Short break; the story

You might be wondering where I’ve been lately; because it is taking me so long to post. The two other girls and I have been ‘busy’ travelling around Malawi for more then two weeks, 17 days to be exactly. Many pictures are taken and there’s a lot to tell. So get your map of Malawi ready (so you can follow our path) and hold on tide, I’m gonna get started.

We left March 30th, to Lake Malawi, Sengabay. Spend the whole weekend swimming, hiking, making friends, relaxing, eating fresh fish from the BBQ on the beach, while watching stars and drinking a green (Carlsberg). Anyway, you get the picture…
Travelled down South to Cape Mclear (Monkeybay) on the worst road so far, for more swimming, friends, snorkelling, fresh fish, cold greens and sun. Even clearer water, more of the colourful fishes and more bilharzia.
On that bad road in a full pick-up (I still feel my purple/blue back) again, on Tuesday, towards Zomba and up to Zomba Plateau. Hiked all around the plateau the next day, we were able to visit all the viewpoints, thanks to a local guide who knew some short cuts. We saw monkeys and loads of birds.
After another surprisingly cold night with three girls in two beds, we walked down to Zomba, where I took a minibus all the way back to Salima, to meet with a friend. (By the way, new record; 32 people in one minibus. The lady next to me was travelling with a baby and a one and a half year-old boy, the last one fell asleep on my lap, in my arms… In my opinion the children are one of the best things around here).
Spend most of my Good Friday in minibuses down to Blantyre, after looking around in Salima. Went down to Tyolo on Saturday to see the tea plantations and hiked up a big hill to see the sun set. Warmly welcomed in a tiny church on Easter Sunday; I was lucky to have my private translator. I had several meals with the whole family, eating nsima and chicken with my hands, while sitting on the floor. Cool thing to do in Africa.
I found my two azungu friends back in downtown Blantyre on Monday. Visited the local market, an awesome bakery and got our (Veerle and mine) trousers fixed the next day. We started to travel late, after four, because we had to wait for our trousers (I torn mine pretty bad…) Got to Chikwawa on a winding road while the sun was setting; it was just beautiful. Found a place to sleep (only two beds again), watch football and, later on, the stars. After an early rise and some trouble finding transport, we got to Majete Wildlife Reserve on a bike taxi (20 km), around 9 a.m. All guides were busy with a visiting group, so nothing to do till 4.30 p.m. We saw a bush pig, monkeys and huge lizards. Than we got into a pickup to drink a green while looking out over the Shire River, seeing a hippo, crocodiles and many birds. Enjoyed another green while seated on a hill, looking into the park, hearing jungle sounds, while the sun was setting. Nice… Thursday morning we tracked ‘some’ elephants. The guides found us a breeding herd, hidden in the very bushy Reserve. We followed them, by food of course, till we discovered (mostly because of the sound of breaking branches) there were elephants on three sides of us. We turned around, back to the pick-up, quickly. (Don’t worry mum, you know I would never do something stupid… : ) We got a free ride all the way from Majete to Blantyre, although we had to wait for about four hours totally. After spending a last night in Blantyre we got picked up by two fresh friends from Majete, who were travelling to Cape Mclear. The three of us enjoyed the whole ride, from 8 am till 2 p.m. in the back of our private pick-up. It was the same story again; swimming, snorkelling, sun, good, cheap food and at night we watched stars and the lights of the fisherman on the lake. They use a wooden canoe, with a petrol light in front to attract the fish. It was magical to see; a couple of dozen lights far away, on a dark, quiet lake with the twinkling stars above…
And now, Sunday a week ago, we arrived home (funny, it really felt like coming home) in Lilongwe, all the way in the same pick-up of our friends, who needed to go to Lilongwe as well. During the day we stopped at a famous pottery workshop and again just outside Dedza, to hike up another hill.

I hope I was able to show you how diverse the Malawian landscape is. Chilly plateau’s, cold mountains, hot beaches, wet water, open forests and cultivated plains.

Take care. Lotte