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| Boat out to Lizard Island |
Took the two hour drive towards the coast on Friday afternoon.. We decided to stay a few nights at Safari Beach Lodge, right on the edge of Lake Malawi.. The place was a bit rustic and a haven for baboons… They were all over the place, swinging from the trees, stealing people’s food, drinking out of the pool, and sleeping on our deck. Kate swears she was attacked by one, but the baboon kind of just lunged at her as she crossed paths with it.. I know, I saw it.
The drive to Senga Bay was totally different from the one we took a month and a half ago.. In 6 weeks, Malawi has turned into a plush, great landscape of rolling hills and 5 foot high maize.. It was incredible to see the transformation and made for a beautiful drive..
On saturday we took the kids snorkeling for a few hours.. Needless to say, the kids loved it and spent the whole morning swimming in a little cove gazing at various types of cichlids .. We were able to arrange a boat ride out to Lizard Island.. I’ve learned that when you arrange a boat ride here, you shouldn’t expect much.. This was a good running boat, full of splintered wood, some dead fish and a smell that could make you vomit. But the two gentleman got us to our destination unscathed and sat on the shore for 2+ hours while we swam around the island. One on them took Michelle and Maura on a hike to the top of the island where there was a fish eagle perched on top of a tree.. There was also a Catholic priest camped out on the island taking 3 days to pray.. He had a fire going when we arrived.
When we returned from the snorkeling trip, we went down the road to the Sunbird Hotel.. They had a better beach, better pool and better food. We lounged all afternoon, let the African sun burn our pale skin and enjoyed the day with the kids.. It was a needed trip out of Lilongwe, which makes going back to work this morning very difficult.
When you holiday here in Malawi(or Africa for that matter) you have to be prepared for nothing going the way you planned.. But the credit card machine, the weather and the roads (not being flooded) all worked out.. The only problems that arose were baboons on our porch, no tonic water (for a malawian gin and tonic), no samosas and no meat pies… the coffee was good though.
As we drove home, we traveled through various villages and people walking on the highway.. Picture driving a two lane version of 1-75 with loads and loads of people walking on the side of the road.. Many of them are children younger than 6, many elderly women carrying buckets of water on their heads and many people riding bikes as cars whiz by them at speeds of 85mph.. But no one seems scared, except for the goats that meander through the streets as well. It makes for interesting driving. Add a rainstorm and it can be intense. I did notice many women bashing their wet laundry on the concrete on the edge of the road… which Ive never seen before..
Stay warm back home.. saw that snow is in the forecast today.
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| Gidion and his right hand man |
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| View from our chalet |
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| Maura on the beach |
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| Kate snorkeling... Maura and Michelle at the top of the island |
