8/3/09-8/7/09
Malawi
Day 30 -34
Coming into Malawi I was quite surprised. Having read the statistics about the country I didn’t expected to see something beautiful. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in Africa with a horrible health record. Life expectancy is 41years, 15% of the population has HIV/Aids, and malaria is rampant. There are also over a million orphans in this small country.
Lake Malawi takes up 20% of the land in Malawi and stretches 600 Kilometers long. This mass body of fresh water appears like the ocean with tidal change, waves, and an endless view of the skyline. The coast of the lake is tropical green with rolling mountains, beaches, and coves. The lake is home to one of the largest varieties of tropical fish in the world. For example, 550 different types of Cyclades call it home. With such a wonderfully beautiful natural resource it’s amazing to me they haven’t figured out how to capitalize on it through building infrastructure and resorts along the lake to attract tourist.
My time here has been spent mostly as a tourist and we drove down the lake edge staying at developed campsites with only one afternoon of exposure to what I’d consider the real Malawi. Most of what I’ve seen is out the truck window. I wish I’d had the opportunity to see more daily life here. That’s part of being on a tour though.
The campsites we stayed at were quite nice with good shower facilities, restaurant, and bar all on pristine beach settings. In Kande Beach we stopped at a local second hand clothing market where each member in the group picked a name out of a hat of another member and our mission was to go into the open market find and buy clothing for that member to wear at an evening party. The theme was pink or animal print.
For a couple bucks we all had fun searching through piles of used cloths searching for something special which would create laughter for all as the secret recipient would be required to wear it. In my case, I was purchasing for Maddy, a young lady recently out of school from the UK. Entering into the market I’m immediately deluged with two or three vendors dropping piles of cloths at my feet. It’s immediately apparent this is a regular stop for overland trucks as they know what type of stuff we are looking for. Not having a clue about womens sizes my main concern is getting something which would fit a girl. I’m digging through piles of cloths pulling out everything that is either pink or has leopard print holding it up with bemusement imagining how ridiculous it will look knowing all along someone else is thinking the same thing as they select the perfect outfit for me.
I find a turd brown skirt with an elastic waist and pink feathers stitched diagonally across the front. More rummaging and there is a leopard print halter top, and to top it off I find a rabbit face mask with big pink ears. After a few minutes of bartering I’ve secured a surprise outfit for 3 bucks.
In the evening Michelle makes a wicked fruit punch brew with a massive kick. Taste like fruit but it’s all alcohol. Watch out she warns as it puts a few under later in the evening. Sitting around the campsite we present our outfits to each recipient and the laughter for the night begins. Melissa prances in the circle dangling a frilly lace pink bra and a brown leopard print dress with low cut top and back. It’s for me. Donning the bra I find it quite difficult to latch the hooks behind my back as I’m far more skilled at letting them loose. Wiggling into the dress I discover it’s so short, mini is an understatement and without boxers underneath my package would be hanging out.
Ridiculous doesn’t come close to describing everyone’s outfit and words cannot describe the scene as we all head to the bar for a night of fun filled laughter. Some of the pictures are blackmail material.
Fishing expedition
One afternoon John, Phil, Gemma, Adam, Katie, and myself go on a fishing expedition of lake Malawi. We hired a local to show us the ropes. We set out on a very old beat up looking row boat. A few feet from shore we notice water seeping in from the seems and it gradually getting deeper. The guide hands us a couple containers cut out from plastic bottles and our job is to bail water why we are rowing to an island about a quarter mile away. What a hoot. I’ve never set out on a boat when I knew I’d have to be bailing from the start. We make it to the island and go swimming and jumping off a cliff ledge while they get the fishing gear ready. Turns out to be a pretty cheesy experience as our poles are bamboo with a piece of fish line and hook attached. Drop the line in the water and wait. John and Katie both snag a couple no bigger than a gold fish and the rest of us sit around board to death as we never got a nibble. The return trip is the same drill of bailing while the guides paddle. The boat is waterlogged from having sat while we fished and the water is coming in faster than before necessitating constant bailing by two of us just to keep it from getting deeper.
Tonga Village
The only local experience we got is while in Kande Beach we went on a tour of a local Tonga village. The architecture is quite different from what we’ve seen elsewhere in Africa. Instead of mud or cow dung they make bricks out of clay and fire them in a furnace and build simple structures with grass thatched roofs. While still very basic they are not as primitive as the other places we’ve been.
We stop by the village school where unfortunately the 1500 students where on a two week break to learn these 1500 kids are split between 20 teachers. I can hardly imaging putting 120-200 kids in one small room with a single teacher to keep track of them all.
The Tonga also have a history of polygamy and while it’s still legal it is rarely practiced now days. For marriage a man picks his desired mate and his family will go to her family and let them know they want to get married. The girl has a choice and may say no. If she agrees the man will be required to remunerate her family an amount that varies based on the woman’s education and beauty. He is allowed to pay if off in installments over a period of years. If for some reason at a later date she wishes to leave him her family must pay the money back and if he wants to leave her he can and doesn’t get anything returned.
The Malawian’s are crazy about a board game called Boa. Enough so that a game between the parents of a couple to be determines which family pays for the wedding. For the heck of it, I sit with a local for an hour while he teaches me the game and by beginners luck I beat the crap out of him. That or we was just letting me feel good about my wits.
We’re just about to cross the Zambia border and a couple more days of long driving to reach Victoria Falls lie ahead.
