Blogs from Southern, Malawi, Africa

Hey! We made it to Africa, but we can't talk! We are having a hard time finding internet so we won't be able to access our blog until the beginning of June. We are having a blast though! Talk to everyone later!... read more

Heading down south to Blantyre we managed to hitch a lift with a couple of nice truck drivers. This was our only option since the three busses that were supposed to be passing by between 4-5pm arrived three hours later all completely packed with around 20 people standing in each. Well normally this would be fine for us but since it was going to be a 12 hour trip over night we thought better of this and gave up on our hope to go that night. We are not really sure if the busses are like this all the time but the fuel crisis (and every other crisis here in Malawi) has put too much pressure on car owners and they have no option but catch the public transport also. As well our impression of some ... read more

Food diesel and soft drink shortages, riots and political unrest, Water issues and power cuts. Every day is a challenge; every problem is met with a smile. This is Malawi. Nothing surprises Malawians anymore, they battle on each day. Described as Africa for beginners, Malawi truly is the warm heart of Africa. Arriving at a chaotic bus station and waiting 3 hours for a 4 hour bus journey will test anyone’s patients, but witnessing Africans singing together during an uncomfortable bus journey provides a rollercoaster of emotion. Being the only white face in town attracts a lot of attention. Walking less than 10 minutes between inquisitive conversations is overwhelming, dealing with bus passengers taking it in turn to sit with you and chat is both monotonous and tiring. One minute you find yourself laughing with the ... read more

Dear All Greetings from Blantyre, in the south of Malawi – not the capital, but definitely the biggest commercial centre of the country. Right now I feel slap bang in the lap of luxury, as although the last few days have been just unspeakably amazing (more on that later), it feels great to be back in a bit of civilization – great restaurants, a lovely carpeted hotel with hot (running) water, and an Internet café that works at the speed of lightning – sheer bliss! But wow – what an amazing few days – I’m struggling to find superlatives in order to be able to describe them accurately enough – hope the pictures attached will provide a thousand words each. Last I wrote I was using a painfully slow computer with painfully slow connection, but in ... read more

At long last, I have a decent travel story. This one involves a hostel that Megan, Dave and I chose on our own, public transportation, modified hitchhiking, and good bars within a safe walking distance. The tale begins in Lilongwe, where I woke up at 5:30am Friday. We walked to catch a minibus at 6:45am, which, combined with a short walk, got us to the bus depot around 7:15am. The bus depot is a mess. As you scan the lower windshields for a sign that includes your stop, guys approach and ask you where you are going. They then direct you to their company’s bus. This approach helped us to quickly find the right bus, except that bus was clearly full. When we asked the money collector if our ticket was good for a different bus, ... read more

After checking in for our 3 beds in the dorm, we entered the room and were greeted by 3 girls who go to Michigan State. One is even from Livonia (I realize the wonder of this moment will only be appreciated by a few of you)! They’re here, along with 2 guys from New Brunswick (Canada, not New Jersey), for summer internships. Desperately hungry, as it was now approaching 2pm, Dave, Megan and I walked along the beach in search of food. We passed women doing laundry in the water, kids splashing around, but very few tourists. We saw a few as we passed Gecko Lounge, but for the most part, we only saw Malawians. We decided on Mgoza for lunch. They had an open area above the bar, kind of like the tree house where ... read more

Africa seems to have an amazing ability to make you feel very small and insignificant (although some may point out this doesn't take much with me). The endless desert, the huge blue skies, the thunder as the rains come, or being in the shadow of an elephant are just a few, and it happened again as I sat at the foot of Sapitwa on the plateau of Mount Mulanje - a lump of granite, rounded and cracked by the rain and the wind, with a plateau that rises 1000m vertically out of the plain, dotted by over 20 peaks that rise up again to a height of 3000m. As I sat in the light of the afternoon sun which was bathing the sunkissed and dry grass in a golden light, 10 peaks soared above and around ... read more