29. Malawi: Chitimba Beach

We travelled north towards Tanzania, stopping at another Malawi beach-based campsite in Chitimba. Our room had no power or water, and the campsite had no wifi. There was nothing happening at the beach other than locals trying to sell their wares (which the guides recommended we avoid), so we kept busy with a 3.5 hour hike up the local mountain to see the falls, followed by a motorcycle ride up to the David Livingstone Museum at the top of the mountain, then back down to our campsite.

The hike, which was more for the exercise than anything else, felt good, but the motorcycle ride was pure torture. The road back to town was really no road at all. We spent the better part of an hour poised uncomfortably behind our drivers, clutching a bar behind us for balance, and holding on for dear life as our drivers navigated the path of rocks, sand, pothole-laden dirt. The bone-jarring roads we had previously experienced in the truck were nothing compared to the beating our bodies took on this ride. When we finally got back, I couldn't uncurl my hand from the death-grip I'd been keeping on the bike. I stumbled to the room, and grabbed 3 advil and an hour's nap to try to recover.

Welcome to Africa Karen!Read more