Honeymoon trip to Lamu

by Sean
(San Diego, California, USA)

Our stay in Lamu was the highlight of our honeymoon trip to Kenya. My single best Kenya travel tip: get to Lamu!

I happened to run across this website on the week of my 25th wedding anniversary (surprise, surprise... some California marriages make it to 25 years!) 25 years ago, my adventurous wife agreed to go backpacking in Kenya for a month for a honeymoon and the adventures, joys and struggles during that month was a great start to a wonderful marriage.

I must say, of all the things we saw and did during that month (staying at the Norfolk, taking the Lunatic Express, renting our own car and driving places that most tourists never see), our stay in Lamu was the highlight of our trip. To this day, even thinking about the week we were in Lamu brings a smile to my face.

We took a bus from Mombasa to Lamu, stopping in smaller towns and buying food from small stands and vendors along the way. After taking a small boat, that shuttled us to Lamu, we stayed at Petley's Inn. Mind you, this was the OLD Petley's Inn...prior to it being destroyed a couple of years later in a kerosene explosion (at least that's what the latest urban myth says).

Walking along beaches that had no other tourists for miles and miles, watching the locals and watching them laugh as we struggled with our pathetic swahili was a lot of fun. We also went to a church service and were impressed with the turnout as we were told that there was a traveling "circuit riding" priest who only made it up to Lamu once a month.

The people, the climate, the culture and the kindness that appeared to be an integral part of every social interaction I saw has given Lamu a very special place in my heart.

PS My wife and and I are lucky enough to be sponsoring an absolutely darling 12 year old orphan girl at an orphanage a bit south of Lamu in Malindi. We hope to return to the Kenyan coast when she graduates from secondary school.

Kwaheri, Sean