Far over the Misty Mountains cold...

 19/5/13

Right, it’s been a month. Soz.                                        

So about a month ago, I went on holiday with Louise and her visiting family. One of the things on my list of Things to Do in Malawi was to climb Mount Mulanje (biggest mountain in Malawi) and so Mary (Louise’s sister), Peter (Louise’s sister’s boyfriend), Louise and I set off for Mulanje. 2 minibuses and 3 hours later we arrived in Mulanje and, after organising our guide and porters and having a quick pizza, we boarded the most cramped minibus Louise and I have ever been on. It was beyond imagination. Here’s how the minibuses are designed to be used:

Here’s how the bus to Likhubula was filled.

And I was the person who had the conductor practically sitting on their lap.

So we finally got to the foot of the mountain, to find our porters and guide waiting for us. We were to stay on the mountain for 2 nights and so each of us had a back pack and hiking rucksack holding our sleeping bags, clothes, cooking equipment and food. The porters took our big rucksacks up and down the mountain for us and thank goodness they did, as we would never have managed it ourselves. So began our first day of climbing. I am not going to lie, it was effing hard. 5ish hours of uphill in the heat, then cold as it got dark. Louise obviously managed absolutely fine because she’s some kind of superhuman, but Peter, Mary and I struggled. The first day was definitely worst. I found I was too busy trying to get my breath back to really enjoy the views or the hike. However, we eventually got to the hut after what felt like forever. The Chambe hut was quaint and cosy, but freezing cold. We cooked dinner over a fire, which took a considerable amount of time, and then crawled into our sleeping bags for the night. As we had arrived at the hut in the dark, the view the next morning was breath-taking.

After an early breakfast, and the experience of using a long drop, we set off for the second hut. This time we had a better idea of what we were in for, but as we were getting higher it started to get wet as we hit the mist. This added the hazard of slipping and cracking your head open on the rock. It is said that J. R. R. Tolkien got his inspiration for the Misty Mountains from the Hobbit when he was in Southern Malawi having scaled Mount Mulanje. It was easy to see why. We couldn’t see any further than 6 feet in front of us in the worst of it; we could have been the only people on earth. We got to Likhubula hut while it was still light, and we endeavoured to explore the surrounding area as our guide had advised us. However, it was so cold and wet (it was raining heavily by this point) that we ended up just spending the afternoon playing Hearts while huddled around the fire. We had another cold night, sleeping in front of the fire this time, before making our descent the next morning. It was even wetter, if possible, and we all had a few falls (except Peter) but we could feel it getting warmer and drier the lower we got. When we got to the main road that afternoon, our guide assured us that there were frequent minibuses that would take us back to Mulanje. However, we needed to get back to Blantyre the same day and, after waiting about an hour for a non-existent minibus, we were getting desperate. In the end, we had to take bicycle taxis back to the town. It was one of the most terrifying things I have ever done. I found that if I tensed all of my muscles and closed my eyes, it made it slightly more bearable. It was exhilarating though, another thing to add to my list of crazy things I’ve done. And we managed to get back to Blantyre that day.

Did I enjoy climbing Mount Mulanje? Not really. But I had a great time with Louise, Mary and Peter and did something I’ve been meaning to do since I got here.

But the adventure didn’t stop there! We were also going to Lake Malawi to spend a night at Cape Maclear and then a night on the picturesque Domwe Island. However, this meant we had to get to Limbe in order to get a bus to Monkey Bay, then another one to Cape Maclear. As we were walking up Blantyre’s highway with all our bags to get our first minibus, a Malawian guy started to tell us that the Polytechnic College students were demonstrating, that they were ‘grabbing things’ and that we should move out the way. It was just then that we to the huge angry mob of students come barrelling up the highway. As soon as they saw us, all of them started chanting AZUNGU at the top of their lungs. A chant that sounds harmless coming out of the village kids’ mouths became absolutely terrifying as we were forced to run up the hill to find refuge from the demonstrators before they grabbed our bags. Many of them were brandishing road signs and bits of bus stands that they had knicked. The guys who had warned us helped us get to a car park and out of sight as the mob passed. There are times that I have felt pretty unsafe in Malawi, but this was one of the worst. Ah well, another experience for me.

We got to Monkey Bay that night (a whole day of travelling) and paid an arm and a leg to get them to take us to Cape Maclear. We were staying at Gecko’s Lounge for only one night, but we’ve vowed that we must go back. It was beautiful, right at the water’s edge; with hammocks and kayaking and boat rides… it’s just such a chilled place.

The next morning we left for Domwe Island. It was amazing. We stayed in tents on little platforms looking out onto the Lake, with hammocks to relax in and a beach for swimming and kayaking. We went up to this rock that is perfect to see the sunset – it was incredible.

We got the boat back to the mainland the next morning, then set off for Lilongwe for Lou, Mary and Peter to head off to Zambia and for me to get a big bus back to Blantyre. I don’t want to go into how we got back to Lilongwe – we basically got ripped off and they refused to give us our money back. It makes me realise how lucky we are in Blantyre to have minibuses everywhere; by the Lake you rely on matolas (pick-up trucks with people in the back) and you never know whether one is going to come along. Anyway, hopefully I’ll never have to rely on them again.

So then I got back to Blantyre and had a week and a half by myself as Louise was on safari. It was actually kind of nice to have the house to myself for a bit. Also I was seeing my other friends a lot as I was at rehearsals most days.

What was that? Rehearsals? What is this? Well, I can finally disclose that for the past month I have been rehearsing for the Lion King. Yes! Fellow PT volunteer Matilda and her roommate Julian work at Nanzikambe Arts and are directing a Chichewan take on the Disney film. I am playing Zazu and Timon and Louise is playing Sarabi. The performance is in 2 weeks so we’re pretty much rehearsing non-stop, but it’s really good fun and I’ve met some really awesome people because of it.

Lots of other stuff has been happening too, but this is already way too long so I’m going to sign off here.

I am past my 8 month mark with about 3 months to go. It’s all seeming really soon, but I am looking forward to seeing everyone again.

Stay well! 

TTFN