Malawi and a short Xmas Escape

Dear all

First of all sorry for a maybe TOO extensive blog last time. When reading it back i realized it may have been a bit too long but apparently I had a lot to tell and digest and reflect upon and wanted to share that with you.
Hereby a short update from the last two weeks.
I left Lilongwe around the 12th of December together with Peter and Julie and we decided to drive south towards a small mountain village

Dedza. After a lovely lunch there (with a good cheese cake :-) as dessert) we decided this was not the place to stay for the night and so Peter and Julie wanted to drive further south towards Cape Maclear. This is a place I had already been with with Tess but I decided to join in in this detour of about 300-400 km for a nice dinner together. They would stay there longer and I was on my way early the next morning.

I left early and had a long drive that day towards the north of Malawi all the way to Kande Beach, also a very nice place on the lake with lovely white sandy beaches. When I got there that afternoon around 15.00 after a long drive I decided to stay there for two nights at Kande Beach resort. It was a peaceful place with quite a lot of guests and a nice atmosphere on the beach with a volleyball court where locals would challenge the staying guests in a little match and maybe at the end try to sell some souvenirs. I put up my tent and parked in a nice shady place and started preparations for a nice camping pasta Bolognese. When sitting down at my table in front of my tent in candle light (yes yes.. I do try to make it cozy with myself :-)) some Swiss motor bikers (FindingRichard.com arrived in the dark around 19.00. I decided I was in the mood for some social talk and took out my two cold bottles of wine and asked them three to join the table. It was a nice evening with a lot of story exchanging and enough wine for a nice peaceful night of sleep in the tent.

The second day there I met a nice lady from Scotland who had been coming to Malawi for a lot of years and had adopted a girl there about 15 years ago (Adopted at a distance, so she has been able to sponsor her through school and college and helped them to built an Ok house in the local village). We talked for a while and she then proposed to talk me down to the local village with her to let me get a glance of what real life is like in a small village in Malawi.. see some pictures. It

was an extremely interesting few hours including a local made lunch for me by the family there!

The next day I continued my journey towards the north. After a short lunch stop in Nhkata Bay I decided to make some more kilometers and drive all the way to Chitimba Campsite. Again a place at the lake and this one is actually run by a Dutch couple from Venlo. Beautiful place to camp and when I just got there i met a nice Belgium couple who as their honeymoon had decided to travel the world 2 years in a Landcruiser. We each ate separately but after dinner put our tables together with a bottle of wine and exchanged travel stories together with other anecdotes and life stories.

The actual reason for driving up to Chitimba was Livingstonia. On old missionary city that actually even has a university. This is a special place because it is located in top of a hill/mountain (ca 1800m) and the road to get there in in extremely bad condition. I had informed myself and the campsite and they said driving is possible but you need to have steel nerves and maybe considering the bumpy way it is even better to leave the car at the campsite and get a lift up with a local pick up and then come back down. I decided to drive up myself, this is the whole reason why i came to Africa and if any car would be able to get up there it was this one. The next morning I left early and within 50 min I had actually accomplished the 12km road up the mountain and I was safe :-) (and a little but proud) I obviously also needed to make my way down the next day.. but hey This is Africa and so I would think about that the day after. The campsite was amazing, just on the edge! The views from up there onto the lake... wauw! and Went to see some beautiful waterfalls! It was worth it!

On all those kilometers through Malawi I think the every single minute there have been people walking next to the road. The live

there, they go to school, to get water… I don’t know. But in comparison to all other countries this is surely the most populated on. Nearly 17 Million people! Also the nature and landscapes kept surprising me..See the pictures. It is indeed the Warm and beautiful heart of Africa.

The weeks before this I had been thinking about a xmas alone and decided that that is not for me. Without family around is one thing but completely on your own felt lonely and uncomfortable. In the weeks before that my lovely and beloved friend Alannah (a friend from boarding school that was also visited at the beginning of the trip in Johannesburg) had offered several times to come and spend xmas with them…. I booked a ticket! So that meant I had to be back in Lilongwe on the 21st of December to park my car safely at a place I had already found and take a plane for 5 days! Jippie!

So that meant I had about 3 days left to drive back down south towards Lilongwe from Livingstonia. The next day I made my way down the mountain, with no problems and an english girl that I had offered a lift. I left her in Mzuzu, put petrol in the car, did some shopping and then… ran into Peter in Julie in mzuzu.. the world is small! haha! They had just come out of a National park and where also on their way back south, so our routes joined back up and we drove to a beautiful campsite called Makuzi Beach lodge, amazing campsite with a private beach and more important a very good chef! We tried the local fish that night and a very good mango crumble with caramel as desert. The second night we made a very nice bbq with all my veggies that needed to be finished before I flew to Johannesburg and some nice meat we had bought in Mzuzu.

After two nice days I made my way down to Lilongwe, parked the car and took a plane the next morning.
Then Christmas, well … lets keep this blog short… It was like having a family! I felt at home! I enjoyed being back in civilization for 4 days, with a nice bed, a good bath and shower and good internet to FaceTime with my man again! I even treated myself to a facial :-) In one sentence, completely worth it!! Alannah and Dvo, thank you soooo much again! This was the best xmas present I could get! I got to play with her two adorable sons, catch up on the gossip with Alannah and completely chill out. We had a lovely x-mas lunch on the 25th and today (26th of December) it was again time to fly off.
See the pictures for a short glance of this warm family xmas!

I am now back in Malawi and will start my journey towards Mozambique tomorrow! Can’t wait to pick up Steph and enjoy the last part of this amazing trip!
Merry xmas to you all and the next blog will be from Zanzibar :-) and I will surely have new adventures to share with you all about Mozambique and Tanzania!

xxx Merel