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Published: February 7th 2011
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Malawi to Tanzania
Malawi
Time to depart - not that I was here long. We needed to get to Mbeya, Tanzania by Saturday to catch the train to Dar es Salaam, so we set out to catch a taxi to Mzuzu then another one to Karonga near the border.
As we were leaving Nkhata Bay, we walked past the small prison and all the prisoners were sitting outside on the grass. They let them out to play local soccer and no one runs away or tries to escape. Only in Africa. We also walked past a recently )(maybe 30min) slaughtered goat with blood pooled on the road and skin and meat and bone.
In Mzuz', we headed for the bus depot and bargained down to the local price for the trip to Karonga. Then we just sat in the minibus waiting. It took another hour to leave the depot because they just drive around finding passengers and people seem to hop off and on at random - I have no idea hew it works, it looked more like a game to me - but apparently that's the normal. We had 14, then 13, 15, 12, 14, 16, and
then as we pulled out 3 more jumped on. They didn't stay long, only a couple of 100m before jumping off again.
The trip was long and hot but manageable as long as the minibus is moving. As soon as it stops - the heat, the flies, the smell all come in the window. But it is so beautiful - Lake Malawi is honestly one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. It is flat, blue and endless, with the Mozambican or Tanzanian mountains visible in the distance. The light and clouds just complete the picturesque scenery.
We had to get off in Karonga and take another taxi to the border (Songwe). At the border Don and I managed to walk straight out of Malawi and into Tanzania without getting stamped in or out and without a visa. Oops. We went back to sort it all out and after an unfortunate event on the bridge (some money-changers tried to scam us out of money) and again on the other side with the taxi drivers (telling us there were no minibuses running today and we would have to pay 10 times what we knew we should have to) we got on a minibus and were safely across the border, into Tanzania and headed to Mbeya.
Tanzania
We stayed at a small place called Karibuni Centre and just camped on the grass. We decided to go try a local place to eat instead of the restaurant at the centre as both Don and I want to try really see local life as much as possible. We walked past a few places and then decided on one that looked busy and filled with people our age. Turns out this place is used as the University Koshuis so food was cheap, good and came in large portions. We also got to meet a whole whack of university students who could speak English and spent the rest of the evening chatting to them about the different politics in our countries and how independence has shaped each country in a different way. Talk about random.
The next day it was off to find the Tazara train which would take us from Mbeya all the way across Tanzania to Dar es Salaam.
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