The Lilongwe to Malawi
We set off for Malawi on the 21st and planned to be back to work on the 26th. The trip proved to be a little longer, more complicated and much prettier than we imagined. We got back to work today, the 28th.
We met our friends, Ashley and Andrew, in Lusaka the night before we took off. Ashley is a Peace Corp volunteer based in Southern Zambia. We met her in Livingstone on one of our first weekends in the country. She's originally from California. Her boyfriend lives in Choma, where he is a talented artist (I'll post some of his paintings soon...amazing stuff). Andrew was born in Zimbabwe and lived there until 3 years ago. His family now farms in Zambia. They made for a pretty fun couple to travel with.
We caught the first bus to Chipata at 6:00am. In Chipata we caught a taxi to the border. After crossing into Malawi, we got a taxi to Mnchingi. From there we got a minibus to the capital city, Lilongwe. We arrived in Lilongwe at 7:00pm.
We stopped a number of times to get something to eat along the side of the road. We ate lots of hard-boiled eggs (rather tasty with salt). I couldn't bring myself to try the fish. A couple people told me that it was quite good.
I got the wheels rolling on my first real ndalama-maker. The Anti-Bob Bus Belt could make me very rich. "Tired of searching for that just-right head position while traveling on a bumpy bus...only for your head to start bobbing like an idiot once you've found it. Introducing the Anti-Bob Bus Belt. Just what your 13 hour bus ride ordered..." I have a marketing team working to fine tune the brand. Here's Andrew showing how well it works. The epitome of comfort. Notice the bus full of nuns. They provided the music and it really was pretty good. I tried to start "Three Coins in a Fountain" which didn't go over well.
We decided to stay the night at a lodge in Lilongwe and got up early to catch another minibus in the morning.
We travelled another 2 hrs to Senga Bay on Lake Malawi. We found a nice lodge right on the lake...and didn't really move much for the next 4 days.
Sunrise on the beach on our last morning. I helped some fisherman reel in their nets. It was a never ending rope that must have been filled with fish. I only lasted 10 minutes and didn't stick around to see the actual catch.
We walked through the village one evening and...
...saw the local seamstress shop.
...met Spearman (middle) and his friend (with the coolest hair I've seen in a long time).
...saw the cutest Bret Favre fan (I didn't know such a fan existed)
...still amazed at how easy a 5 gallon bucket of water is carried in the village.
...witnessed that motherly side of Michelle that her nieces and these children bring out in her. These kids walked with us as it got dark and made sure we knew the way back to our lodge. The easiest way for them was up and over the rocky bluff. We insisted that they show us the less painful route.
We met our friends, Ashley and Andrew, in Lusaka the night before we took off. Ashley is a Peace Corp volunteer based in Southern Zambia. We met her in Livingstone on one of our first weekends in the country. She's originally from California. Her boyfriend lives in Choma, where he is a talented artist (I'll post some of his paintings soon...amazing stuff). Andrew was born in Zimbabwe and lived there until 3 years ago. His family now farms in Zambia. They made for a pretty fun couple to travel with.
We caught the first bus to Chipata at 6:00am. In Chipata we caught a taxi to the border. After crossing into Malawi, we got a taxi to Mnchingi. From there we got a minibus to the capital city, Lilongwe. We arrived in Lilongwe at 7:00pm.
We stopped a number of times to get something to eat along the side of the road. We ate lots of hard-boiled eggs (rather tasty with salt). I couldn't bring myself to try the fish. A couple people told me that it was quite good.
I got the wheels rolling on my first real ndalama-maker. The Anti-Bob Bus Belt could make me very rich. "Tired of searching for that just-right head position while traveling on a bumpy bus...only for your head to start bobbing like an idiot once you've found it. Introducing the Anti-Bob Bus Belt. Just what your 13 hour bus ride ordered..." I have a marketing team working to fine tune the brand. Here's Andrew showing how well it works. The epitome of comfort. Notice the bus full of nuns. They provided the music and it really was pretty good. I tried to start "Three Coins in a Fountain" which didn't go over well.
We decided to stay the night at a lodge in Lilongwe and got up early to catch another minibus in the morning.
We travelled another 2 hrs to Senga Bay on Lake Malawi. We found a nice lodge right on the lake...and didn't really move much for the next 4 days.
Sunrise on the beach on our last morning. I helped some fisherman reel in their nets. It was a never ending rope that must have been filled with fish. I only lasted 10 minutes and didn't stick around to see the actual catch.
We walked through the village one evening and...
...saw the local seamstress shop.
...met Spearman (middle) and his friend (with the coolest hair I've seen in a long time).
...saw the cutest Bret Favre fan (I didn't know such a fan existed)
...still amazed at how easy a 5 gallon bucket of water is carried in the village.
...witnessed that motherly side of Michelle that her nieces and these children bring out in her. These kids walked with us as it got dark and made sure we knew the way back to our lodge. The easiest way for them was up and over the rocky bluff. We insisted that they show us the less painful route.
posted by Michelle and Bob - Zambia @ 6:23 PM
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