Lamu: walking to Shella or the opposite direction north

Just be a bit aware. In Lamu and surroundings we met only friendly people. However, in October 2007 walking along the beach from Lamu to Shella we were warned by a young foreigner to take care. A few armed robberies had recently happened to folks with backpacks like us. This on the somewhat lonely and hidden path just 50 metres away from the beach that also leads to Shella. You are forced to take it when the high tide hits the wall and leaves no space for walking in the sand. For us the warning came in time, others lost all they carried including the man who warned us. He asured us the police was working on the issue and that they believed the robbers were from out of town as in Lamu everybody knows almost everyone and would be easy to discover. The trick is that they watch you on one side of the track while at the far end a colleague is waiting to receive a message that you are not being followed by others who could see or disturb the 'takeover'. Having read the odd recent report on corrupt Lamu police in this Kenya branch some police might not be trusted much. Just try to stay out of trouble by walking between Lamu and Shella at low tide, always with daylight and where others can see you. And check around with foreigners living in Lamu if the situation is clear again.

Should you feel like strolling into the opposite direction of town towards what some call 'Coconut Beach' (a white stretch of artificially accumulated sand from the channel) you will eventually wonder into an area where a small NGO (in Lamu there are quite a few) in its recently inaugurated new facilities attends swahili children together with a group of Borana and Orma families. They have come from different parts of Kenia in search of jobs and became sqatters on someone elses land without finding them. The children are orphans, sometimes victims of sexual abuse, many originally notoriously undernourished and suffering from a serious lack of education. 'Anidan' tries to change this by feading these people (adults get means to do it themselves) and providing regular school careers with the help of kenyan teachers. Everyone involved with the work has a load of things to do and they have hardly any time to attend visitors. They don't even wish volunteers to join as they believe that enabling locals to do the job is the best way to help. What they do appreciate is if you take a look into www.anidan.org (if you undertand Spanish) and eventually become a sponsor. Something to think about if you really have fallen in love with the place. Surprisingly none of those who belong to the richest of this world and own all the villas across from Shella along the beach on Manda Island don't feel this way at all.

There's more about Lamu than Shella's beaches...

Edited by: kima5560