Malawi
Mukuwonda

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    • Day 30

      28. Malawi: Kande Beach - Village Walk

      June 6, 2023 in Malawi ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

      We had a grueling 14 hour day in the truck yesterday, encountering bone-jarring brain-rattling roads that occasionally tossed us out of our seats. The border crossing to Malawi took an hour, but was a welcome respite to stretch our legs. Having departed our previous campsite at 4:30A, we arrived at Kande Beach on Lake Malawi at 6:40P, in the dark. Tough travel day for sure.

      The next day we opted into a guided village walk. We had passed by many such communities on the road, and had been wondering what village life was like.

      We also got exposed to how economically important tourism is to the communities here, and how they have managed to maximize monetization of this. We visited a school (which solicited and received a donation), and a clinic (which solicited and received a donation). As we set off on our tour, our tour guide brought along 3 friends to walk with each of the 3 of us on the tour as we headed to the village. The guide got a tip. Each of the friends expected a tip. Upon arriving back, just outside of our camp, the 3 friends steered us towards their friends, each of whom had various trinkets to sell to us. Although initially a bit offended by the manipulation, every dollar spent means so much more to them than it does to us, and goes a long way towards improving the lives of the villagers.
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    • Day 81

      Arriving at Kande Beach

      July 26, 2023 in Malawi ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

      It was dark by the time we arrived at Kande Beach on the shores of Lake Malawi, home for the next couple of nights. We had already decided we were going to upgrade as it’s Mark’s birthday tomorrow. Most of the group had the same idea. Our ensuite bungalow was clean and comfortable.

      After settling in, we went to the bar until it was time for dinner. We got chatting to the English guy from Nottingham who had started the camp in 1994. He is a former overland truck driver who saw the need for a stop in this location. He got permission from the village chief to buy the land and has been working on and improving the campsite ever since.

      As it was late, Henry did chicken and pasta for dinner. We were all given a couple of days off chores which was very welcome. The crew used the services of three guys from the local village to do the food prep, washing up, and cleaning the truck. Thank you very much!!
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    • Day 82

      Mark's birthday breakfast

      July 27, 2023 in Malawi

      Mark’s 63rd birthday! Mona had helped me organise a card and had got everyone to sign it. She had also bought a plastic beer mug and a crown for him to wear, continuing the ‘tradition’ started by Sara on her birthday a couple of weeks ago. We had also strung up the ‘Happy Birthday’ banner along the side of the truck, and everyone sang to him.

      For some reason, Henry had bought sausages for breakfast that required peeling! Mona and Corina were given the task. This caused quite a lot of hilarity in the group! 😂

      We should have had a range of optional water activities on the lake today, but the weather wasn’t good enough. The choppy conditions meant that it wasn’t safe to launch any boats. This meant that our choices were a guided village walk this morning and/or a bike ride and hike this afternoon. Some people opted to do both. I decided to just do the village walk. Mark, Greg, and Trisha decided to spend the day simply relaxing by the lake.
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    • Day 82

      Village walk

      July 27, 2023 in Malawi ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      Our local guide, Robert, arrived at 9am to take us on our walk. As soon as we left the campsite, we were mobbed by a group of boys from the village who each paired up with one of us, chatting to us as we walked to our first stop. It did feel very set up! It was clear that these boys would want a tip and/or a purchase from their ‘shop’ at the end of the tour. They basically walked with us all morning, waiting for us at each stop. My companion, Andrew, told me he’d recently lost his mum and was desperately trying to get to university to study medicine. When we compared notes later, most of us had heard similar stories!

      Our first stop was in a field to see the cassava crop. This is the staple food for the village. They use it as a vegetable, and also dry it and grind it to make flour. We were given some samples to try, both boiled and fried. I have to say, it’s not really my taste! As we walked around the village, Robert explained about how the people live, the houses they occupy, the work they do, and the free time activities they enjoy. It was fascinating. We were joined by lots of children from the village who wanted us to play with them. We were invited into a lady’s house and taken to see the village pump donated by a Canadian NGO. Some of our group tried pumping the water, and some even tried carrying 20 litre containers of it on their heads!
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    • Day 82

      A visit to the village school

      July 27, 2023 in Malawi ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      From the village, it was a long walk through the fields, across a main road where there were lots of small shops and other businesses, to the school, where over 1000 children are taught by just 11 teachers. We met one of the teaching staff who explained to us about the challenges she faces. The government pay the teachers’ salaries, but don’t provide any other funding for the school. They are totally reliant on donations and goodwill for books, writing materials, and sports equipment. At the end of her talk, we were, inevitably, asked for donations. I gave a few dollars, but it’s hard to see how the money can help when the task is so huge!Read more

    • Day 82

      Visiting the village clinic

      July 27, 2023 in Malawi ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      Our next stop was at the village clinic. Again, we had a talk from a member of staff who told us about the difficult situation they have to work in. And again, he asked for donations.

      While I realise that there is a huge need for financial help and support for the institutions we visited, we came away thinking that we’d been shown the worst they could show us! In the school, we were seated in a classroom/library that had clearly not been used in a very long time, judging by the thick layer of dust on all of the furniture! There was also writing on the blackboard dated 2015! In the hospital, we were shown a delivery room and a ward supposedly used for post-natal care. Both were empty and in very poor condition. We saw ladies with their babies emerging from another room, which, whilst not the best, was clearly better equipped than the ones we were shown! We were disappointed and fed back to Laban that we would rather have seen the reality.

      Following the hospital visit, we walked back to the campsite with our companions. There, we were each directed to their shop (or, in my case, his cousin’s shop!) and invited to buy something – either a painting or a local wooden game. I went for a bespoke painting depicting a map of our trip, with all the countries we’re visiting and the date. I settled on a price of US$40 and arranged to collect it later this afternoon. Back in camp, I found out that other group members had paid anything from US$20 to US$60 for the same thing!

      We had lunch and then spent the time relaxing by the lake and photographing the quirky art around the site. I went out to collect my painting at 3pm. and waved the others off on their bike ride. I was pleased with my purchase, even though I probably paid over the odds for it!
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    • Day 82

      Mark’s birthday cake 😂

      July 27, 2023 in Malawi ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

      After dinner this evening, the crew had organised a cake for Mark’s birthday. Something had got lost between placing the order and collecting the cake, as you can see from the attached photo! It caused a few laughs! Only in Africa!!Read more

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    Mukuwonda

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