Afrique 34 – MALAWI 3 – KARONGA TILL THE BORDER

 Then the headmaster comes to talk with us a while before saying goodbye. The road continues through the same valley, which becomes less beautiful as larger. It is mostly hilly descending. At the end there is a bridge and then a long steep climb, 5 km about. I wait for Martine at the top under a shelter for sellers, just four sticks and some hay for roof, and 2 stones to seat. I chase a few children begging throwing them small stones, to keep relax. They stay with friends a bit away and very surprised. After there is a long and steep downhill, 10 km at least, with a few views on the lake and the beaches. 10 km more downhill and we arrive at a lodge, cheap and nice, in front the lake, just before kupa lodge. I notice none of the cyclists whom I readed the blog talk about that long climb, they certainly took by the lake on a ferry and avoid Mzuzu. But too none speaks about the steep climb to go up to Lilongwe from the lake. Well the lake has nothing particular. It is too large, so we cant see the reflection of the mountains around. The mountains which are at the oposite are too far to be really visible, and just with forest, no snow or rocks or glaciars. The beach is narrow. The fishers village neighbour is just a huts slum smelling. A few canoes in one piece of trunk are on the beach, webs are drying on sticks, and some women bring buckets with fish on the head. I feel quickly boring and we move in the morning. Martine would prefer to stay as the room is comfortable, with fan and fridge. I was hoping to find an other lodge 50 km away. The road first follows the lake, with some views on beaches or smelling fishers villages slums. Then it enters in farmlands, ordinary countryside with regulary concrete slums. We just go on, it is sunny and hot, and mostly flat with 2 hills. We efectivly find a lodge after 54 km but it costs 50$, double price, so we continue. I propose to stop in a primary school, but Martine refuses, she wants a shower and a fan. So we continue by the flat poor land till Karonga. Well is it because yesterday was the 31 and today the 1 of new year, but people are not boring asking money, apart some drunks, and they mostly say nicely hello or happy new year. We stop in the first hotel in Karonga, paradise hotel, 15$ for a clean and clear room.

In the morning Martine decides to move away till Tanzania, so we cross the very small town at 8 pm. Then we enter in a flat farmland with rice fields and houses everywhere. A lot of people are walking and a lot of children are shouting give me MY money so we are just racing till the border. We make only one stop near a river. Some adults and children insult us as we don’t stop or answer when they shout at us, so at those who tell us some blames in english we ask give me money shouting. Not sure they understand they have bad behaviour, but at least we take a revenge.
We finally cross the border at 12 am. I just don’t answer at the young begger who tells me 20 times hello before moving away. We change our Malawi money at the change shop just after the migration hall. When we cross the bridge to Tanzania border changers are trying to attract us but we just go on cycling the bikes. We cross the Tanzanian border easily, Martine has some nice talk with a Tanzanian, and we enter in Tanzania.

Malawi EST  le pays des MALAPPRIS

Afrique 33 – MALAWI 2 – LILONGWE TILL MZUZU AND KARONGA

 The day after we go on foot till the bus terminal. It is not far, in the old town with is a slum of concrete buildings with sellers on the boardwalk. The only nice and impressive building is the rather new mosque. We talk with one company which goes till the border, but Martine finds the bus too old and too repaired, so we choose an other company which brings us till Mzuzu. Then we go to the mall where we have a good lunch in a comfortable terrass. Well Africa could look nice for one who just visits the mall and the hotel in the same district. Then we go to internet.

At 5 am we awake and cycle till the bus terminal. The street is very quiet. We wait till 7 for the bus, which has a large cargo in the back. And then the bus waits till 9 am and when it is full it moves, 2 hours late. After one hour comes the first stop, where a lot of new customers enters, and have to stay up in the passage of the bus. Well we arrive in Mzuzu at 14 h30, too late for any conection. The countryside was boring, a lot flat with poor farmland or fields with small bush, and then a forest with small young trees in the hills. In Mzuzu we first go to Shoprite near the bus terminal, and then I find on the phone map a backpacker where a young guy drives us for one dollar. The room is 15$ and the lodge very quiet. It rains all night and all morning, so as we decide to follow by bicycle, we delay the departure for tomorrow. We go to make some shopping downtown, but most of the shops are closed on sunday, and anyway there is nothing but the basics, as Mzuzu is just a slum in concrete with poor people. Noone has any money to waste in unnecessary or comfort. We spend the afternoon resting and reading.
On the morning we take the road to Karonga. It starts hilly and climbing through farmland. After 20 km we arrive at the top and we continue hilly but descending slowly. The countryside is rather beautiful. We are in a large valley, with farms, crops and bananas and mangoes, huts and concrete. In the distance but not far is a range of mountains with forest and some wall of rocks. We stop at a primary school, and the children look at us till night comes, boring.

Afrique 32 – MALAWI 1 – CHIPATA TILL LILONGWE

 At the border, Zambia side, I decide we have to change all the Zambian money we get, as I scare none would want it on the other side. So I speak with a policeman who indicates me a change man. The change is 1=78 Martine just look in internet yesterday. The changer first propose 1=20. After a while bargaining we obtain 1=70. But all along the money transfer, the changer regulary tries to cheat us, saying you have your count now, when it was yet missing a lot. In the end we count again and it was OK. Then we pass the border without any dificulty and we get one month free visa for Malawi.

It takes us 2 days to join Lilongwe. The road goes through farm land, large mais and crops fields with a lot of halls to stock it. But local people looks the same than in Zambia. Poor people living in concrete or huts slums, dirty, humid, dark, bad mainteined, with rubbish everywhere. People wearing bad quality, old and dirty western style clothes, some women with more african dresses and a baby in the back in a blancket, a bucket on the head. And that squonks, and it is noisy with loud music from bad big speakers. Men stay seating outside drinking local beer, 20 cent a liter. Children shout at us, some byebye, some how are you, some give me money. Villages or groups of huts are everywhere all along the road. Some groves or solitary big trees, and mangoes trees in the fields. On the road there are very few cars, some minibus and trucks. Most of the traffic is made by bicycle. We see bicycle taxi, to bring one customer, and bicycle porter, to bring goods, any good in fact, bag of coal, wood, packs of bottle, paniers full of fruits or vegetables, goats, pieces of beef, pigs, chickens, bags of mais, etc… The cyclists must be vety strong, as they use commun bicycles, heavy and with only one guear, and the road is hilly. And mostly the bikes are old and in bad state. We see often a bicycle stopped along the road, in repair, or with a flat. The road goes with smooth hills, is rather easy, and boring. Most of the concrete buidings are made with bricks, mostly with hay roof. First night we sleep in a small primary school. When we arrive near, by a track passing over the ralway, we stop at the entrance of the village. The village is houses around a large square place, where all the children are playing. It is Christmas day. A lot of adults are here too. In one minute all are rounding us shouting. A man comes and speaks to us in english. As the headmaster of the school would come back home later he installs us in a classroom opened, well with no door and no window, just the holes, and a lonely school child table as furniture. I quickly decide to play some mandolin, using the table to seat. A lot of children round me at once. At the start they are fascinated amd quiet, but they become excited and noisy after a while, like always. I play loudly, but a few can really hear. Anyway they like to look. After an hour the headmaster arrives. I notice she puts a nice apron and manages a serious look. Well after a short talk she becomes friendly and invites us in her home. We visit the vegetable garden, with mais, gombos, a sponge vine, tomatoes, amd a babies acacias grove in little pots, to plant near the school. She proposes us to built the tent in the courtyard on concrete soil. But because of the rain coming, i insist to sleep in a classroom. In the end she propose us a room, as the children are away for holidays. While we are chating in the salon some teachers comes, and then we cook, and later the husband comes back home. We chat some more and then we go sleeping. Some chickens sleep too in the room, in a panier.
In the morning the husband tries to start the computer to copy the fotos of the yesterday mandolin, but as the electricity comes from a solar panel, the battery is too empty. So after taking the souvenir fotos with them and us, we go together in a training center 5 km away on our way by bicycle to find electricity. We stop in a slum in concrete and wood. Here a guy has electricity, maybe from a generator, and sells it, to charge phones or anything, and also making a movies hall with a tv inside a poor woodmade hall and some banches, where children are seating. The husband connect the computer, straight cables with cables without any protection, all under a big stone, and we make the copies, and also we copy other stuff each other. It takes one hour or so. Then we continue till Lilongwe. We just notice a big islamic secondary school. We arrive at the first roundabout. Here there is a first small mall. Then we go down hill till the street with all the big malls. We look for a lodge. We check Mufasa backpackers, and they have room, although in internet it was indicated full. Here we meet again the 2 cyclists we met in Chipata. Well we have some argument with the reception, as they pretend we would get wifi, and a fan but they don’t have, and more incredible we would have to pay one breackfast, abeit we rent a room for two, breackfast include.