The houses are built right in the village of Shela, so you get a feel for the community. You hear the muezzin’s call to prayer, you pass women hidden beneath floating black bui buis, and you share narrow passageways with donkeys.
There are bright white washed walls and brilliant bougainvilleas. Shela is small, and it is an easy walk to the beach or to catch a dhow into Lamu town. You can arrange to go snorkeling in Lamu or on a romantic sunset Lamu dhow cruise.
Lamu is a Muslim Island-guests staying in private houses are advised to bring their own wine, spirits and any pork products they desire. Butter and cheese can be difficult to find in Shela.
Three private houses are described below. Others are available and it seems that more will be opening soon, if not already opened.
Shela House and Palm House
Guests have been coming to Shela house for some years. Palm house opened in Novembers 1996. Staying in either house is pure bliss. They are breathtakingly beautiful, totally releasing ad very exotic. You fell special and pampered from the moment you arrive by dhow from the airstrip and are greeted at the jetty by the welcoming house staff. They carry your bags and lead through narrow streets to the house.
Step through a beautifully carved door into paradise. There are courtyards open to the sky and filled with flowering creepers, beautiful Swahili furniture, bright exotic fabrics…everything done to perfection. You will never want to leave.
In both houses the kitchen, dining and living area are on the lower level. Climb up smooth steps to explore the various floors above-bedrooms with Lamu beds, sunny outdoor passage ways, cool areas for sitting and reading, bookcases filled with books. Walls are bright white wash, the floors are a cool yellow and windows have no glass to impede the breeze. Everywhere is a view worth a picture-whether it is a looking down into the central court yard, into the narrow streets below or out to the blue of the shinning sea beyond the white minaret of the nearby mosque.
The top levels of the houses are open –sided, thatched roof terraces which catch the breeze and offer panoramic views over the village and the water beyond. There is a bar with fridge-ice and cold drinks. This is the place to read or sleep away the heat of the day on a Lamu daybed or in the hammock, the place to gather for sundowners and listen to the evening call to prayers, the place to come to after dinner to look at the impossibly bright stars, the place it’s especially hard to leave when you have to return to the real world.
The staff in Shela and palm House look after your every need-setting up for drinks before dinner, doing laundry if needed, keeping the house spotless. There is a cook and two house staff in both Shela and Palm House. The cooks are superb chefs. Here you eat unparalled meals-ginger crab, coconut fish curry, succulent lobsters. Fishermen bring their catch to the door and you can select what you would like.
The staff will discuss with you what you would like to eat and go shopping on a daily basis, keeping a tab for your account. It is possible to arrange to get alcohol from nearby Peponi Hotel if you don’t bring your own.
There is a secluded shady garden where you can have barbecues, and a pool has been added.
You’ll feel that you don’t really want to leave the house but there is an endless almost deserted beach for lovely walks and swims, and there are dhow owners eager to take you sailing, snorkeling or to ancient ruins under giant baobabs. You can catch the Peponi hotel boat into Lamu town for the morning; you can wander around Shela village just enjoying the charm and exotic nature of the place.
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Robert is a Kenya travel expert with Landmark safaris. For Budget Lamu vacation house bookings- your link to Lamu Island tour house and places to stay, visit and sleep in Lamu http://www.landmarksafaris.com
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