Swahilia
Book preface by Michael H. Kew
I'd hoped to explore the Bajuni Islands, then zip south toward Zanzibar and beyond. But Somalia and its desert coast proved sphinxish.
After much research I emailed an outfit named Somalia Security and Tours ("Somalia’s Best Soberly Severe, Strict, & Serious Security Company"). Chris Rosenkrans replied.
"Nobody goes (to Banjuni) except qat boats and military and spies, all three of which we have the contacts of. We'd send armed boats with you and a full security detail from Kismayo after getting the necessary permits. There are no trip reports.
“Southern Somalia/northern Kenya is the most dangerous of the Horn region. There are terrorists in this area and smugglers galore. It will cost you between $10-$25K. Do not try to negotiate the price or we won't respond. Ask as many questions you like as long as you aren't wasting your time. As you can imagine, we get (queries from) lots of authors, journalists, and country counters, but your project is quite refreshing and cool to see."
Some choice bullet points from the U.S. Department of State's Somalia Travel Advisory:
Draft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney.
Share important documents, login information, and points of contact with loved ones so they can manage your affairs if you are unable to return as planned to the United States.
Establish a proof-of-life protocol with your loved ones so that if you are taken hostage, your loved ones can know specific questions (and answers) to ask the hostage-takers to be sure that you are alive (and to rule out a hoax).
Discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, property, belongings, non-liquid assets (collections, artwork, etc.), funeral wishes, etc.
Leave DNA samples with your medical provider in case it is necessary for your family to access them.
I would not be surfing Somalia.
Yet the great Swahili Coast spooled down for a thousand miles more—the sunny littoral vertebrae of Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique, then for another 500 east through the Comoros Islands and over to Madagascar's north hook. A trilateral sweep of Indian Ocean turquoise, palette of medieval city-states with bustling ports like Mombasa and Mogadishu, since the 8th century an Arab-Persian-African triptych of cultural and commercial fusion. Sail circulations here with India, China, and the Middle East spawned the heavy trade of goods and faith, including Islam, which blew into the beaches like a stern simoom.
Any deplaning surfer's mindset optimistic in finding reliably good waves here will be defeated à la 16th-century Swahili buzzkill/empiric destruction per landing of the Portuguese, who trashed cities, built forts, and ironically shattered the finely balanced society and trade web—spices, ivory, gold, slaves—that the raiders had so benefited from.
In the 1600s Portugal was ousted by Oman. Muscat's sultanate ruled the shore until the late 19th century when Europe—primarily Brits and Germans and Italians—sought to control the holy interior of East Africa. Hence coastal colonization from Somalia to Mozambique. Then the usual exploitations, bloodshed, and heaves for independence. More on all this later.
The Swahili Coast is not a surf destination. Too windy, too misplaced in the groundswell sphere. Name comes from the Arabic sawāḥilī ("of the coast"), first stuck by Arabs to the Bantu-speakers from West and Central Africa who'd already staked many villages facing the blown-out slop raking shallow coral reef formations fronting lagoons that today are praised by kiteboarders.
Almost two decades from my first Swahili exit, I wanted to dip back into this special slice of Earth. One could spend a proverbial lifetime grokking its labyrinths, its role as a world nexus and ultimately in shaping the modern identity of East Africa.
Cryptic as the zone itself, one could also spend a proverbial lifetime sleuthing Swahili surf. It can be. Just don't start with Somalia.
