The restaurant on the Ilala reminded me of some other classic restaurant experiences over here. (Going out to eat in Africa almost always provides some entertainment.) I thought I’d share some random anecdotes with you.
Nick walked into a restaurant in a large town in Tanzania (I forget where exactly) at 6:00PM.
“Could I have chicken with…”
“No!”
“Okay, could I have the chipati and”
“No!”
“ummmm”
“Sorry sir food is finished.”
The following incident took place one weekend on Cape Maclear at a fancy French restaurant.
Bert (a Dutch friend):“What’s in the herb omelet?”
Waiter: “Let me go ask the chef,” goes into the kitchen, comes back, “herbs.”
Bert: “What kind of herbs?”
Waiter: “Let me go ask the chef,” goes into the kitchen, comes back, “mixed herbs.”
Bert: “Are they fresh?”
Waiter: “Let me go ask the chef,” goes into the kitchen, comes back, “yes.”
Upon eating his omelet Bert was quite sure that the herbs came from a can.
The other day I asked for a beef burger with cheese at a restaurant in Mangochi. I was surprised to get a veggie burger, with no cheese. This was remarkable, since veggie burgers weren't on the menu.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Mulanje
4/20/07 - 4/24/07
After a brief stop at MCV, Nick and I took off to climb the Mulanje Massif (Massif refers to a large mountain mass or compact group of connected mountains).
We stayed in self catering huts for three nights, and climbed up to the top of the highest peak, 3,100m Sapitwa, which means "don't go there." The climb was definitely no joke. Not only is it tiring, you definitely fear for you're life a little at times. I decided to carry my frisbee with me, so that we could celebrate the peak in unique fashion.
The Ilala
4/16/07 - 4/18/07
On Monday night, we left Nkhata Bay aboard the Ilala steamboat. (Actually, this was after we rode a minibus, for an hour and half each way just to go to an ATM in Mzuzu, since no place takes credit cards here, and you have to carry around gangsta rolls of cash to pay for anything.)
We took the Ilala all the way down Lake Malawi to Monkey Bay, about an hour drive from Mangochi. The boat took 2 days and 2 nights, and we got to see some beautiful scenery on the way. We slept on the upper deck, (which you can see in the second picture), which was quite comfortable except when it rained, and we had to hide behind the bar. This was considered first class, and was considerably more comfortable then staying below where accomodations resembeled a floating minibus. One night, when Nick and I were getting soaked, and unable to sleep, I shouted above the storm, "First Class!"
The boat was definitely a truly African experience in other ways as well. The kitchen almost ran out of food, despite the fact that there were only 6 first class passengers. We arrived in Monkey Bay, predictably, several hours late. The main reason we were late, was that we stopped at an island called Likoma for several hours and picked up fishermen (in their boats), and later dropped them off at a remote island in the middle of nowhere for better fishing. Apparently they will return to Likoma when the rains start again. As you can see from the picture, it was quite an event picking them all up.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Nkhata Bay
4/12/07 – 4/16/07
After Livingstonia, we decided to kick back for a few days and enjoy the northern lakeshore. We stayed at a place called Mayoka Village in Nkhata Bay. It’s a cheap backpacker’s hostel, with a great bar/restaurant on a deck that hangs right over the lake.
We didn’t do a whole lot here besides lay around and go swimming, but we did go cliff jumping one day. As you can probably guess from the picture, I was scared for my life. Sadly, I can’t say that I went into the water with style and grace; my backside hurt for the next few days.
Another remarkable thing of note in Nkhata Bay was that we ran into a bunch of other Americans for the first time in Malawi. Actually, some of you might recognize one of them! Susie (second from left) and I hung out for almost a whole day before we realized that not only did we both go to BC, we had met in a NYC bar last year!! This marks the second time in my life that I’ve met someone I know in a random country, the first being Leslie Hankin (a friend from high school) at a Mexican restaurant in Dublin.
After Livingstonia, we decided to kick back for a few days and enjoy the northern lakeshore. We stayed at a place called Mayoka Village in Nkhata Bay. It’s a cheap backpacker’s hostel, with a great bar/restaurant on a deck that hangs right over the lake.
We didn’t do a whole lot here besides lay around and go swimming, but we did go cliff jumping one day. As you can probably guess from the picture, I was scared for my life. Sadly, I can’t say that I went into the water with style and grace; my backside hurt for the next few days.
Another remarkable thing of note in Nkhata Bay was that we ran into a bunch of other Americans for the first time in Malawi. Actually, some of you might recognize one of them! Susie (second from left) and I hung out for almost a whole day before we realized that not only did we both go to BC, we had met in a NYC bar last year!! This marks the second time in my life that I’ve met someone I know in a random country, the first being Leslie Hankin (a friend from high school) at a Mexican restaurant in Dublin.
Livingstonia
4/10/07 – 4/12/07
We had a nice brief stay in Livingstonia. It’s a town that was founded by Scottish missionaries, in honor of David Livingstone. The 19th century European architecture is certainly interesting to see in the heart of Africa. We visited the small museum, walked over to beautiful Manchewe Falls, and spent some time with our friend Emmanuel, a student at Livingstonia College that is being sponsored by MCV.
We had a nice brief stay in Livingstonia. It’s a town that was founded by Scottish missionaries, in honor of David Livingstone. The 19th century European architecture is certainly interesting to see in the heart of Africa. We visited the small museum, walked over to beautiful Manchewe Falls, and spent some time with our friend Emmanuel, a student at Livingstonia College that is being sponsored by MCV.
The little 4x4 that could
4/10/07
When we left Chelinda Lodge on Tuesday morning, we were spared the matolas and minibuses by a remarkable stroke of luck. We got a lift from my long lost cousin. Owen Brady (and he’s even from County Cavan!) and his girlfriend gave us a lift all the way to Livingstonia in their trusty little 4x4. I can’t even begin to explain how fortunate this was. Not only would we have had to do the reverse of our hop, skip, and jump, to get out of Nyika National Park, the road to Livingstonia is no picnic. I extracted an accurate description from Lonely Planet:
The road to Livingstonia turns off at Chitimba, forcing its way up the escarpment in a series of acute hairpin bends (20 to be precise – they’re numbered) with a bad road surface, steep gradients, and pretty frightening drops to add to the fun. If you’re driving it starts out well, but the wide dirt road quickly becomes a steep rutted track, only just passable with a 4WD.
When we left Chelinda Lodge on Tuesday morning, we were spared the matolas and minibuses by a remarkable stroke of luck. We got a lift from my long lost cousin. Owen Brady (and he’s even from County Cavan!) and his girlfriend gave us a lift all the way to Livingstonia in their trusty little 4x4. I can’t even begin to explain how fortunate this was. Not only would we have had to do the reverse of our hop, skip, and jump, to get out of Nyika National Park, the road to Livingstonia is no picnic. I extracted an accurate description from Lonely Planet:
The road to Livingstonia turns off at Chitimba, forcing its way up the escarpment in a series of acute hairpin bends (20 to be precise – they’re numbered) with a bad road surface, steep gradients, and pretty frightening drops to add to the fun. If you’re driving it starts out well, but the wide dirt road quickly becomes a steep rutted track, only just passable with a 4WD.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Nyika
4/7/07 – 4/10/07
Okay, so I lied a little bit in that last blog entry. We only ended up walking 8 miles (a truck eventually picked us up), and only the first 5 miles were through a hail storm.
After the storm lifted, we walked on in high spirits hoping that maybe we would see some wildlife. In the distance we spotted several animals grazing on the hillside, but couldn’t tell what they were. We decided to walk up the hill and get a closer look. The closer we got it was easy to tell. We walked right up to a herd of about 20 zebra, with some small bushbuck jumping in between them. It definitely set the theme for an amazing weekend.
Since it was my birthday, we decided to stay in the luxurious Chelinda Lodge for three nights, instead of the cheaper Chelinda Camp. We stayed in a chalet overlooking the rolling hills of the Nyika Plateau and had amazing food for breakfast lunch and dinner. They even have someone come into your chalet in the morning and light the fire while you’re still in bed!!
The luxurious accommodations certainly didn’t fit in with the rest of our budget trip.
“Did you fly or drive?” asked another guest at the lodge.
“We took a matola and then walked from the junction.”
“Shouldn’t you be staying down at the camp?”
Okay, so I lied a little bit in that last blog entry. We only ended up walking 8 miles (a truck eventually picked us up), and only the first 5 miles were through a hail storm.
After the storm lifted, we walked on in high spirits hoping that maybe we would see some wildlife. In the distance we spotted several animals grazing on the hillside, but couldn’t tell what they were. We decided to walk up the hill and get a closer look. The closer we got it was easy to tell. We walked right up to a herd of about 20 zebra, with some small bushbuck jumping in between them. It definitely set the theme for an amazing weekend.
Since it was my birthday, we decided to stay in the luxurious Chelinda Lodge for three nights, instead of the cheaper Chelinda Camp. We stayed in a chalet overlooking the rolling hills of the Nyika Plateau and had amazing food for breakfast lunch and dinner. They even have someone come into your chalet in the morning and light the fire while you’re still in bed!!
The luxurious accommodations certainly didn’t fit in with the rest of our budget trip.
“Did you fly or drive?” asked another guest at the lodge.
“We took a matola and then walked from the junction.”
“Shouldn’t you be staying down at the camp?”
We went for a hike one day, and a horse ride the next. The landscape was truly amazing. I don’t think pictures will do it justice. I’d describe it as the unsettled plains of the Midwest back in the day (not at all what you’d expect from Africa). We saw lots of zebra and 4 different kinds of antelope (eland, roan, bushbuck, and reedbuck). They let you get incredibly close, especially when you’re on horseback. We also spotted a bush pig, and various birds. Our last night there we went on a night drive in which we got to see a cerval cat, several eagle owls, and a couple jackals. Unfortunately we didn’t spot any leopards or hyenas. It was definitely a remarkable few days, despite the fact that we got caught out in two more storms.
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