Rock Hyrax and some Luxury

Last weekend was quiet and we were able to have a chalet for 2 nights. How the other half live. Large spacious rooms and what are in effect four poster beds with a square mosquito net. Outdoor bathroom and shower with a lake view. We were however very happy to return to our home in the volunteer village.

In the chalet we stayed in there are Rock Hyrax living in the rocky surroundings. Rock Hyrax are apparently related to Elephant, but look rodent like. Like a BIG rat, with bleached eyebrows!

I have been seeing more and more bird species, Pied Kingfisher, Trumpeter Hornbill, Scarlet breasted sunbird. Yesterday on the way from the farm there was a large troop of baboons in a fig tree having a feast, (about 20 or more) What a scatter when they saw me! In a second they were gone, completely invisible in the bush. I also saw a snake in a tree sapling by the side of the path. It was a pale iridescent green and purple colour, pencil thin and looped over a couple of branches. Needless to say I didn’t get too close.

The weather is getting hotter, it 32 in the shade, (42 in direct sun) during the afternoon. We try to get in the lake for a while mid afternoon. It starts to cool from 4 and is nice at 6 and then we have a welcome “sundowner” at 6:30 before dinner on the beach.

We are considering the next steps now, we leave on the 2^nd November and are going to the South Luangwa Valley game park in Zambia for a 5 day safari, and then travelling to Livingstone to visit the “Smoke that Thunders” (Victoria Falls). The travel will be on local buses and shared taxis, so we expect plenty of adventure.

We are also aiming to come back here in January for the Emerald(wet) season. Has to be done to see the amazing contrast to the dry weather now.

Peggy is enjoying the teaching and her pupils have a great time, plenty of fun in the lessons and they are improving markedly in their confidence in speaking.

I am planning the farm crops for 2010 season, we need more bananas and passion fruits and these have to be started in the wet season, taking 8 months to produce first crops.

We have been repairing the farm boat and that will be finished tomorrow, with a final coat of paint inside. Then it will be the grand launch. Not sure if you need a guest to launch a rowing boat.

More later……..

Electricity reaches Volunteer Village

This week there have been big developments, we have had low wattage LED lights installed in our hut. These are run by a battery, which is charged during the day using solar panels. So now we can read in the evening and don’t have to rely on wind up torches and lamps.

I have been working on the farm continuing to replace the bamboo edging to the paths and then bringing more white pebbles from the beach to make the paths look clean and tidy.

The weather in getting hotter and by midday it is very hot, so a swim every day before lunch and maybe again after 5 is welcome, the lake looks like a sea so when you dive in and its clean fresh water, then it’s always a surprise.

I continue to add new birds to the list, crowned hornbill, fire finches, blue waxbills and some others I haven’t found names for yet, still looking in the bird book.

Every night the fishing boats are out, with their lamps, attracting fish. They come to the lodge in the day and sell Chambo and Kampango, (Catfish) Both are delicious. The catfish is not muddy in taste but very clean and fresh tasting just like the water here.

It’s now Saturday lunchtime, we will tidy our hut today, sweep out the sand from the floor and rearrange some stuff. How little we need to get on and enjoy our lives. Tomorrow we may canoe, or if we get up early, walk to Mala for church at 8.00 and then go visit some of the staff there for “tea”.

We heart this week that a Lion has been seen on the road from Cobue to Metangula, maybe 3 hours from here but still exciting since it means that game is returning to the area.

Wildlife and Hands in the Earth

Well we walked to M’bueca last Sunday and had lunch with Elias and family. That was great, we also met a lot of his neighbours, met the village chief, the deputy chief, saw the church, school, and were warmly welcomed. There is one lady there with triplets, 3 months old, tiny little bundles still.

The walk was 2 hours each way, the whole day was 7 hours. When we got back a swim in the lake was a welcome cooling relief to tired feet and aching limbs.

Monday in the morning I was at the farm watering and planting squash and marigolds, pansies and red hot pokers. Today I planted the ginger in a long bed, it will be ready to harvest next year.

At Limes Park we woke to the sound of wood pigeons and motorway traffic. Here we wake to the sound of Fish Eagles calling and the waves on the lake.

There are many birds, Scarlet Breasted Sunbird, Bohms Bee Eater, Pied Crows, and many others I don’t know the names of.

Today as I came along the beach there were a family of Vervet Monkeys. A couple of them were making sure there would be more monkeys soon J

This Sunday we are planning another early start, going to church at 8.00 in Mala village. Will be interesting.

Four weeks have passed

We have been here for four weeks now. Time has passed quickly and amazingly we have not missed anything from our old lives.

Last weekend there was a dance competition in Mala village. Here are some pictures. Peggy was adopted by a load of small girls, who all wanted to hold her hand at the same time.

I tried to teach some of the small ones to wink with one eye. We had fun, they just blinked and blinked, probably still trying. The dancing and the drums were amazing!

This weekend we are going on a longer walk, to Mbueca village, about 1 and a half hour walk. Elias, a carpenter has invited us to the village to see his house and meet his family. He is 43 and has 7 children. He has a really great smile and sense of humour. We are really looking forward to it. He asked if we eat Nsema (the local staple diet) so I think we will be having lunch as well. Interesting! There will be more about that next week.

Yesterday I started growing stuff at the farm, I have 2 small raised beds and planted Squash, Butternut Squash, Beetroot, Pansies, Marigolds, Red hot pokers, and a couple of other flower types.

I also had my teas break with the farm staff, we had a laugh and they started my chinyanja (local language lessons). Planning 30 minutes a day from now on. That will be great.

We also have some ginger roots and are going to work on propagating that. ( it will take a year until we can harvest.)

They grow some little red chillies, I tried one, wow!!!!!!!!, was it hot.

Today the lake is not as flat as it has been but I am going to give snorkelling a go again. The couple of times I have tried it were great, lots of fish, many colours and sizes.

Search on Google for cichlid and see them.

More soon….

Lake of a Thousand Stars

is what Livingstone called Lake Malawi, the third biggest lake in Africa, so wide you can’t see across it.

About 700 feet deep. It’s a large body of water and provides food and a means of transport for all the people living on its shores. Each morning we walk from our hut a few minutes and then down to the lake shore, fine white squeaky sand. Every day the lake is different depending on the wind and the light of the sun as it rises. The rocks have a white banding near the base and this takes on the colour of the light, some days pink, some days golden. We prefer the offshore winds and the lake surface is calm and still. Other times the lake has an onshore wind and then there can be a heavy surf running.

But the lake is as big as many seas, and also needs respect. We heard this week of a tragedy on the lake, a boat has sunk, it was carrying some 40 people and 16 women and children drowned, 3 missing.

He boat was probably designed to hold 12 or 15 people. No health and safety laws here.

But the lake also provides food for people, a fisherman has just come to the lodge carrying 3 enormous catfish.

This weekend there is a dancing competition in Mala Villages, many local villages sending groups to compete. Everyone in their Sunday best, the ladies brightly coloured outfits, sunglasses, some of them would look at home in London. Children of all sizes, with sweets, biscuits, fanta and coke.

Some little girls "adopted" Peggy, all wanting to hold her hand. From time to time they take a few dance steps, learning the traditional dances at an early age. All so happy to have a photograph taken and see themselves for a few seconds in the camera screen.

After we returned from Mala we sat on the beach with a beer each, reading and watching two pairs of African Fish Eagles patrolling the lake looking for a meal. And another evening by a fire, under the 1000 stars.

Now the dust has settled a bit!

Unbelievably its 3 weeks since we left the UK, time has flown by and we are settled now into a new routine.
This time I want to focus on some of the local people we have met. There is about 60 local staff here at the lodge and on the farm. The most striking thing about them all is the good natured humour they all have. They are paid between $1.5 and $2.00 per day. Having a good reliable income here is unusual and the lodge provides a stable source of income for these people from the local villages.
They mainly walk to work, some of them 2 hours each way. There are different departments, Guest Management, Housekeeping, Builders, Carpenters, Boatmen, Kitchen, Watchmen, (Day and Night).
All are friendly, cheerful; some are good in English, some limited, all interested to learn.
We went to Mala village, (1 hour walk) weekend before last, Stuart brought a football and we had one of those bubble blowing kits. The excitement those items caused and the joy of the children in the village. Simon, Samson, John, Veronica, and many I can’t remember. They all wanted to have their picture taken and see the images in the camera. Some of them are here in this post. We went past the church, just a brick shell with a tin roof and mud floor, a concrete altar, no paint. And the children with us went in and sang a little, beautiful voices!
Francis at the lodge lives in Mala, he is 22 and head of the family, his parents are dead and he has younger brothers and sisters. IN the 3 weeks since we arrived 2 members of staff, in their 30’s probably have had deaths in the family, both lost sisters. We forget how privileged we are and how much we have.
Both Peggy and I agree that we love the simple life here. We are not missing anything at the moment. Next week we are going to Likoma Island, we have to exit Mozambique every 30 days, and we are combing the trip with an overnight stay, and an expedition to sell the clay stoves made on the farm. Boils water 2 times as fast with a third of the wood. Let’s see how we get on…..

Wherever I lay my hat....

Or The Lake of 1000 Stars!Another busy week passed, helping a bit on the farm but 3 days spent working on the Internet connection and the satellite dish alignment. It seems that this is now better understood, by me at least and the connection is more reliable.It’s time to let you know how we live. And where! In this post there are images of our hut, very nice and spacious with large windows and a veranda. We go to sleep with a view of the sky and stars through the trees and wake to a cool breeze through the hut and the sound of the lake lapping on the beach some 50 yards away. We have a large double bed with good mattress and a good mosquito net. There are shelves with good storage and we have made hooks to hang our rucksacks so we can keep things tidy. We are woken at 6, wander 20 yards to our outside hot and cold shower. Then we get dressed, and prepare for the day. Then we walk about 7 minutes to the lodge and have breakfast at the lodge veranda meeting table. ( A roll with butter and jam and tea or coffee. ) Then 7.00 is morning roll call for staff at the lodge and the day starts.This morning as we came across the beach we saw the tracks of the local crocodile where he had come out of the lake and went into a pool left as the river has dried up. (There were Italian guests yesterday who has seen him, and had images, a mean looking guy. ) We took a couple of pictures and hastened to breakfast. Will we snorkel later today, Maybe!We are not missing the UK, Tesco, shopping, driving, laundry, vacuuming or any of our old lives so far.We spend our days on our work and at 5 to 5:30 while there is light go and shower and get ready for a couple of beers on the beach and then eat either with guests, or just the volunteers sit on the beach with a beer and a simpler meal, (bean stew and rice usually with some real strong chilli!)Anyway that’s this week’s update. We are looking to weekend, snorkelling, catching up with reading and a walk to the Beobab tree, it 2000 years old and 29 metres in circumference.