Travel memories: Dreaming of Lamu island life and ice-cold beers at a floating bar

Postcards from the past: Friendly locals, dhow captains, and fellow travellers made solo travel easy and fun for Nicola Brady

Nicola Brady: 'I wonder if the sea is as blue as I remember, and if the people are still as welcoming'

I’ve never considered myself to be particularly brave. Even when travelling, I’m not what you’d call a risk-taker. I’m sure I’ve missed out on some fantastic opportunities because my risk analysis skewed towards the overly cautious (though I’m also fairly confident that I’ve avoided some disasters, too).

All of that was challenged back in 2010, when I took myself off to Kenya for a month. This was before I became a travel writer — I was a mere 25 years old and, aside from the decision to move to Ireland on a whim, I had never travelled alone. The plan was to stay a couple of nights in the capital of Nairobi, then fly down to the coast and spend the guts of a month on the island of Lamu.