Pot-buying in Chitikale

---

I decide that, having done nothing of interest so far in Malawi, I should hit Mt Mulanje on my way out to Mozambique. Mulange isn't a major mountaineering challenge (its highest point is about 3,000m) but its appeal lies in that it's more a massif than a mountain so there are opportunities for merely hiking among its dozen or so peaks as well as climbing them.

I'd first heard of Mulanje soon after entering Malawi, when a newspaper article had mentioned the disappearance of a French-Brazilian hiker in the massif. The article had contained an interview with a local headman, who stated that the man's body would never be found because the "spirits" had taken it. To my other witchcraft stories (i.e. the woman giving birth to a stone and the teenage girl being thrown out of a witchcraft "plane") have also been added a tale of a man rising from the dead (still waiting to see how that one ends) and a spate of road accidents supposedly caused by people throwing chickens into a river, so with so much of the daily news given over to such goings-on, I was almost beginning to believe that a trip up Mulanje would produce an encounter with the supernatural.

My minibus from Blantyre reaches Chitikale at around midday. It's too late for me to proceed to Likubula, from where the most common ascents leave, but there is a renowned information centre in Chitikale where I make enquiries. With no sleeping gear or cooking equipment, I've set a modest target of just doing a day hike but I'm told I can rent a sleeping bag as well as buy some cheap cooking stuff in the market, so I expand my plans to a three day two night expedition.

I then discover that the town is awash with pasta and rice but there is nothing resembling a sauce. I make the fateful decision to buy some soup in lieu of sauce. The market provides me with a cheap pot, spoon, and fork.

Admin accomplished, I wander around the town and its attached neighbour Mulanje-Boma, finding to my great disappointment that none of the ATMs will accept any of my cards. This leaves me in a dilemma, as the expenditure for my expanded Mulanje jaunt will leave me with no money for entering Mozambique. This means I will have to return to Blantyre, an outcome which I'm less than amused by.

However the views of the massif are inspiring and if the hiking (blogged separately) gives similar scenery then I'll be able to suck up a delay to my Mozambique entry without too much pain.

Dull but possibly useful info
i. A minibus from Blantyre to Limbe costs MK50.
ii. A minibus from Limbe to Chitikale costs MK450 and takes about 1.5 hours.
iii. InfoMulanje can rent you a sleeping bag (a hefty MK700 per night!). They can also sell you a (n unnecessary) map for MK100.
iv. I stayed at Chididi Motel, paying MK850 for a grim en suite room with cold shower. I would not stay here again.
v. Bring food from Blantyre if you're climbing the massif, as the selection in Chitikale isn't so great.
vi. Remember to take candles and matches/lighter up the massif if you want any light at night.
vii. There's a National Bank in Mulanje-Boma (the "sister" town of Chitikale, a couple of km away) - it claims to accept Visa cards but rejected my Visa credit card.
viii. You can leave luggage at Info Mulanje while you climb the massif.

---