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Nic's turn…
We have spent the last week relaxing in various different locations. We stayed in Nkhata Bay where we took a boat trip to a beach and swam in the lake; Bua River where we went on a short morning trek with an armed guard (apparently he only ever had to fire his gun into the air to scare elephants - we didn't see the gun in action or any elephants) and had sundowners on a river bank whilst watching crocodiles catch and then fight over a huge fish (pic attached); and Senga Bay where we took a stroll around the village.
We don't feel too bad about our lack of activity. I think we are still unwinding from a pretty hectic few months back home, but the heat in the middle of the day also makes it very difficult to do anything too energetic. In Bua, our morning trek ended at 9am and by then we were already very grateful for the shade.
We understand it is coming to the end of the dry season over here. Next the temperature will soar (it has got noticeably hotter over the last couple of days) and hopefully, in a month or so, the rains will fall. The rain here is really needed as the landscape is currently very parched (not sure our pictures really show how dry everything is).
The Lonely Planet states that Malawi is one of the poorest nations in the world. Whilst neither of us have witnessed extreme poor to make a comparison, it is not difficult to believe. From what we have seen so far, many Malawians live in single storied 'huts'. Some are made of brick, some of straw/mud and they often have tin or straw roofs (see pic). Hardly any own cars, and so most rely on the cramped minibuses, bicycles or walking - and we have seen the classic image of women carrying goods on their heads along long dusty roads many times. We have also seen the use of farming methods I have only read about in Enid Blyton books, and water pumps I remember trying to raise money for via Blue Peter 'Bring and Buy' sales 15+ years ago.
In addition, life expectancy over here is just over 50 years due to a combination of HIV/AIDS (c.10% of the population are estimated to be infected), child mortality and general lack of healthcare. The sight of child sized coffins has made us both very sad
Like many African countries, Malawi has had its fair share of political problems. A few people have mentioned that the last few years have been particularly tough as many western countries withdrew aid after political corruption was uncovered (a new president is now in place and aid has largely returned). Despite all of this, the Malawians are extremely friendly and based on our experiences so far (most) are only ever wanting to help us out.
Back to our travels, we have now made it to Cape Maclear, a Unesco World Heritage site at the southern end of the lake where we plan to stay a few days (see pics for our current view). We took the 'easy' travel option to get here today. We had planned to get a scheduled bus, and we waited 2+ hours for it to arrive. However, once we saw how busy and cramped it was (our standing places would have been by the door), we took a private taxi. We have justified this expense as 'directly supporting the community', better than any charity donation…..and we're sticking by that!
Whilst in Cape Maclear we need to decide what to do next. We need to be in Livingstone by the 10th September and there are several travel options available (bus from Blantyre to Harare via Mozambique, then bus/train Harare to Livingstone via Bulawayo; bus/fly from Lilongwe to Lusaka, bus from Lusaka to Livingstone) any useful advice/opinions welcomed!
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Claire James is "well jel" as one would say of those crocodiles!