an overnight bus ride to island dreams

After 30 hours of flights, layovers and passing in between sleep, Kristi and I have awoken back in the USA. This feeling of awakening has become a recurring sensation as I return from Africa. There seems to be so little that separates these places and yet so much that divides it. I cringe with guilt as I pay 3 dollars for a cup of coffee knowing very well that it could have fed a Ugandan family for the entire day, not to mention that they were probably the ones who toiled the land to grow that coffee and sell it for 25 cents a pound. It can be so hard and yet so easy to justify our living standards especially when we are insulated by a society that is structured likewise. I recently read a study that revealed the world's richest 2% owns 50% of the world's wealth (yes middle class still qualifies us in that 2% category.) anyway...

Kristi and I had the opportunity to go on a little vacation to the island of Lamu in Kenya. We left Kampala on an overnight bus to Nairobi. Initially, we had hoped to get some sleep on the ride but pretty soon into it we realized that sleep would be futile as the bus transformed into a pot hole aiming trampoline that circulated old air, dust and disease. Arriving in Nairobi my legs buckled and bowed from our 16 hour deep tissue torture massage.
From Nairobi we were smart enough to take a plane the rest of the way. In Lamu, Kristi and I had a great time. We were able to spend some much need time with just each other; enjoying long walks on the beach and candle lit seafood dinners.
So here are some pictures from our vacation to Lamu where we spent enough money to feed two Ugandan families for an entire year.