains and no wrinkles. What's their secret?

We continued the bumpy journey and finally reached the park entrance and thought we didn't have long to go. We were quite wrong, even if it was just another 12km it took forever. If you have seen the movie Shrek, I'd like to quote: Are we there yet? No. Are we there yet? No. Are we there yet? No. However it didn't really matter because the plains were beautiful,speckled with thorn and acacia trees, shared by herds of zebra, giraffe, elephant and buffalo.

We arrived at Mara Serena Safari Lodge around 2.30 p.m, just before the buffet lunch closed :).





























The lunch was delicious and the surroundings were absolutely stunning! The hotel is set on a high ridge and the actual rooms are freestanding mud huts, a modern version of the traditional African domes. Each hut has a small balcony overlooking the valley and the water hole. In the night, you lie there tucked in your bed hearing the lions roar over their last prey. I woke up in the middle of the night hearing the sound and at first I thought it was Mats snoring, then I heard it again and it definitely was not him! The roar and groaning of a lion is a deep, guttural sound and it is very hard to estimate the distance between yourself and the lion. My immediate thought was: Have I closed the balcony door properly...as if a lion would climb in. Then I realized it wasn't that close but still I wasn't watching a documentary with David Attenborough either somewhere out there was a real lion.

Safari to Masai Mara

At the very last minute we decided to go on a safari to Masai Mara for the weekend. For those of you that didn't already know, Safari means journey in Swahili and what a journey it was! We were choosing between the options of flying or driving and since we felt a bit adventurous and wanted to see more of the country we decided for the latter option.

Reading up on the Internet, various web sites said it would be a 6h drive at it's best and that the road range varied from acceptable to abominable. Coming from Sweden where most things are neat and organized I suppose we didn't expect anything as near as bad as it was. We set of at 6 a.m to escape the worst morning traffic and managed to get out of Nairobi taking the A104 towards Lake Naivasha and Nakuru. As you descend down from the 1600 m plateau you get a breathtaking view over the Rift Valley. Trucks and overloaded buses move slowly down the very steep hill without railings while cars overtake them at a killer speed. At a look out point shops more resembling wooden shacks, sell souvenirs and if you are in "need" you could always use the toilette hanging off a cliff, be sure to keep the door open for a magnificent view.














After turning left to Narok the road went from ok to really bad. We were shaking bums for the next 2 hours or something that felt like an eternity. I kept thinking of those vibrator shape up things they sell on TV-shop, claiming to increase fat burning, well hey those things were nothing compared to this and I was starting to look forward to see my flat, muscular tummy when arriving. Despite the terrible road condition the trip was quite enjoyable and suddenly out of the blue, we saw tarmac!

To be continued...

Casualties in the night

We have been here for a week now and I've still not gotten used the rock hard bed (I've gotten used to the pool), I try to convince myself it's good for me..but right now I am feeling quite stiff.

Like most expat wives, I have spent the last few days in the shopping mall, shopping for food, food and more food. Our driver must think we are crazy bringing back bag after bag,I tried to cover it up by adding that we came with nothing..

When telling friends and family that we were moving to Kenya I guess many of them imagined us living in a mud hut in an underdeveloped country with no western goods. It's really not like that at all, you actually find everything here. The food stores for example are as large as any food store back home and have everything that you might need but maybe not WHEN you need it. I've learned that what's available in the store today may be gone tomorrow. It is not as cheap as I expected it to be but then I suppose most Kenyans do not do their grocery shopping at the malls.

Local fruit and vegetables are very cheap though, you can buy a kilo of mangoes for an equivalent of 7 SEK, now that's cheap! You'll find avocados the size of water melons and they'll cost you nothing. Why are avocados back home so small and always the same size I am asking myself? There are so many type of fruits and vegetables that I have no idea what they are or how to use them but I am really eager to find out.

Along the roads you find all kind of vendors that sell anything from fruit and vegetables to furniture, mobile phones and flowers. I would love to buy fruit and veggies here, from the locals, but unfortunately I am not a big fan of pollution which is why I choose the mall alternative. The fresh flowers however are hard to resist, so I bought a large bouquet today and payed something like 32 SEK, the driver said it was a bit overpriced but it does not matter,the vendor fooled me but I was quite happy to pay.

Now to a complete different matter, how come there's no malaria in Nairobi when the rest of the country is plagued by the disease? They say it is because the malaria mosquito doesn't like high altitudes (Nairobi is situated 1600 m above sea level). Even if there's no malaria there sure are other type of mosquitoes here!

The other afternoon, Mats had just arrived home and we decided to take Noah for a walk around the pool. It was still daylight so I left the balcony door wide open, we were only gone for about 5-10 minutes. I forgot that the sun sets very quickly here and by the time we got back inside it was almost dark. I did not only leave the balcony door wide open I also left the lights on inside..lesson number three NEVER,EVER leave a door open after dark in Kenya. The apartment was swarming with a million mosquitoes, I kid you not! We turned the lights off inside and turned it on outside with the hope of luring the mosquitoes out again, that didn't work very well. I guess they would have flown out eventually but we didn't have the whole night. So we went berserk with the broom,which Noah found very amusing. You can still see the casualties smashed on the wall.