Blogs from Lake Malawi, Malawi, Africa - page 3

Over the last few days we have witnessed and learned so much. Now we can experience what building is like in Malawi. Once again we were welcomed into the village by song and dance of the local women. What a lovely tradition! The homes we were building were modest by any standard, but they were a significant improvement over the family's original home. Although the bricks we were using were rudimentary bricks made from local mud, they were 'fired' (aka 'burnt') making them better able to keep out water during the rainy season. Bricks used in the substandard homes were un-fired and were likely to crumble during the rainy season. Vulnerable families do not have the money to purchase wood to fire homemade bricks. The original homes had thatched roofs, usually in need of major repair. ... read more

Frühe Abfahrt von der Kaffeplantage, trotzdem durch Mbeya durch Stau und natürlich sind die tiefen Rillen im Teer über Nacht nicht verschwunden. Die Fahrt zur Grenze war nochmal schön, wir verloren stetig an Höhe (von 1800 m bis 500 m Seehöhe), die Gegend war feuchter, alle Blätter waren grün und nicht von einer rostroten Staubschicht bedeckt. Dichte Vegetation, z.B. Bananenstauden. Nochmal lauerten die tz Polizisten und machten auch fette Beute, jedenfalls bei den üblichen Verdächtigen. Die Schweden sind da ja fast immer dabei... Erstaunlicherweise gab es diesmal mehrere Polizisten, die sich nicht auf das Spielchen einließen “Ich brauche keine Quittung!”. Normalerweise kostet es dann 10.000 tz Shilling (5 US $) und geht direkt in die Tasche des Polizisten. Diesmal wollten die Mitfahrer das auch so handhaben, aber sie mussten 30.000 tz S bezahlen und bekamen eine ... read more

Thursday 3rd September Yesterday's blog was sent from the comfortable bar where opportunist thieving baboons attacked Laurence's plate and snatched at his tempura. Then we were a little late leaving for the second safari as a group of elephants had collected round our truck and they needed to be chased away first. They, and the hippos, come to feed from the fruit of the sausage tree and other fruits and seeds. A few stones catapulted at their leathery rumps see them off. The baboons are a permanent feature of the park and we were warned not to leave food in our tents. Toby, the nine year old refuses to use he ketchup because he saw a baboon lick the top of it. The afternoon/evening safaris surpassed all our expectations - we saw the pride of nine ... read more

Weekend at Cool Runnings Friday we worked in the morning and left at 12.30 for lunchtime of chips at Lumbadzi market. They are cooked in shallow pans in the open air and are wonderful. A portion is 200 kwacha which is about 30p. A nearby shop sold wonderful 'tingling ginger beer'. We arrived at the backpacker's hostel called Cool Runnings on Sanga Bay on Lake Malawip and some of us went straight to the clear blue lake at the back of the garden and wallowed in the wonderful sensation after hard I'm a dusty environment, and a long drive in a rattling van on a bumpy road. The food here is marvellous: fresh fish from the lake, caught by the local fishermen. Sam, the owner of Cool Runnings will only buy fish from those who have ... read more

I don't know how many shades of green there are on planet earth. But am sure that all of them can been seen in a glance out the open sided truck in Malawi....gorgeous! Vast lake Malawi is 160km long and 60km wide and boasts up to 1,000 species of aquatic life, it is the most diverse fresh water habitat in the world. We have taken on 4 refined, educated, 30 something Northern Europeans and the entire tone and intellectual level of the truck has improved. The literati and I paddle out to the island in the lake and are joined by an Italian biologist who is doing research on lake Malawi. An afternoon of snorkeling and interesting conversation restores my faith. People in this region of Malawi are poor, struggling but smiling and kind...I buy too ... read more