Another Door opens

We are in our last week of the Mozambican adventure!  We decided that it is time to seek new adventures, and so we are off.  We leave Friday and will take the Ilala to Nkhata bay, then on to Mzuzu and from there to Karonga and then Mbeya in Tanzania. There we will take the Tazara train to Dar es Salaam. The trip will take about 6 days and then we will have a week on Zanzibar before flying to the UK via Nairobi. We’ll keep you updated

The rains have become much less, and is seems as if the rainy season is almost over.  The beach is reforming quickly and we can walk across it now from our hut to the lodge that way again so it is very pleasant.  Its amazing that all the sand that washed away is being deposited again producing a soft sandy white beach again with no traces of where the flash floods were.

The wet season hasn’t been nearly as bad as we imagined, not as humid and much less nasty biting things although we are somewhat tired of the bites we do get daily.

We have been reminded again about the fragility of life in Africa, Ines, one of the young members of staff here was having a baby but lost it due to a difficult birth, and the next day the sister in law of ou friend Elias lost her baby during birth as well. 

We tend to take the place for granted now but yesterday evening the sunset was very beautiful, the sun painting the clouds red and orange with a backdrop of bright blue.  We have been very lucky to be here and privileged to meet the local people and know them for a while.  The different characters,  the jokers, the introverts, the workers and the shirkers. I am still amazed they walk to work every day, maybe 2 hours, then after a 10 hour day they walk back again with a smile on their faces.  Elias came here this week, soaking wet, he had waded through the Michalanga river to get to work. He didn’t have any dry clothes so he dried as he worked.

Just now Joyce from the farm came with her daughter, Emma, one of the heavy clay stoves had fallen on her forehead and there was a deep long cut. We cleaned it a bit and sent her to hospital on one of the lodge boats. Another reminder of the difficulties people here live with daily.

Bugs, Spider’s n Things

Chi Sawasawa, that’s spider in Chi Nyanja, the local language. When we walk through the bush, there are hundreds of the big black and white spiders. Their web is yellow and quite tough, not like the webs we are used to in the UK.

I thought I would make a bug list, with a note of sorts about each one and the degree of like/ dislike.

We’ll start with our dislikes and work through to the likes.

Mosquito         They are probably the worst, biting insect. You hear one at night and wonder if it’s inside the net or not.

Tsetse Flies      About the size of a horse fly. Land quietly on your leg or arm and you don t notice until, they have taken a bite. Luckily you can then give a good swat and it’s Adios Mr. Tsetse. It seems that there are no cattle in regions where there are tsetse flies since they spread sleeping sickness to the cattle and they die.

Sweat fly         Very annoying, you are in the bush and its hot, these little guys fly about 2 inches in front of your face, backwards I guess, not harmful but a real annoyance

Ants                 Often on the path, there are many kinds, big and small. The worst are the aggressive ones that immediately climb your legs and bite Eeeee! They leave little blisters.

Spiders             Not nasty to me, there are big ones, small ones, black ones with yellow fringes. My favourites are wall spiders, thin and zoom under anything to hide, or into a crack in the wall. In the bush yesterday we saw a spider on a tree that looked like a piece of lichen.

Earwigs            Big and nasty looking, like something from Alien

Centipedes       Seem to be harmless but look fierce. Amazing, they walk with legs moving in waves.

Millipedes        Similar to centipedes but even more so, very big is some cases.

Grass hoppers  The bush is full of these guys, everything from little green ones like home, to large 2 inch plus flamboyant ones, with coloured wings. This morning I saw a bright red purple one.

Dragon flies     Have now appeared with the rains, all colours, my favourite is red

Butterflies        Seen many, small and large. In the dry season the majority were LBJ, Little Brown Jobbies. J Now we have a range, bright yellow, some blue on top and white with orange lines on the bottom, purple, and my favourite, this amazing blue and orange guy.

Nkwichi in the rain

After 4 days of hot weather and beautiful blue skies with white fluffy clouds we woke to torrential rain. Very welcome as it cools and refreshes!

Yesterday we all had dinner together on Venus beach, Malcolm, Helen and Kiri, Fiona the American volunteer and ourselves. Lightning over the Malawian hills gave a beautiful light show. In the night we heard thunder rolling across the sky. Very different to England where we hear a single clap of thunder. Here it rolls across the sky like train running above the clouds, coming from one direction and rushing past to the other side of the sky.

The next day was our first at the lodge with rain, the cloudy skies mean no power and therefore no PC’s and no internet. Malcolm has taken the boat out on the lake with a laptop and will use wireless dongle from the Malawian TNM network to connect and collect the email .

The internet service has become critical here again, our provider has been warning that the satellite signal level is way too low and that they will have to cut us off.  This has been ongoing for a while and was an issue when we first came in August 2009.

It seems now to have reached a final stage and so yesterday was spent tuning the satellite antenna. We improved the signal a bit but it is still a way off the required level.

The claim was that the antenna was warped but now following some images of the view from the antenna it seems that there may be too many trees around the location. We are still discussing.

Peggy is teaching daily and enjoying it very much. All the staff are so happy that teacher is back, and she has had good feedback on success in training individuals from the other expat managers.

Those who we brought requested items back from the UK for are thrilled with their new acquisitions.

Veronica and Flora with their watches, Flora is so happy!  Every time I see her I ask the time, she loves showing her new watch.

The roof at Songea house has problems, the thatch has come off about a quarter of it. The builders are busy making repairs before more rain comes.  There are small leaks in some of the chalets as well, It seems that there has been so little rain so far this year the rooves have not been properly tested by the water yet. This is important because we have guest arriving tomorrow for one of the leaky chalets.

It is funny to see the local staff walking around with umbrellas, something expected of England!

We sleep well and the food is simple and delicious. We have enough!

Its Friday, we wake to blue skies but the thunder rumbles again. By 7 in the morning the storm is on us, Lighting flashes across the sky, and the rain falls in sheets. Everything is immediately soaked and the paths run like streams. There is no power from the solar cells so again no power or network. The sky is dark and I read a while and enjoy the cool that the rain brings.

Past the Snows of Kilimanjaro, or into the Emerald Season

We woke to a grey and misty morning, breakfasted on fresh white toast with butter and marmalade and a mug of tea for breakfast.

We are relaxed and moving to a more positive feeling as we prepare to leave.  The bus to the airport is warm and comfortable, then I realise that I have forgotten my fleece!  The weather in Malawi is 28 degrees and wet, so I feel I might not need it.

Check in at Heathrow terminal 4 is impeccable, there are no queues for security and by 3.00 we are in the terminal with a coffee.

While we are at the gate we check passport details and realise we have 6 month visas with a 90 day period before we need to leave and re enter Mozambique, this is a real bonus and removes a lot of hassle that we had before where we had a 30 day turnaround requirement.

All the hassle of life in the UK finally falls away as we board and we look forward to arriving in Malawi, the warm heart of Africa tomorrow midday.  We are both looking forward to travelling together and seeing our African friends again as well as seeing the Emerald landscape of the wet season. We wonder what changes have taken place at Nkwichi Lodge.

We are both feeling happy and we are lucky that we enjoy travelling together and experiencing new adventures.

After a gin and tonic and an excellent lamb curry we doze and wake at 5.00 am Nairobi time.  After landing we are immediately immersed in African culture, flights are called to Somalia, Brazzaville, Entebbe, Johannesburg, and Amsterdam.

The airport looks green and pleasant, swallows make low passes in front of the terminal windows and Yellow Billed Kites patrol looking for small mammals on the airport grassed areas.

Tiredness comes in waves as we wait for the flight to Lilongwe via Lusaka.

Finally we board on time, and take off. Immediately we go up through the clouds we see Mount Kilimanjaro to our left, snowy tipped it rises gracefully above the clouds. This view is an unexpected bonus on the flight.

We slept on the flight for a couple of hours and feel much refreshed. As we descend to Lusaka the immediate impression is of a bright green patchwork, very green and fertile, every corner covered with bright green crops.

The flight into Lilongwe was easy and again our landing the bright emerald patchwork was a striking contrast to our previous view of the African landscape.

Clearing immigration was easy and we picked up our bags, always a relief. As we cleared customs we found a driver waiting for us with our name on a board. We thought that the hotel had arranged this, but in the end it seems that the Immigration officer and his taxi driver friend had an enterprising approach to acquiring customers. We did however arrange a good price, and also arranged a trip from Lilongwe to Chipoka at a good rate but more of that tomorrow.

Mufasa Backpackers lodge was great, and we showered and slept and then woke at 7 for a meal and then slept again. (We had made sure phones worked and emails were sent) We also looked at the published timetable for the Ilala and discovered it was incorrect; the correct departure time was 4.00 pm. We were lucky we went for the earlier time ensuring that we hadn’t missed the boat (literally!)

As we left Lilongwe we saw a sight, never seen before, a man wearing nothing but a cardboard box around his waist. Never seen anything like it before, it seems he was a known “crazy”

As we drove from Lilongwe to Chipoka the lush crops contrasted dramatically with our earlier memories of the landscape.

Our taxi driver was very pleasant and we arrived with about an hour to spare. Sadly for him as we arrived his driver side front wheel bearing shattered and ball bearings were liberally strewn on the concrete around the wheel of the car. My heart went out to the guy as we boarded the boat and settled down for a relaxing cruise on the lake. We were amazingly lucky that the bearing had lasted to get us to the dockside. We could have been stuck halfway between Lilongwe and Chipoka.  Our luck and foresight had gotten us to Chipoka, with an hour to spare before we were to catch the ferry.

We had chosen to board the Ilala at Chipoka because they have a dock, so we wouldn’t have to climb in and out of the Ilala lighters.  As it turned out the water level in the lake was too low and there wasn’t enough water for the Ilala to dock so we ended up clambering down ladders with our multitude of bags, and then back up to board the Ilala. Fortunately everyone was helpful and the bags were transferred easily and quickly.

Travel on the Ilala was uneventful and quiet. We sat on deck enjoying the evening sun with a bottle of Carlsberg “green” in our hand. The boat was quiet and strangely empty compared to earlier journeys.  We ate a delicious beef curry with rice and slept early on deck, under the African sky and stars, the air warm and still.

We woke at about 6:30 to a heavy rain shower, and quickly moved our gear under a permanent shelter by the bar.  After 30 minutes the rain cleared and we continued to sail to Metangula, where we loaded and unloaded passengers, and then on too Likoma Island.

We are both happy to be back in Africa, we have felt the stress and pressure of the UK slip away and we have relaxed and felt a peace come over us as we travel.  We are both very lucky to enjoy travel and each other’s company so much. We have become used to the African way, and are happy to travel on local buses and minibuses, we meet great local people and as long as the accommodation has a comfortable bed and a shower we are satisfied.  I am sure that travelling in this way we experience much more of the local people and their lives.

Reflections on the end of a decade

 

On New Years Day 2010 it seemed appropriate to reflect on the last while and look forward to the next decade. The last decade is significant as the first one of the new century and in that time many things have happened and life has changed completely.  The next 10 years are significant for me because these 10 years are the ones that will take me to the age of 65, pensionable age. This time is now the focus and using it fully to experience new things and travel is exciting and I am lucky that Peggy and I have a common purpose in that.

We have been back from Africa since the 20^th November, about 7 weeks. It seems much longer! Both Peggy and myself have changed completely during our experience in Africa.

We are not enjoying the UK experience, the traffic, the crowds, the consumerism, and the cold weather J. It is safe to say we feel people have more than they need and keep on buying more and more, but don’t appreciate what they have. Certianly the Africans we met are happier and seem easier with their lot. This is a sweeping generalisation I realise but from observation and discussion with people and we find it to be true. We have found the marketing and consumer impulse very hard to resist and almost upsetting.

We both agree that we prefer the simpler life we have found in Africa, with minimal possessions and a healthier diet and daily routine.  A simple fact is that after 4 months my blood pressure had gone from being border-line to high to a very healthy level.

We have booked our flights and are travelling back on the 20^th of January for about 7 months. We are eagerly looking forward to seeing the Emerald season on the lakeshore and all our friends at the lodge.

Now that we have survived the excesses of the Christmas and New Year we are eagerly preparing for our return to Africa and the Mozambican Lakeshore. Peggy is preparing lessons and I am working on ideas and planning for the farm.

Seeing friends and family has been great and it is nice to see our children all busy and working hard being successful in their own lives. 

Sometimes I have felt that people are perhaps a little envious of what we are doing. All I can say is that it is easier than you might think! just decide and the rest will follow.

As the sun sets over Ely Cathedral with a classical English view we are looking forward to the sun setting over Lake Malawi with the mountains of Malawi silhouetted in the suns sinking orb!

The African Queen

From Deans Lodge we travelled to Flatdogs Camp in South Luangwa and then to Livingstone and Victoria Falls.

On the way to Flatdogs the taxi had a broken fanbelt. We waited near a local shop while the driver was assisted by local people to modify the adjuster and fit a new (LONGER) fanbelt. After 2 hours, all was well and we arrived late in the afternoon.

The Safaris in the South Luangwa reserve were amazing; we saw 4 of the big 5, and loads of other animals and a couple of hundred bird species. Amazing! We had a tent by the river, 50 metres form crocodiles, in the evening Elephant and Hippos came into the camp to graze, very cool peering out at a Hippo a few feet from the tent door while he’s chomping on a pile of dry leaves under a tree.

After the 5 days on Safari (total of 40 hours) we left and caught a bus to Lusaka and the next day to Livingstone. The Zigzag B&B was very nice and friendly. The day after we arrived we went to the falls; the Zambians had taken most of the water for hydro electric so there was little water in the falls. But we had great views of the gorge and could see the scale of the whole thing.

We even walked 500 metres across the top of the dry cataract, amazing really, in the wet season you can’t go near the falls without a raincoat, and cameras get soaked.

Afterwards we walked into the hotel complex, Zambesi Sun and Royal Livingstone, a different world, 5 star tourist luxury! We found a deck with a bar by the Zambesi and took a beer, 3 times the price compared to in town. We chatted to the barman; he was very friendly and talkative. I asked him about life in Africa and why people are so happy. He said that life there was not easy and people were very aware that every day might be the last so they make the most of it.

As we left the hotel a group of local tribesmen were posing with guests in local dress, so we took Peggy’s “African Queen “picture.

That evening we took a sunset cruise on the Zambesi, magic.

We travelled by bus back to Lusaka and then to Lilongwe, arriving at 2.30 am. We were advised to stay in the bus until dawn at 5.00 because of the risk of mugging. (All the locals stayed as well.) And we eventually got to the Mufasa backpackers lodge at about 6, for a sleep and recovery.

We were there a couple of days and then left for the airport and London via Johannesburg. The flight was bumpy and as we approached Johannesburg there was a big flash and a bang, the left hand engine had been hit by lightning, with no problems fortunately. In the airport it was cold and draughty and we had a miserable 4 hours wait for the London flight.

Now we have been to the Isle of Man for 12 days, have spent some time in Cambridge seeing friends and Family and are spending 10 days in Belgium. We have tickets back to Africa and visas until the 30 July, so the adventure will continue.

Being in the UK and Belgium has been a shock to the system. Especially in the run up to Christmas!

There is so much consumerism, and obvious waste. The shops are selling all sorts of stuff, much at half price, Tesco’s has Chinese plastic toys and goods stacked up even by the front door.  We were at  the Huntingdon garden centre and the plants were gone, it was full of Christmas stuff, all sorts of ornaments, chocolate Santa’s, stuffed reindeer with woolly hats, speciality foods, you do not believe there is a credit crunch.

But people do not look happy, but we found that many looked tired, stressed, grey faced, and not at all happy. This is such a contrast to our African friends, smiling and cheerful, positive and happy looking every day.

It is very strange, when we are in Africa, there is very little to buy and we don’t miss shops.

In the UK, because the shops are there we feel that we “ought “to be buying this stuff.

 My reaction the UK has been very negative. We don’t want to be there to shop, the big cars and obvious expense is almost obscene. The weather is grey and the houses look small and unattractive.

Seeing all our family has been great, friends are still there, and pleased to see us. We are never sure what they really think but all appear to be positive to our adventures.

For my part, I have lost about 18 pounds weight, blood pressure is down and in good shape; I slept like a baby and felt relaxed and at ease with life. We have objectives now when we get back and are looking forward to life on the lakeshore

I am taking time and not being “impatient”, a new approach for me. We are both looking forward to going back to Mozambique in January; we have visas until 30 July.

To The Land of the Cloud Cuckoo!

We are back in the UK, we have travelled in Africa with limited internet access. Here in the UK we have been busy with family and friends. Eventually here is the last blog entry I wrote back in early November. More will Follow ......

Saturday we left Nkwichi Lodge. A surreal day. We woke and heard the waves at 5:30 and realised it would be a rough boat journey; the wind was blowing onshore on the lake. We didn’t realise what the day would bring.

We were up, dressed, and down to harbour for 6:30, I even stopped by the kitchen for a roll and some coffee which I had in the office. We left on time, and arrived in Cobue, to find there was no one at the immigration office to sign us out. After some time and discussion with Malawi immigration by phone it was agreed that if we had a letter from the local police, then we could enter Malawi. And so off we went again, about an hour and a half later. Alexis who was travelling with us called Kaya Mawa, (lodge on Likoma Island) to let them know we would be late collecting the guests who were going to Nkwichi, only to find out we were a day early. Devon the office manager had the wrong day.

On Likoma we stamped in, and then we went to see Alexander Chitander, a local who is acting as a dealer for the farm made stoves and was going to try to sell farm produce. We had some for him. We finished business with him and then to the hunger clinic (local restaurant at the harbour side) and had 2 eggs on toast and coffee, much welcome by this time. And we only had about another 4 hours to go before the Ilala would arrive. After some time Alexis went for a wander, he came back and said all the produce was gone. I went to look and then spoke to Alexander, he hadn’t sold the vegetables, (it was in his fridge).

When I got back Alexis said “David from the farm is dead, drowned!” What a shock. The whole story was that he had been found floating in the lodge harbour (a sheltered inlet between rocks where the boat jetty is and the boats are kept) with the farm boat. He had been paddling over from the farm to collect the lodge kitchen bins for compost and on entering the harbour the boat must have been caught by a bad wave and flipped over. We later heard that he couldn’t swim, even though he was a fisherman by trade and was used to being on the lake on a dugout. I knew him better than Peggy and Alexis, Peggy had taught him a couple of times, but I used to sit with him every day and have out 10:00 tea at the farm. He would insist I had some of his cassava. He used to roast the root on the fire like toast and then eat it. (Bread of Africa they call it, almost pure starch, tasteless like eating flour!) We couldn’t speak much but we had a bit of a joke now and then and he was a nice guy, uneducated, no English, but a strong back and a pair of hands on the farm. I still don’t believe it!

Eventually the Ilala arrived and we boarded, found a space on deck and hired our mattresses. Then we settled down for the departure, we had beef stew and rice for dinner at $4 each, washed down by a few beers, and an unsettled night, under the stars.

Arrival in Nkhata bay was at about 2.00 am, but we slept until about 5, we didn’t have to be off the boat until 7 when it was to sail. Fortunately there is a jetty in Nkhata bay so getting off was easy, we carried the bags to the quayside and then Alexis and I set about fetching the 3 gas canisters he was having filled for Nkwichi lodge. (There is no gas in the north of Mozambique so the gas for the kitchen is fetched from Mzuzu.) Then we found space on the back of a flatbed truck, and set off for Mzuzu. I thought the truck was full, us, gas canisters, people, boxes of dried fish, a door, other random stuff. But twice it stopped, everything was shuffled and more people boarded.  From Nkhata bay the road climbs steeply, the lake is about 300 metres above sea level, Mzuzu is 1200 metres. Soon we were climbing up hills, green and fresh with a cool breeze. The last part of the journey we were in the clouds, definitely chilly. After an hour we arrived in Mzuzu, dropped everything off at the bus station, paid an extra 3 dollars for a ride to the hotel, the Mzoozoozoo.

Mzoozoozoo is a bungalow, made into a backpacker hostel by Gerard who is Swiss. He runs a laid back place; the central living area has a bar, a dining table, a lounging area and a veranda. The main feature is the pair of very large loud speakers and the excellent music. Lots of volunteers and expats come and go, staying for a night or two, camping, sleeping in the dorm, or in a single or double room.

We walked into Mzuzu, a very nice well laid out, clean town, toured the market, got tickets for the bus to Lilongwe, and went back for a couple of beers and a siesta. In the evening Alexis had found a nice Indian restaurant, so off we went with 2 Danish volunteers who were also staying at the Zoo. Excellent, Chicken Biriani, Dupazia, Mutton Jalfrezi, Rice Jeera, Lentil Dal and Garlic Naan, with a couple of beers, about £7 per head, excellent food, fresh, tasty, and not a trace of a bad stomach next day. Just like a night out in the UK apart from the price.

Then off next day to Lilongwe on the 6:30 am bus, through beautiful highlands, then down to the plains and the heat. Arrived about 1 in Lilongwe and a minibus to the hotel, Mafusa, nice, clean tidy, great shower. Then to Shoprite for the makings of a spaghetti Bolognese and a nice bottle of red wine.  At the hotel we made some G&T and the food, what a pleasure to cook, and then we slept for a few hours. In the evening there was a film in the bar, “Air Con” and a couple of beers, then we had the red wine and blue cheese with nice bread and biscuits. Heaven! Early sleep, we were to be up at 4.45 to catch the bus to Zambia.

Up 4.45, Peggy slightly hung over, the taxi didn’t arrive so we flagged down a minibus. At the bus station in time, on the bus, no problem, plenty of space and set o at 6 on time. Great we thought, until the bus pulled off ion a side street and stopped outside a church, where about 30 sisters (Choir) of the Presbyterian Church boarded, off for a church visit in Zambia. They had everything with them and loading took an hour. Well fed, they were too, no lack of food security there! We set off with a prayer for a safe journey, they sang all the way to Chipata in Zambia where we arrived at about 11.00 am. And then we found deans lodge, where we are now. Nice clean, friendly and not too hot in the room.