Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Wedding on Lamu

Since our last post, we've had time to explore and get the lay of the land. We're staying in a small town called Shela, about a 40 minute walk along the beach from a larger town called Lamu Town. 
Josh and Vicky's wedding was in Lamu Town.  There was a bit of a spectacle as the whole town seemed to know about the wedding. We arrived from Shela in decorated dhows (sailboats) at the jetty in Lamu Town.  Vicky and her bridal party arrived last. They were met by a singing and dancing entourage of women and Aaron Franz (Josh's best man), and then they danced all the way back to the church.  Then there was some backyard bartering over the bride to make it official. Something to do with soap and pop that I can't tell you too much about because it was for the women only. It must have gone alright because a while later Josh's mom came out arm in arm with Vicky.  The wedding from this point was a 3 hr affair of singing and dancing mixed with African style sermon and catholic rites. They said "I do" and kissed and kissed and all was well. From there we went back to Shela via decorated dhow for the rooftop reception.  All the buildings here are open to the air and breezy.  (Did I mention they are made of coral?!). The meal was amazing and there were of course more speeches and traditions before we closed it with a dance. 

What else have we been up to? Eating lots of fresh seafood and tropical fruit.  Hanging out at the beach.  And exploring the narrow streets full of kids and donkeys. Today our group (Josh's family) took a full day dhow trip around Lamu island.  

Tomorrow we pack up and fly to Nairobi on a small twin prop plane.

1 comment:

Sixstrongarms@gmail.com said...

Sounds awesome! Where's the pictures? Gordo and Gramma have had some interesting days and nights. We have had torrential rains for days now! Thinking of you all, and waiting for those pic's! Luv ya Ma