Malawi

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On July 9th, we crossed the boarder into Malawi. This was very easy boarder crossing. The first city that we went to was Chitimba. The campsite was right on Lake Malawi, which is also known as the calendar lake, because it is 365 miles long and 52 miles across. I went for a 32km walk (about 20 miles round trip) up this mountain/hill to get to a town called Livingstone. I have to admit, I barely made it to the top! I need to introduce more cardio into my life: sad. Livingstone is just a small town that was developed in hopes of introducing Christianity to help end slavery. The reason it was put on top of this mountain was because it is colder in higher elevations and therefore people would not get sick from malaria. When we got to the top of the mountain/hill, we were rewarded with great tea and some of the best donuts that I have ever eaten! The next day was very tough and my muscles were dying because all I do all day is sit on the truck.

We left Chitimba on July 11th, and headed to Mzuzu for shopping for our fancy dress party. This is a costume party that we would be having in Zimbabwe. It was fun going through market and looking for the costumes. All of the locals knew exactly what we were there for; they all kept bringing up these random costumes to try to get us to buy. It was a very fun experience.

We left Mzuzu and headed to Kandi Beach. This was another campsite that was on Lake Malawi. We had a pig roast, which I was really looking forward to; however, when it came to eating the pig, I just couldn´t. I took one bite and all I could think about was the pig’s eyes. This seemed like a really nice campsite that was until 4 people on the truck had items stolen from them. The locals that we did meet all seemed really nice, we went to a local’s house for dinner, the food was really simple but very delicious. After the dinner, all the local kids came out and danced for us. They then called each one us up to dance with the kids, African style. The expereience was wonderful and I have loads of good memories from the evening.

Malawi is supposed to be a very poor country; however, I found it to be very expensive. They are famous for wood craving and bartering is key, the craft makers will accept cash or clothing. I am glad that I have seen Malawi, but I would not go back again. A few days there was enough for me.

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