So it has been a loooooooong time since I wrote my last entry. Sorry. I have to now look back 6 months to catch up!
I did another month at the Colobus Trust doing the same sort of thing. etting the monkeys together as a troop. By the time I left, the trustees had made all sorts of promises. Later I unfortunately found out that they were not to keep them and the poor monkeys are still locked up in their enclosures with their welfare dependent on whether or not current volunteers know anything or care about how these poor animals live (surprising how you find that many people care more for their own fun than animal welfare, even when volunteering at a charity for animals. So I don't hold much hope for them in their current situation). But we are fighting with WSPA's help to get the colobus trust to do the right thing.
So after an emotionl two months of volunteering, I left at the appointed time for Lamu with my friend Neda. We stayed at a beautiful hotel called Amu House. It was in the traditional Arab style and you could go up onto the roof and get a good view of the harbour of Lamu and the rooftops of Lamu town. Lamy is constructed of closely packed buildings all jutted up so close or adjoining that there is one continuous wall on either side of the narrow streets. The whole town is like this: made up of a maze of narrow streets and being enclosed on each side by walls. The doors were of the traditionl style and beautifully carved wooden doors were to be seen all over Lamu. The history having Arabic, Persian and Omani background it was very similar to Stone Town on Zanzibar island (which I was yet to see) if anyone has been there.
Lamu had a big problem with waste disposal though and it struck me how much rubbish was on the streets. It is a problem that really needs addressing, for public health and also for the health of the many donkeys there. The donkeys there work very hard, often carrying heavy loads as well as people. People with sticks would push them to get up and move when they lay down with exhaustion. They would often be tethered with no obvious water supply in the hot sun. And because there was no grass in Lamu, I would often see them grazing on the rubbish. There is a donkey sanctuary there caring for orphan donkeys due to dams dying from what I believe they described may be bowel obstruction due to this rubbish on which they graze. It was hard to see and I found myself feeling that it would be worthwhile stopping there to educate on animal welfare and to work on the rubbish problem and set up feeding and watering stations. Something to think about for sure. As long as any hard work could be guarranteed to be maintained if whoever started it left.
But in general the people in Lamu were very friendly and welcoming. We visited Shela Beach for a day of beach time and organised a dhow (traditional boat) trip to take us to the islands north of Lamu. We spent 5 days tripping from one island to the next and doing so beautiful snorkelling and generally having to relax. The dhow was wind driven and we would tend to sleep and then snorkel and be fed. We got a lot of beach time on that trip and were rough camping it and seeing places where most tourists don't get to go. We got to see some beautiful sunsets and meet some gorgeous African children that tried to teach me there children's games and songs. As with many African kids, they also really wanted their photos taken and to see the pictures. Many of them may not have mirrors I realised since they would not know straight away which child was themself in any of the pictures.
It was a beautiful trip and the 5 days in Lamu and 5 days on the boat really relaxed us after our time as volunteers. We flew to Mombasa where Neda and I parted ways and I went on to Zanzibar.
