That Sinking Feeling

Don't let let the big smiles fool ya.

This picture was taken about 10 minutes after running out of gas in the middle of a 40 minute trip between Pate Island and old town Lamu.

Spirits were mostly jovial as can be seem on the face of Elvis the 9 year old wonder boy who joined us on the trip to meet indigenous folks in Siyu.

If you look to the left of the picture you will see my feeble attempt at rowing with an empty water bottle.

Just a few seconds later our host said "nice try Ridwan but be careful of sharks" ...

There were no life jackets, flares, or anything else one may expect on a craft that ferries people on trips between Pate Island and old town Lamu (about 25 km).

I did not panic but our host was clearly very worried and very angry with the captain.

Gino (seated in front of me on the left), to whom this picture belongs, was able to use his cell to call someone at a swanky beach resort who came out in a power boat to save us.

The first thing he said was "how can you do this without life jackets?"

Strange thing about the whole 'almost sinking in Lamu' episode was that I never felt so alive in a very long time as we floated perilously in a fiberglass canoe taking on water and at the mercy of a grumpy ocean.

Onward!

Picture Credit (Thank you Gino and Robertson)