Lake Malawi is incredibly beautiful. It reminds me a lot of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala in terms of it's majestic presence and it's peace and tranquilty. I decided to take a weekend trip this past weekend as I had been pretty much working 7 days a week for the past 4 weeks. Lilongwe is a nice city. It's the capital and things are pretty chill and relaxed. I stay near area 3 which has everything I need. A grocery store, internet cafe's and a man standing on a huge boulder every morning yelling versuses from the bible- which makes my ears ring sometimes.
That being said, Lilongwe is very spread out and not having a vehicle has really put a damper on my nightlife experience. It was time to head out to Lake Malawi and I was looking forward to further getting tanned (i'm browner than my normal brown) and lay by the beach with alcohol in hand.
I caught a bus from the old part of the city and headed to the town of Monkey Bay- yes that's the name of the town. The bus ride-well what an i say-- was very interesting. Most of the way I was sandwiched with fellow passengers and it was interesting to see vendors selling all kinds of merchandise-transactions being made through bus windows. Among the items I saw for sale during the 7 hour trip-- avocados, shelled peanuts, fried dough balls (my favorite breakfast), samoosas, raw fish ( a bundle of 6 if u wanted), a live chicken, a razor blade for shaving as well as a huge kitchen knife. I'm proud to say that I was glad no one opted to buy the kitchen knife.
I arrived in Monkey bay around 6:30 pm and while my plan was to head to the vibrant city of cape maclear which was only accessible through a dirt road, it was getting dark and decided to stay the night at monkey bay.
I met some travlers along the way and we headed to the same hotel where the night was spent drinking away and laying by the beach. I also met an australlian guy. Maybe in his mid 30s who was riding a motorbike for charity across the entire african subcontinent with the goal to reach Cairo by end of May. We talked a great deal about our experiences in Africa. Had a great dinner which took long to prepare and I was kind of uncertain what the meat dish on my plate was. I had ordered chicken, but for some reason it didn't taste like chicken. Luckily i found some "chicken tasting powder" bottle and poured a bunch of it on and wa-la it tasted like chicken.
The night was well... lets just say that i slept with my headlamp propped on the table and i slept over the sheets not under. There were lizards scurring around, spiders that look like flat taruntals on the wall-bigger ones than the ones at the place i stay in lilongwe and the sheets didn't look like they had been washed. Everything you would expect from a backpacker's hostel-but it's all about the experience.
The next day, i just sat by the beach and relaxed, did a little leisure reading until around 1pm decided to make my way to Cape Maclear. I was suprised but excited to learn that i would be standing in the back of a pick-up truck which was my transport to this part of the lake.
Bumpy roads, zooming so fast I thought my contact lenses were gonna peel out of my eyes and dodging and ducking branches from trees I made it to cape maclear. Cape Maclear was well.... simply amazing!! pristine waters, blue sky and a festive atmosphere. The town was lined up with beach front lodges making it a superb tourist destination and weekend get away.
I stayed in a large room that comprised of a bunch of bunk beds. This was also a backpackers hostel. Met some german ppl who were my roomates and we grabbed dinner and drinks where we met more german ppl. I was the only american and never before Have i heard so much german. Later that night I met an american from san diego who was traveling through africa.
After dinner and drinks, the plan was to head out to a local bar and have more drinks.
After 4 weeks of working- i felt alcohol deprived and what else could I do but replenish my liver enzymes.
We headed to a club called the hippo lounge which was great. Met a lot of locals, and even some familar faces that i saw in Monkey bay. There were plenty of drinks, dancing, laughter and many shots of liquor on the house by the owner until around 4 am I figured it was time to go back as i had to catch the 6 am bus back to monkey bay and then lilongwe
On the pickup ride back I ran into a medical student from Scotland who was doing a rotation at a rural clinic at cape maclear. he had spent 5 months in lilongwe working and what do u know, he worked on the same team as I at Kamuzu central hospital which is the hospital i worked. He knew all the health workers i interact with and we had a great time discussing the good, the bad and the ugly experiences we had. I am glad someone felt the same thing I feel working in the hospital.
I finally made it to lilongwe late in the evening, and after a dinner at a korean restaurant which has Wifi located close to where I live, i decided to call it a night.
A great weekend and definately a breath of fresh air
4 more weeks left in lovely Malawi.