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Published: August 12th 2012
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After an interesting boarder crossing where we were almost ripped off by money changers we entered the very friendly country of Malawi. Malawi is a noticeably poorer country than both Kenya and Tanzania however the people are extremely warm and welcoming. After driving across the boarder and through numerous straw built villages we made out first stop, Chitimba on Lake Malawi where we stayed for three nights. We spent a lot of time in the local villages where we enjoyed visiting the students and teachers at the primary school and had a tour around the community health centre. The village had just had a water pumping system put in and were proud to show it off. I spent one afternoon learning to wood carve, I carved a giraffe with a little help from my 13 year old teacher (
he was such a pro). The children in the village were adorable and wanted pens from us, something none of us had on us. We also enjoyed eating the street food of fresh chips, goat and salad which was much cheaper than what was being offered at the campsite.
On our way to Kandy Beach we made a stop in the town
Dancing with the children
Kandy Beach on Lake Malwai of Muzuzu where with a budget of two dollars we had time to shop for fancy dress at the second hand market. We also made a second stop at a woodcarving market where I was in my glory, everything was cheap and haggling was encouraged. It was also a place where vendors wanted to swap items of clothing, magazines, batteries etc (items that are hard to come by in the villages) in return for their products. A lot of our group saw this as a chance to discard some of their worn items or excess luggage in return for souvenirs .
At Kandy Beach we decided take a break from our tent and spent the three nights here in a beach hut which was lovely. Unfortunately during our time in Kandy Beach it was very windy and what is usually a calm lake looked much more like the ocean and would have been great for surfing. It was a little disappointing waking up each morning to wind and not the sunshine we were hoping for as many of the water activities were not able to be done. However we made up for our quiet days with big nights! Our
first night in Kandy Beach we made a very potent punch and swapped our fancy dress, most of the guys ended up wearing nothing but ladies undergarments, Aaron feared the best of boys with a lovely pink jump suit which he rocked with style. We had a great night dancing into the eary hours of the morning.
The following night we cooked up a hog roast with roasted veggies, it was a nice treat after numerous stew type foods! Our last day in Kandy beach we visited the village for a friendly soccer match where we played with the children while we cheered. That night we joined a family in the village for dinner and were entertained by the children from the village, which were absolutely adorable with all their hip busting moves. We did the hokey pokey with them and joined in with some of their dances.
After some great nights we were ready to move on ... Off to Lilongwe, the capital. Our first day in Lilongwe was spent shopping for blankets as we had been freezing in our tent! We enjoyed the comfort of fast food for lunch and were able to access the internet.
The next couple of days here were spent at the markets and nights out at the local clubs. The markets here even with haggling were overpriced. Some people left our trip at this point while others joined. We spent our last day in Lilongwe at the airport waiting for a girls bag which was lost on her arrival. African time is something we have gotten use to much like Georgian time there is no use getting frustrated instead we enjoyed watching test match cricket at the airport bar which the boys were thrilled about.
After a late start we finally crossed the boarder into Mozambique and ate dinner. We were all extremely tired and a bit grumpy by the time we set up our tents for a night of bush camping along the "highway" however this all changed when we looked up at the night sky! It was the most beautifully lit sky I have ever seen and so we sat there for at least an hour just staring. With such a clear sky it made for a freezing cold night even with our newly purchased blankets. The next morning we rose before sunrise for a long truck drive
Muzuzu Markets
Shopping for fancy dress with a two dollar budget. to the Zimbabwe boarder.
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Dancing Dave
David Hooper
OASIS?
Sounds like an Oasis trip...they cross-dressed when we were at Kande Beach...we with another group...great beaches on Lake Malawi...enjoy the rest of your trip.