“When you travel, first you are left speechless and then you become a great storyteller.” Ibn Battua. Voyage is one of our main values, it represents our source of inspiration, where everything begins, the origin. Stories from past centuries, overwhelming landscapes, artisans with almost extinct techniques, generational legacies, exotic flavors and intense smells, which are recorded by fire and later give shape to our history.
Piluca Hueso, founder of RV74, delved into the Masai culture as well as its exciting Swahili coast in the northeast of the country.
“The Kenyan trip organized by our expert friends in Africa, Atria Travel, began at Wilson airport in Nairobi, where a small plane with a capacity of just ten passengers took us to the Masai Mara. Jambo! Welcome! At our feet a land of an intense green color was revealed, with infinite plains of clearings and bushes that gave a glimpse of its majestic animal life. We danced and jumped with the Masais, we shared a morning in their local market, an impressive play of pink and red colors bathed their clothing, we walked among their goats and precious cows and learned about their simple crafts. And so, our hearts were filled with the force of Masai nature. ”
Far from the savanna and the Masai tribes, almost on the border with Somalia, hides Lamu, a coastal town born from a small Swahili settlement that is a millennium old. Just two kilometers away from the hustle and bustle of Lamu, Shela welcomed us in her legendary Hotel Peponi, a place that was once a meeting point for travelers, intellectuals and hippies in the 70s. Peponi is much more than a hotel, it is everything. a symbol of the place, with unique architecture and exceptional gastronomy.
Aboard a Dhow (a traditional wooden Arab sailing boat) we began a magical journey contemplating a coast that witnessed coexistence between Arabs, Persians, Indians and Africans for centuries. In silence we sailed between Manda and Lamu contemplating the most golden and exciting sunset I can remember.
With a stifling heat, we walked through the streets of Shela, discovered many of its facades worked with coral dust and mangrove wood, and enjoyed its leitmotif “Pole Pole” (little by little, without rushing). We had mango and pistachio ice cream, and got lost among the streets and local artisans.
Late afternoon, we headed towards Lamu. Vibrant and disturbing, we discovered a dirty and decadent town that we walked through narrow alleys, at the risk of being run over by donkeys led by laughing children, to the sound of the prayers of the imam of their mosques, old men chatting and women grouped moving forward with their chores. An exotic port where the clock stopped centuries ago and life remained the same, even though the smartphones and clothes inherited from old Europe will reveal the entrance to the modern world.
Almost unnoticed, we discovered Baraka, an antique shop full of embroidered fabrics more than 100 years old, masks and tribal stools. We close the day in Tasilli, a gallery whose Spanish owner Alexis de Vilar offers an exciting work with scenes of the savannah with certain gaps by the master Peter Beard.
With the “Pole pole” as a flag, our collection of Bogolan fabrics frames each texture, each dance, each color registered in our retina, each of its lands on which our feet have walked, each vibrant sound of its prayer, each deep conversation, every sunset and above all the majesty of its nature. A limited series of exceptional fabrics, inspired by the culture of this exciting land of history and tradition.
