Well I was going to start at the beginning of Peter's visit to Kenya, and build up the anticipation and waiting, but several of my friends have clamored for me to tell them about the proposal. So here it is...! After this, I'll go back to the beginning of Peter's visit, and go forward from there.
It was a dark and stormy night. Just kidding! But actually, it was a dark and stormy afternoon. Earlier that day, we had taken a dhow trip; a dhow is a traditional Swahili fishing boat, and taking day-long dhow trips is one of the more common ways to spend a day in Lamu. Here's a picture of a smaller dhow, named Hakuna Matata (yes that really does mean no problems in Kiswahili and people really do say it), which I venture to think had a bit of a matata since it was grounded in the sand and looked relatively unused.
But let me back up just briefly... Peter had been visiting me in Kenya for about a week at that point. We'd spent several days in the excavation camp, which I will get to in future posts. On my birthday (the day after his birthday), last Sunday, we flew to Lamu. Lamu is an island just off the northeastern coast of mainland Kenya, and it's a fantastic place. It is one of, if not the, earliest areas of settlement in Kenya and maintains a traditional feel about it. Most of the houses are built from coral, lime, and cement; they are built tall, narrow, and close together, as Swahili houses traditionally have been for thousands of years. (My first archaeological excavation in Kenya was on the mainland coast, north of Mombasa, and I was excavating an old Swahili settlement that looked very similar to today's Lamu town). The island is small, and has only one car, which belongs to some government official or other; the main form of transportation is by donkey. There are lots of donkeys on the island, and you can hear them braying at all times of the day and night.
Lamu's inhabitants are mostly of Swahili culture, and mainly Muslim. Most women wear the long black Muslim hijab, sometimes with only their eyes, shoes, and a hint of a brightly colored dress peeking out. (I wanted to take many more pictures of people than I did, since it can be considered rude to do so).
There are only two developed areas on the island of Lamu: Lamu town, and Shela Village. They are separated by about a 40 minute walk - either along the beach, or along the inland dunes (when the tide comes up). These photos are a view of Lamu town from a path leading there from Shela Village, and a view of Shela Village from the dunes behind it.
Lamu Town is a busy bustle of small-time commerce and trade, while Shela Village, next to a 12 kilometer strech of beautiful deserted beach, is quieter. The first photo is of Lamu town taken from the boat on the way back to the airport, the second is of a typical view down the main street in Lamu town, and the third is of the beach near Shela.
But both places are safe enough to walk around at night, quite a rarity in Kenya.
So back to the story! That day, Peter and I took a dhow trip around Lamu and Manda islands. (Manda is a smaller island next to Lamu; it's where Lamu's "airport" is located. To get to Lamu from the airport on Manda, you need to take a boat). We went fishing, using only fishing lines wound around pieces of wood, and bits of prawn (shrimp) and calamari for bait. Our dhow had a bit of shade on it, and combined with several clouds in the sky, it made for a thankfully not-t00-hot experience. We sailed by a floating restaurant,
explored mangrove shorelines,
and fished with our captain and first mate, who told us great stories about his fishing adventures around Africa and Arabia.
We only caught one fish, a white snapper (we were told), and when we were done fishing we anchored of a quiet beach on Manda Island and the captain and first mate barbecued the fish and some of the bait for lunch. Yum! Meanwhile, we took a walk along the beach.
After the dhow trip was over, we decided to walk along that beautiful strip of beach you saw in the earlier picture. Never mind the dark grey threatening clouds overhead, they'd just make for some nice shade to go along with the cool ocean breeze - so we thought. Unfortunately, those dark grey threatening clouds opened up on us and poured down some serious rain! We got soaked, but we laughed. We walked back to the B&B quite wet, but hopped in the shower before dinner to rinse off the salty spray. It was our first night having dinner at our B&B, cooked by a fantastic chef, who got whatever fresh seafood he could find - that night it was a huge jackfish we could barely finish half of - and cooked it with the usual coconut rice.
After the delicious and romantic candlelit dinner, Peter came around to my side of the table, got down on one knee, and told me how about much happiness I've brought into his life, and how he wants to spend the rest of our lives together. He then pulled a box with a ring out from the twist around his waist in his kikoy - he was wearing the traditional Swahiliu men's wrap - and asked me to marry him! I told him nothing would make me happier. (At this point he said, for the record, is that a yes? To which I laughed with joy and said, that's a yes!). I can't think of a more wonderful setting - a tropical island, a romantic candlelit dinner for two, on a balcony under the African night sky. It was beyond wonderful.
A secondary story, about the ring... the ring is actually the ring my maternal grandfather gave to my grandmother when he asked her to marry him. My grandfather was a jeweler, and he made the ring himself - it has a beautiful smoky blue star sapphire in the middle, with some small diamonds on each side. Peter knows that I am not a supporter of the diamond industry, nor do I like spending a lot of money on jewelry (it's just not me), and that I wanted a more unique engagement ring. So when he visited both of my parents the weekend before he came to visit me in Kenya to ask for their blessing (something this modern girl didn't think was necessary, but I love that he did it), he got the ring from my mom, who's had it since my grandmother passed away 9 years ago. I think she'd be happy to know I am wearing it now.
So that's it! I'll post more stories and pictures from Lamu and Peter's visit to our excavation camp soon. Suffice it to say for now that we had a wonderful vacation together and spent much time (in his words) relaxing, exploring, laughing, smiling, and frolicking around each other's equators. :)
It was a dark and stormy night. Just kidding! But actually, it was a dark and stormy afternoon. Earlier that day, we had taken a dhow trip; a dhow is a traditional Swahili fishing boat, and taking day-long dhow trips is one of the more common ways to spend a day in Lamu. Here's a picture of a smaller dhow, named Hakuna Matata (yes that really does mean no problems in Kiswahili and people really do say it), which I venture to think had a bit of a matata since it was grounded in the sand and looked relatively unused.
But let me back up just briefly... Peter had been visiting me in Kenya for about a week at that point. We'd spent several days in the excavation camp, which I will get to in future posts. On my birthday (the day after his birthday), last Sunday, we flew to Lamu. Lamu is an island just off the northeastern coast of mainland Kenya, and it's a fantastic place. It is one of, if not the, earliest areas of settlement in Kenya and maintains a traditional feel about it. Most of the houses are built from coral, lime, and cement; they are built tall, narrow, and close together, as Swahili houses traditionally have been for thousands of years. (My first archaeological excavation in Kenya was on the mainland coast, north of Mombasa, and I was excavating an old Swahili settlement that looked very similar to today's Lamu town). The island is small, and has only one car, which belongs to some government official or other; the main form of transportation is by donkey. There are lots of donkeys on the island, and you can hear them braying at all times of the day and night.
Lamu's inhabitants are mostly of Swahili culture, and mainly Muslim. Most women wear the long black Muslim hijab, sometimes with only their eyes, shoes, and a hint of a brightly colored dress peeking out. (I wanted to take many more pictures of people than I did, since it can be considered rude to do so).
There are only two developed areas on the island of Lamu: Lamu town, and Shela Village. They are separated by about a 40 minute walk - either along the beach, or along the inland dunes (when the tide comes up). These photos are a view of Lamu town from a path leading there from Shela Village, and a view of Shela Village from the dunes behind it.
Lamu Town is a busy bustle of small-time commerce and trade, while Shela Village, next to a 12 kilometer strech of beautiful deserted beach, is quieter. The first photo is of Lamu town taken from the boat on the way back to the airport, the second is of a typical view down the main street in Lamu town, and the third is of the beach near Shela.
But both places are safe enough to walk around at night, quite a rarity in Kenya.
So back to the story! That day, Peter and I took a dhow trip around Lamu and Manda islands. (Manda is a smaller island next to Lamu; it's where Lamu's "airport" is located. To get to Lamu from the airport on Manda, you need to take a boat). We went fishing, using only fishing lines wound around pieces of wood, and bits of prawn (shrimp) and calamari for bait. Our dhow had a bit of shade on it, and combined with several clouds in the sky, it made for a thankfully not-t00-hot experience. We sailed by a floating restaurant,
explored mangrove shorelines,
and fished with our captain and first mate, who told us great stories about his fishing adventures around Africa and Arabia.
We only caught one fish, a white snapper (we were told), and when we were done fishing we anchored of a quiet beach on Manda Island and the captain and first mate barbecued the fish and some of the bait for lunch. Yum! Meanwhile, we took a walk along the beach.
After the dhow trip was over, we decided to walk along that beautiful strip of beach you saw in the earlier picture. Never mind the dark grey threatening clouds overhead, they'd just make for some nice shade to go along with the cool ocean breeze - so we thought. Unfortunately, those dark grey threatening clouds opened up on us and poured down some serious rain! We got soaked, but we laughed. We walked back to the B&B quite wet, but hopped in the shower before dinner to rinse off the salty spray. It was our first night having dinner at our B&B, cooked by a fantastic chef, who got whatever fresh seafood he could find - that night it was a huge jackfish we could barely finish half of - and cooked it with the usual coconut rice.
After the delicious and romantic candlelit dinner, Peter came around to my side of the table, got down on one knee, and told me how about much happiness I've brought into his life, and how he wants to spend the rest of our lives together. He then pulled a box with a ring out from the twist around his waist in his kikoy - he was wearing the traditional Swahiliu men's wrap - and asked me to marry him! I told him nothing would make me happier. (At this point he said, for the record, is that a yes? To which I laughed with joy and said, that's a yes!). I can't think of a more wonderful setting - a tropical island, a romantic candlelit dinner for two, on a balcony under the African night sky. It was beyond wonderful.
A secondary story, about the ring... the ring is actually the ring my maternal grandfather gave to my grandmother when he asked her to marry him. My grandfather was a jeweler, and he made the ring himself - it has a beautiful smoky blue star sapphire in the middle, with some small diamonds on each side. Peter knows that I am not a supporter of the diamond industry, nor do I like spending a lot of money on jewelry (it's just not me), and that I wanted a more unique engagement ring. So when he visited both of my parents the weekend before he came to visit me in Kenya to ask for their blessing (something this modern girl didn't think was necessary, but I love that he did it), he got the ring from my mom, who's had it since my grandmother passed away 9 years ago. I think she'd be happy to know I am wearing it now.
So that's it! I'll post more stories and pictures from Lamu and Peter's visit to our excavation camp soon. Suffice it to say for now that we had a wonderful vacation together and spent much time (in his words) relaxing, exploring, laughing, smiling, and frolicking around each other's equators. :)
Comments
Now - more on the rest of the week! Those of us with less exotic lives would love to hear more about the "exploring" and "frolicking."
Cheers!