Blog 10 - Malawi up high and down low

While being slightly at risk of this blog digressing any further into a travel brochure, I am still going to start off by noting that Malawi is truly a jewel of a country. Travelling overland from here to there may leave you with a little something to be desired, but it is all an experience and you just have to keep this in mind as you make your way.
So many highlights I have to revert to point form.

- Being on a bus so overloaded, both inside and on top that rainwater collected in the load of charcoal on top, made its way through the cracks in the roof to rain on the only white guy in the bus. I especially liked everyone’s concern about a situation with no possible resolution. Packed like sardines we were!
- “I’m fine, how are you?” With English and Chichewa as the official languages you can be sure that everyone, kids especially know these 5 words… some don’t know it is a question, more of a pleasant thing to say to someone, so you can go back and forth for some time, to their great delight. Cutest kids I have seen to date, in terms of National title of course!
- Strolling through the fern gardens in the clouds rolling over mount Mulanje, so lush.
- Drinking cold water directly from the mountain stream
- Arriving at 330am in Nkhata bay, being handed a broken machete by a complete stranger “for my security”, and subsequently receiving an escort to my lodge! In hindsight I am pretty sure being a full foot taller than most everyone in Malawi would have sufficed, but the care for others is always a good thing.
- Fish markets of all variety of fresh water fish, dried, fried, and fresh!
- Bannana pancakes, specifically watching each ingredient as it arrived from the market following our order! Talk about building anticipation!
- Swimming in a lake full of what we consider exotic aquarium fish. Very cool!
- 30l Buckets of mangos for 2.40 CDN on the side of the road, and the ensuing mess made tying into them.
- Evening with Aggy, the public phone operator at the Salima bus stop, again more random kindness as she elected to wait around an extra 3 hours after work to keep me company and see me onto my night bus to the North, to her home town as it turned out.
- Hitching a ride with Malawian transport truck drivers, complete with late night beers, nsima and chicken, before crashing in the back of the cab with Kenan, a traditional healer by trade. Best part was pre-sleep stories of traditional diagnosis techniques, witch doctors, gold divining…

So while that is only a sampling of the experience hopefully it paints a picture of the trip. Full of awesome scenery, beautiful people, and a great vibe, so much luck and kindness along the way it is easy to be grateful. An excellent conclusion to, and start of a new year.

Since then I have returned to retraining week, created an operator training session conducted in Portuguese none the less (thanks to their patience and abilities of perception!), completed with a test largely to ensure the handout materials had been read and understood. Just working on some budgeting exercises for the new years acquisitions and activities now.

Spent the weekend enjoying my last full moon party on Saturday night following an early morning retraining wrap up session on Saturday morning. Good times, once again, crowds are starting to subside so some of the mellower vibe is returning but still with enough folks around for it to be considered a party!

Sunday I finally got around to an ocean surfari, where you go snorkeling off a massive Zodiac. Cruise around until you spot the shadow of a whale shark or manta ray and then hop in and cruise around in complete awe of these creatures. Must have seen 15 to 20 different whale sharks, ranging form 8 feet to 20 feet long, mouths big enough to slip into like a pair of pants, but as they are filter feeders so no real danger. I am told there are approximately 1000 in the world with 300 or so hanging around Tofo which makes 15 to 20 a pretty amazing score! Manta rays are pretty amazing too, a little faster and more skittish, but so graceful, so cool. Anyways, it was an especially prolific surfari I am told, maybe because the water was so thick with their plankton lunch. Took some pictures and video and have posted them to Picasa, kinda fuzzy, so you will have to visit here for yourself.

Also look for Malawi parts 1 and 2, and as always enjoy! T-minus 19 days now, which seems all too soon.

Take care until then, Nathan