Saturday, November 28, 2015 - Zomba to Blantyre, Malawi

As usual we were awake again about 5 a.m.   We tried to get a bit more sleep but before 6 we were up and ready to go.  We went down to breakfast before 6:30 and it was quite the spread - by far the largest breakfast offering we have seen anywhere in our Malawi travels.  We lingered over breakfast as we were sitting out on the patio and it was a beautiful temperature and a beautiful view.  Howe er we did have to move on though.

Lynn left at 7:30 for a hike to the waterfalls and two scenic lookouts.  I was looking forward to that too until they told me it was at least three hours and perhaps four or five hours depending on speed.  Being slow I knew I was going to be in the latter group.  It was definitely an up and down hill climb as you had to get to the summit to see the views.  Up hill climbs are not my forte and even downhill is not easy with my knees.  Then when I asked them how long the whole route was and he said 26 km I knew this hike wasn't for me.  And apparently the view points are at the very farthest point and the waterfalls just before that so my walking for an hour and then turning around would not have been very scenic as you walk through the forest most of the way.  I'm sure it would have been a nice walk though, but you can't do it without a guide so I would not have been able to turn around and come back on my own.  Either that or Lynn and the guide would have had to come back with me, which really wasn't a good option.  And the jeep or land rover idea doubled in price this morning so I decided I wasn't going to go that route either.  Apparently the price quoted to me last night was per person and you need a minimum of two people to do the tour.  I could have paid for both but 30,000 kwacha or over $70 Canadian seemed a bit much for a bumpy ride to two viewpoints.  The falls weren't even included in that price.  

So, here I sit blogging away and downloading pictures on a beautiful morning.  The view is still in front of me, albeit obscured slightly by some morning mists and by some tents they are putting up on the grounds of the hotel to accommodate a golf tournament presentation just after noon today.  I've done the last of my laundry and it is outside drying and I'm basically packed and ready to go.  I'm even boiling water so we can fill our water bottles before we leave.  Buying water in these ritzy resorts gets expensive!

About 9:30 I decided to go for a walk.  I just stayed on the road and walked for about 25 minutes.  Then I turned around and walked back to the hotel.  The way out was all downhill so the way back was all uphill, but it wasn't too bad.  The road was very quiet as far as vehicles were concerned but there were a lot of vendors on the side of the road.  The main one, which were close to the hotel sold carvings of all kinds and sizes, jewelry, rocks, bags, etc. But they weren't very busy.  I had no intention of buying anything but I did stop at most of the stalls to admire their work and tell them how talented they were - and some of them really are.  Farther down the road there were groups or individual young boys selling goose berries, some other kind of berry, mangos, apples, etc.  They too were not doing a lot of business.

The forest on either side of the road was very thick with trees and underbrush.  I would not want to have to run through it quickly unless some one cleared the way first.  The hills or mountains rose above the trees and provided a great backdrop for everything else.  It was a very green and lush environment and in the shade it was a perfect temperature.  

I had just returned from my walk and showered when Lynn returned from her walk.  They did the two view points and the waterfall but did not do the hole.  I'm not really sure what the hole is but it is apparently a five hour walk so they didn't have time for that.  The views were quite spectacular but the waterfall had very little water going over it since it is the end of the dry season.  And the walk was all up hill to get there so I'm very glad I didn't go.  With my knees even the walk down would have been a problem.

We had to check out at noon so we went to the lounge and had some lunch while we waited for our ride that was coming at 1 p.m.  The resort was having a big golf tournament function at noon so things were a bit busy.  As a result we probably didn't get away until closer to 2 p.m.  We drove down the hill very slowly with our brakes squealing anyway.  I took quite a few pictures because the view was quite spectacular.  You could see for miles.  Once in the city of Zomba we drove past The State House.  This is a cottage for the President now but was originally the home of the president when Zomba was the capital of Malawi.  When the government moved to Lilongwe, Zomba had a bit of a decline but it is still a thriving city of about one million people and it looked pretty busy as we drove through.

Once back in the more level low lands, the surrounding scenery looked very green and healthy.  There were different crops planted and the soil looked very fertile.  Behind the fields of course there was a rolling landscape and then high hills just beyond that finished the picture off perfectly.  Many of the mountains (hills?) in Malawi just seem to jut out of the land with nothing surrounding them.  As a result they look very impressive.  Sometimes on the hillsides there are terraced fields.  Sometimes there are trees, and sometimes the hillsides have been cleared of trees and look very barren.  The people use firewood for cooking and warmth and wood for building so they are often cutting down trees that perhaps should stay on the hillsides to prevent erosion.  We never did seem to get an answer as to whether they could just cut down any tree they wanted or if there were certainly designated areas or if the trees had to be on their property.  We do know that while the men may chop down the trees and cut them into manageable sizes, the ladies do all the carrying.  They walk for an hour or more up the hillside, pick up their load, balance it on their head and then walk down again - and most of them are in bare feet or flip flops.  I don't know how they do it but having the load on your head definitely looks easier than bending over and having it on your back as the women do in Ethiopia.

We got back into Blantyre and checked into Annie's Hotel again.  This was our third visit and by now we know just about everyone in the place including some of the long-term guests.  It almost felt like coming home.  We sat out in the yard under one of the umbrellas for a while doing computer work and then it started to rain so we moved to under the entrance porch for a bit more coverage.  It was nice to be back in the big city again and have internet that actually worked.  We had dinner at the hotel and it was great as usual.  We sat in the dining room for quite a while and finally decided it was time for bed.  The air had cooled off remarkably during the rain storm and it was still raining so it promised to be a good nigh for sleeping.  I did some more work in my room and tried to do some reading but sleep was calling.  I had everything (camera battery, computer, phone, etc.) basically charged up so I thought I was pretty smart.  In the morning when the power was off for the whole day I was definitely glad I had charged everything.

Unfortunately during the night my room got hot.  I woke up around midnight and it was quite uncomfortable.  Instead of turning on the air conditioner I opened the window.  The breeze was beautiful and cool but I'm guessing that's how my guests arrived.  For much of the rest of the night I was bothered by at least one pesky mosquito who kept coming by.  Yes, there was a mosquito net above my bed but I had not lowered it.  We had been in such dry areas lately that there were not bugs whatsoever and nets were not required.  I guess I forgot that Blantyre was a bit wetter and might have some mosquitoes around.  Anyway, I just put up with it because it seemed easier than trying to get the mosquito net down in the dark as the power was now out.  I didn't exactly get a good night's sleep and I did get a few bites but hopefully the malarone will keep the malaria away.  Besides, this (or these) was definitely not a dusk or dawn mosquito and those are supposed to be the ones to avoid.