Advertisement
Published: July 25th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Malawi
Kande Beach
Kande Beach is another beach front campsite. Below are some highlights from my time here:
Hammock Heaven One of my favorite things about this place was the abundance of hammocks! One night I got my sleeping bag out and laid in a carefree hammock under the night sky. I drew the drawstrings of my sleeping bag so tight, all you could see was my eyes. I was so cozy!
Beach swim Swimming in Lake Malawi was so refreshing. When I would get hot from laying on the beach, a dip in the lake would cool you right down. It was quite surprising that the water wasn’t salty. I’m used to swimming in salt water when on nice beaches. Lake Malawi is turquoise, clear, fresh water.
A Thief In the Night One night, a girl on our trip left her tent to go to the bathroom around 2:00am. She quickly returned to the tent in minutes to discover that someone had reached into her tent and had stolen two of her bags. Her tent mate was in the tent sleeping at the time as well. It jolted everyone up. Good thing is that she was unharmed and safe. They believe it was an ex-worker of the campsite. Luckily, nothing else like that has happened since then.
Gilad Beach Aerobics! During one of the lazy beach days, I gathered up some girls from our group and lead an aerobics exercise session. We didn’t have any weights of course, so we used cans of chick peas. It was challenging to do aerobics in the heavy, thick sand! I had music playing and figured out a routine during one of our lazy driving days where all we do is sit on the truck for hours. Exercising with a constant beach view was quite motivating…I felt like we were on an aerobics fitness video! I was sore the next day. Those chick pea cans come in handy for shoulder exercises! I will never look at a can of chick peas the same.
On the Road to Vegetarianism I love pigs. They are so cute to me and I have a stuffed animal pig at home. His name is “Pig Pig”. I also had a little ceramic pig that sat on my office desk (back when I worked…what’s work?). His name is “Office Pig Pig”. I know, very creative. I also have a slight phobia of cooked meat in animal form, such as Thanksgiving turkey or rotisserie chicken.
When I heard we were doing a pig roast, it was my worst nightmare come true. The group arranged for pigs (plural) to come to the campsite in the morning. The tour leader was to check them out to see if they looked good. If he approved, the pig owner would slaughter it and prepare it for a spit pig roast. The night before this happened, I asked the group for a show of hands to see who wants to eat pig and maybe we could save a pigs life. Most of the group raised their hands. Crap. Two pigs it is. The day of the roast, I intentionally stayed away from the truck because they were going to roast the pigs there all day. As I was gathering up the last of my belongings I would need off the truck and leaving, I hear someone shout “the pigs are here!”I looked over by reaction and see two dead pigs with flopping limbs being carried by two men. Aaahhhhh!!! I managed to stay away most of the day. Dinner was good. Of course I didn’t have any pig, just the veggie options. Sorry Pig Pig and Office Pig Pig!
I have been straying away from meat here in Africa. It just seems to close to comfort to eat beef, chicken and goat when all you see on the roads of Africa are cows, chickens and goats. They are part of the landscape of Africa to me. Along the roads are butcher stands with huge chunks of red meat hanging on a hook. One time I saw a piece hanging and you could make out the face and eye muscles. Yuck. I like to believe that meat magically comes in sterile, saran wrapped packaging! Or that it grows from trees J
Local Dinner Night
For $4, we were treated to a nice meal at a local’s house. The menu was simple yet very tasty: beans, rice, potato soup and kale. After dinner about 20 children sang and danced for us with drums. They had two of us go up with the kids and we had about a minute or so to dance with them. It was a lot of fun. I had a huge smile on my face the whole time. I loved to see how happy the kids were. They have huge genuine smiles that light up their face. One girl sat on my lap for a while. She loved to have her picture taken. Seeing the kids in Africa is a such an amazing experience.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.161s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 7; qc: 42; dbt: 0.0451s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Heidi Larson
non-member comment
Pig Pig
Does that mean no more "Egg, Ham, and Cheese" for you?