Middle East & Africa | Holidays near hell

Lamu, a beautiful Kenyan tourist bubble surrounded by pins

Locals are wary of jihadists, drugs and modernity

Just don’t stray too far
|LAMU

LOUNGING ON CUSHIONS in the prow of a sturdy wooden dhow as it glides in total silence through the mangrove-edged creeks opposite the island of Lamu, the spoilt Western visitor, freed from two years of covid-19 restraints, is lulled into thinking he is in paradise.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Lamu, an island bubble”

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