At the Mwami/Mchinji border crossing we entered Malawi. It took us again a few hours to cross. We needed to get our visas in order and because of bringing in a rental car, we had to get all those papers in order as well.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 70 percent of its population living below the international poverty line. The World Bank has defined extreme poverty as people living on less than US$2.15 a day....
We hope to meet the people of Malawi and make a small difference where we can.
After a few days in the capital Lilongwe, we left for Lake Malawi. We found ourselves a beautiful spot on a campsite next to the lake, in Cape Maclear. Again, we are the only camping guests. There are some guests in the lodge, but not a lot.
And after a long day of driving, and restaurant staff who looked so hopeful when we arrived, we decided to enjoy a dinner to support them. We enjoyed the endemic fish chambo.
Every day, after the local school was finished, a group of kids would come down to the beach and play with Myron and Raija. They shared no common language, but a beachball and some gestures made that they all had fun.
Our camping spot close to the lake made that we saw a lot of locals every day. The men bathed to the right of us, the women on the left of our campsite. Clothes washing also happened on the left. We met Captain Enoch and he offered us a day on his boat, to go snorkeling. Lake Malawi is knows for the 295 different species of mbuna cichilds, or 'rockfish', which is a colourful freshwater fish.
We had so much fun snorkeling! It was the first time for the children. Raija was not keen on floating but luckily for her, the fishes like to hang around rocks, hence the name rockfish. She could sit on a rock and watch them swim past her!
Myron couldn't get enough of it either. He swam around till we really had to go.
Captain Enoch and his skipper brought us to a beautiful beach where they prepared a fish dish for us all for lunch. It was delicious!
We had very personal conversations with both man, we really enjoyed our time together. The kids couldn't get enough of the snorkeling, which was equally good here at the beach.
Before we headed back to the shore, we had the opportunity to feed some African fish eagles.
Captain Enoch and John... so much in common yet such different lives.
We walked into the village of Cape Maclear to get a better feel of the local life. Almost immediately, a boy Myron's age joined us, wanting to be our 'tour guide'. He spoke a bit of English and took us through the market area. He walked all the way back with us, hoping to get some money for his services. We gave him some US$$, which are worth more than the Malawian Kwacha.
On our last day, the children wrapped up their time playing with their new found friends. Raija handed out some fruit sticks and Myron gave his friends our beach ball.
It was a lovely sight. Myron gave his 'best friend' the ball and the boy threw it back. Myron shook his head, gave the ball again and gestured he could keep it. The boy couldn't believe his eyes. He was so happy, he ran off home. A few hours later, he came back, walked up to Myron, shook his hand and said Thank you!
We gave away kids' clothes that were too small, and some household items we were not planning on taking with us on the plane, to Captain Enoch.
We took a different route back and as always, it was a joy to be on the road. There is so much to see!
We have a few days in Lilongwe left before we fly to Uganda.
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