Cape McClear

This weekend just past (weekend of 1st May) was the Labour Day weekend in Malawi, and so Monday was a bank holiday. D (see previous post about Mulanje Medical camp) kindly offered to take us up to Cape McClear at the southern end of Lake Malawi. She was going to stay nearby with her family. Her family are building a home up there and have really strong links to the community of the area. The drive up was long and hot, and I had to drive for some parts as D’s youngest son (aged about 2 and a half) demanded motherly attention – but when we got to the beautiful lake shore we could see what all the fuss is about!

The area is stunning! We saw loads of Fish Eagles, all sorts of fish and a couple of Baboons. Baobab trees (as featured in Planet Earth a few years ago) are scattered over the savannah-like lands around the lake. The lake is at a lower altitude than verdant Blantyre, and so felt rather warm. The water was a perfect swimming temperature, although we didn’t venture too far due to stories of crocodiles.

By entering the water, or even showering in the accommodation next to the water, you are very likely to contract Bilharzia. Baically little bugs get into the soles of your feet and work their way slowly to your liver, where they can start to cause problems. To address this, simply take the relevant treatment 7 weeks after exposure – so we will be sure to do this!

The lake was too tempting not to get in, and after just the drive we definitely needed showers, so we were going to get infected anyway – so we thought we might as well make the most of it! We hired a canoe (pretty shoddy for the price, should have bargained harder) for the day on Sunday and paddled around the coast and the nearby islands. For those who know Glenuig in Scotland, it was rather like a beautiful day at the beach! The sun felt really strong, so we covered up fully, which must have made us look quite a sight – see photo!

On the way up we passed many small markets, and police road blocks where (as a white person who obviously has more than the average amount of money because you are in a motor vehicle) you may be asked “what gift you bring me?”…D skillfully got us past this with no agro at all by joking with the policeman and baffling him with an information overload in English, which is most people’s second language here.

The markets we passed were much like the one here in Bangwe, where live chickens are sold in rough cages, among fruit sellers, fish sellers, ‘curios’ sellers (tourist tat) and open drains. In these markets we get thronged by kids practicing their English on us and laughing at our appearance and our attempts at Chichewa. Rather rude if you think about it, but it’s cute at the moment. Occasionally in Bangwe we will be accosted by a young waif asking for money, but very rarely – and they don’t persist after you decline to pay, so it’s not too much hassle. However, at Cape McClear (a much more touristy place) we did feel like we appeared as walking dollar signs, with people young and old trying to swindle money out of us at any given opportunity.

However, and in keeping with the very friendly basic nature of most Malawians, when we didn’t have enough cash to pay for our accommodation (we’d mis calculated the fees, and the value of the dollar – and the nearest cash machine turns out to be about 90 minutes away by bus) they let us off with an I-Owe-You and a promise to come back. We got a (ridiculously over crowded mini bus – 25 people in a 15 seater) out of town early on Monday morning to meet D at her accommodation, and when we got off we borrowed cash from D and gave it to the bus driver to give to the hostel…hopefully it gets to the right place!

Tune in for more updates later!

A&R