If you look at a map, Malawi is just a little sliver of land that is wedged between Zambia and Lake Malawi. Surprisingly, the population of Malawi is greater than Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia combined, making it one of the most densely populated countries in Africa. It was beautiful once we got there, but getting around in that part of the world using local transport is no easy/enjoyable task.
The Bus
The bus ride to get to Nkhata Bay was an adventure in itself. In Lilongwe, which is the capital of Malawi, we got on bus that was “scheduled to leave” for Nkhata Bay at 7 AM. We had also just travelled for 2 days just to get to Lilongwe, so we were already tired and sick of buses. Before we got on the bus, this was the dialogue between me and the driver:
Me: How long does it take to get there?
Driver: 5 hours.
Me: Just 5 hours?
Driver: Yes.
Me: So from here to Nkhata Bay, it only takes 5 hours?
Driver: Yes.
Me: Ok cool. That’s not too bad. And when does the bus leave?
Driver: When its full.
If I had only known I was just lied to 4 times...... The bus did not leave when it was full as we know it, it left when it was jam packed. After the seats were full, they started letting people on to fill up the aisle. One by one, people continued to cram in with their bags, buckets of fish, and screaming babies until there was probably about 120 people (not exaggerating) on this one bus. Street vendors were continually yelling from the outside, holding up cans of Coke and cookies to the windows for the passengers to buy, and all the while we were merely observing the utter chaos in what was now a smoking hot bus from the intense Malawi sun. Now, being in the Peace Corps, Lindsey and I have gotten very used to being uncomfortable, but this was a whole new level. But rather than getting mad, the group of us just started laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. Eventually we left after a few hours of waiting, once the bus was “full”, and in 5 hours we thought we were close. Oh my, we were not close.
It is important to know that the distance between Lilongwe and Nkhata Bay is only 230 miles, so 5 hours is a pretty long drive considering the distance is not that far. How long did it actually take us to get there? Nearly 11 hours. Ridiculous right? I have not idea how that is even possible. That was 11 hours with no water, one bathroom break, and a few crackers we brought before we left. Again, the best solution in ridiculous situations that you can’t control is to laugh - so we laughed. We had no other choice. But finally, we arrived and chugged some serious water.
Mayoka Village
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| Our private bungalow. |
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| The view from our balcony. |
Lake Malawi is known as one of the best spots in the world for fresh water snorkeling and scuba diving. A crew from Planet Earth actually stayed in Nkhata Bay for about three months shooting the colorful cichlids in the water and the clouds of lake flies that are always rising in the distance. If you watch the fresh water episode, there is about a 5 minute clip in there all about Lake Malawi.
We went snorkeling nearly everyday in the waters just around Mayoka and saw thousands of colorful fish. I also went scuba diving which was a good experience as I have never been on a fresh water dive. Are there hippos and crocs in Lake Malawi? Yes there are, but they are only in the southern part of the lake where there are beaches and the water is much shallower. The northern part of the lake, which is where we were, drops off to about 50 feet deep within 20 feet of the shore, so crocs and hippos do not hang around in those types of conditions.
I mentioned lake flies earlier - what are those you ask? Earlier European explorers saw giant, brownish grey clouds rising hundreds of feet into the sky and assumed the lake was smoking. From a long distance off, it certainly looks like smoke. Actually, those clouds are massive swarms of little flies (smaller than mosquitoes) that hatch at the surface of the lake, fly into the sky in a towering cloud, mate, and then fall back down to the surface where they lay their eggs and die. They have a very short lifespan. If you watch that Planet Earth episode, you will see them in action.
Kayaking
This was by far the best part of our trip. If you readers out there ever happen to visit Nkhata Bay, find the company called Monkey Business Kayaking and go on a 4 day kayak trip with them - you won’t regret it.
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| The sunrise from one of our campsites. |
There was a group of 5 of us that went, three volunteers and two guides, on a 4 day, 4 night kayaking trip along the northern shore of the lake. We kayaked along the mountainous coast, passing all of the villages along the way where hundreds of kids would rush out of their homes yelling, “Muzungu!” (white person) and wave hysterically as if we were celebrities.
We camped on the beaches at night and our two guides, Kumbu and Anderson, would cook all of our food on the fire. They also set up our tents, made tea and coffee every morning and night, and packed the kayaks after every stop. We kept asking if we could help, but they insisted that we just relax and enjoy ourselves. I was expecting to be hungry on our little expedition, but I was actually completely full the entire time.
The villages we passed along the way have no roads leading to them at all, so the people that live there rely 100% on the lake for transportation and most of their food. Since there are no roads, the only way for a tourist to see that part of Malawi up close is by kayaking there, and Lindsey and I were so happy that we decided to go on the trip despite my foot.
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| The usual kayaking view. |
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| Lindsey and I at one of our stops. |
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| One of our campsites after a long day. |
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| Our entire kayaking group. |
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| One of the many, many rock jumps along the way. |
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| Do you see the lake flies in the background? |
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| Andre and I with some of the local kids. |
Big Foot
Wait..... Big Foot was seen on Lake Malawi? Yes, and it was me. My foot got really, really infected in Malawi and hence, the guides of our kayaking trip started calling me Big Foot. It swelled up like I had just sprained my ankle (but I hadn’t which was why the swelling was no bueno) and severely limited my movement for about 10 days since I was trying to stay off of it and keep it elevated. It was certainly the biggest downer of the trip for me because it kept me from being active. Yes, I went to the clinic at Nkhata Bay and got some antibiotics, but the first two rounds of antibiotics the doctor gave me did absolutely nothing. When I went back a third time about 10 days later when I ran out of the other antibiotics the doctor asked me, “Well, what do you think you should take?” To which I replied, “What do I think I should take? What do YOU think I should take? You are the doctor!” We debated for a long time about this issue and after a self diagnosis I luckily picked the right antibiotics that cleared up the infection after a few days.
It all started with a small blister from my sandal on my foot. Apparently, the lake has some kind of crazy bacteria in it that you absolutely do not want in open wounds. Lindsey had a small cut (the size of a pin prick that took over 3 weeks to heal!) on her knee that got infected and another volunteer cut his foot on a rock which also swelled up a few days later, so I was not the other one effected but my foot was certainly the worst. So while Lake Malawi was certainly beautiful with crystal clear waters, Africa always seems to have a trick up its sleeve. If you ever visit Lake Malawi, don’t swim with a cut or you will surely end up like Big Foot. We have some gnarly pictures of my foot, but I would like to save you the trouble from looking at them. If you really want to see them and are somehow excited by gross things, send Lindsey’s phone a Whatsapp and she will send you a picture.
Coming Home
The trip home was actually much more stressful than the trip there. Our bus broke down for 6 hours on the side of the road, bribes had to be paid at borders, my wallet was stollen which of course made it difficult to pay the bribes, we slept in a bus station, and again we ate and drank almost nothing for 3 days. When we finally arrived back in Mayara, I don’t think I have ever been happier to see our mud huts.
Overall, being in Malawi was great. Getting there and back was terrible.
The Last School Term
We are already on our last term as teachers in Namibia. We are done with the Peace Corps in just 4 months and time has absolutely flown by. I still have a significant amount of work to do on the playground, so that will be taking up most of my afternoons for the foreseeable future. Lindsey is in charge of Camp GLOW (don’t forget to donate to Camp GLOW if you haven’t yet at http://www.backabuddy.co.za/camp-glow-2014), so she will be very busy with that in the coming months.
Peace,
Tim
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