A lot has happened since my last post, and i’ve been slacking on the blogging, so I’ll try to summarize the more interesting parts.
• Zanzibar proved to be just as beautiful & amazing as I had remembered. We found a simple, cheap bungalow about 10 minutes away from the beach and enjoyed the sunshine with the other holiday-makers, shocked by the unabashed public displays of affection in this new touristland. Decidedly, we are not ready for America yet. As an aside, we were led to our bungalow by a local named Mudi who sported long dreadlocks, cut-off jeans & had a penchant for using the phrase “What’s up guys?” which sounded extremely strange when said with his accent. His preoccupation with our daily activities was a bit disconcerting, but eventually he wandered off.
• To get down to the border with Malawi from Dar we decided on the near-bankrupt Tazara train. Buses are for wussies. In addition to being on the verge of bankruptcy, there is a workers’ strike going on, adding to the probability of delay/breakdown. Most of this we found out post-boarding. Not worried, we just ordered an overpriced beer from the drinking car and watched the scenery go by. For about a half hour. Until breakdown #1 happened. Two more breakdowns put us about 17 hours behind, but hey, Malawi wasn’t going anywhere! An apt description of the train from An African Diary, by Bill Bryson: “To begin with the beds were small & decidely on the hard side, but it was the wild & extaordinary motions of the train that made even light dozing impossible. Normally I love overnight trips by train but this was like trying to sleep through an earthquake. Even in its more tranquil spells, which were few, it was like being on one of those agitating conveyor belts that mining companies use to shake diamond loose from piles of rubble.” Ryan’s description was a little less wordy: “Terrifying.”
• Immediately upon entering Malawi we hopped on a minibus taxi which proceeded to be loaded with smelly fish, and of course one box ended up on top of my bag giving it a strong & very persistent odor.
• One of the Lonely Planet “Highlights” of Malawi includes sleeping under the stars in the Ilala ferry. The Lonely Planet does Not say that in order to get to the top deck, you have to claw & push within an inch of your life to get there. Really! Haven’t these people ever heard of lines? To make matters worse, everyone has their belongings/goods piled on top of their heads, so an unlucky backpacker is likely to get clobbered in the eye by the corner of a wayward suitcase. However, once safely situated on the top deck we did enjoy a cold Carlsberg under the stars with our new friends Urlich and Barbara, who are BIKING across Africa. From France. Obviously some boats are involved, but still. They put our little overland trip to shame. Getting off the boat at 3 am was even more fun. Climbing over people/bags we worked our way down to the bottom & hopped in a little dinghy that motored us to Chizumulu Island. Urlich had to go back & unearth the bikes from the cargo deck, a task I did not envy, especially in the wee morning hours. With wet & sandy legs we walked to Wakwenda Lodge, set up our tent and passed out.
• Lake Malawi, or the Lake of Stars, as some guidebooks call it, turned out to be way more alluring than expected. Planning on spending a few days working our way across the lake, we were somewhat surprised to find ourselves on the lakeshores a full 14 days later. Accomodation just kept getting better, from our little campsite perched on the rocky shores of Nkhata Bay to the pristine, white, sparkly sand of Nkwichi lodge. Each time we pitched our tent in the sand in a new place we were more impressed by our gorgeous surroundings. We also did our fair share of diving and snorkeling (Ryan got his open water certification) & the snorkelling lived up to its stellar reputation. Diving under the aquamarine water into beautiful beige rock formations teeming with colorful fish was an absolutely surreal experience. Nkwichi Lodge on the Mozambique side of Lake Malawi holds about the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen, and those who know me know I’m somewhat of a conniseur. We spent one perfect day there, dining on their delicious food on the beach, reading out loud from A Fine Balance (excellent book, I highly recommend it), snorkeling, swimming, & playing beach volleyball. Dinner was around a campfire on (you guessed it) the beach, and we were even entertained by an amateur firedancer! The one downside of our stay was the fact that the beers were $3.50 each, which was under normal circumstances, more than we spend in a day. Ouch. We recovered by forgoing transport and walking the 70 kilometers in the hot sun to the next town (Metangula). On the way I acquired the biggest blisters I’ve ever seen in my life. My feet are still kind of angry with me.
Now we are in Mozambique and have fully experienced all of the headaches involved with overland transport in the northern section of this country. Which is a blog in itself. Let me just say I am happy to be in a hotel room that doesn’t smell like pee. Ah the small things.
Miss you all and will update this thing with our Mozambique (mis)adventures soon.
