May 24, 2008
We arrived here at Ngala Lodge around 5:15 pm yesterday after a memorable journey. Our driver Mabvuto (which translates to Trouble, and is a fairly common name, but one that seems cruel to saddle a person with for their whole life – no where near as nice as some of the “favorites” I listed on previous blogs) came to pick us up at the hotel to go to the airport and meet the team in time for our flight. As soon as we got into the mini-bus I got concerned, as it was nice enough, but I couldn’t figure out how we would fit everyone in. While it was a 15 passenger mini-bus, that would have meant one person sitting on a fold out seat on 3 rows, and there was no place for luggage and no roof rack. So I figured if we piled luggage on the back row we’d still have to have someone on the fold down seat to accommodate all 9 of us.
We talked to the guy from the rental company and we decided that it might work if they didn’t have too much luggage, and if they did, we would figure something out. The plane arrived right one time, and as they starting coming out with their luggage carts, it was clear that they had a LOT of luggage, as they were bringing lots of gifts – each person had a trunk/locker, and their personal suitcase. I thought we were in big trouble, but the driver and rental guy started piling things in and under seats, and managed to get it all in, but then decided to take 3 of us in a separate car back to the hotel to have one of their mechanics remove the back seat to create space for luggage.
The team seemed fine, so we went out for a nice dinner and then got up the next morning to have a good breakfast and head out for the appointment with the Malawian architect. We had a great meeting, and in addition to describing some of the work he has done for the University, he told about how he helped to expand the training program for architects in Malawi when he discovered there were only 17 Malawian architects trained and practicing. He is also considering a run for Parliament, and I think he’d go a good job from what I’ve seen.
After that we headed went back to town to get people to a bank and to do a few other errands before leaving town around noon. Off we went to try a different route to the lake that we had told was now paved. When we started off, it was paved, but after about 30 miles, it became a dirt road that wasn’t in great shape. We figured maybe it was just a short distance on dirt and kept going even though the road was getting narrower and narrower and worse and worse. Our driver had to stop to get directions several times to know which turn to take when the road would come to a Y, and I was convinced that we had to have taken a wrong turn somewhere as and hour or so into the drive we were on a 2 track dirt road with grass growing in the middle, and this was supposed to be one of the main roads in the country.
At one stop, Mabvuto asked a villager how far we were from the paved road and he thought for a bit and said about 20 kms, which would be around 12 miles. That was a relief as we had by then been traveling for 3 hours or so, and had not eaten and I knew the other route took about 4 hours, so I thought “oh good, this is about the same amount of time”. The nice thing is that the scenery was wonderful, with small villages that looked more like the traditional round mud and thatch construction that I hadn’t seen since being in Africa. But we were getting tired. Finally, we came to a tarred road, but it wasn’t where I thought we would come out, and had already been far more than 12 miles.
This road took us through the Nkhotakota Wildlife Preserve complete with a road crew guarded by a park ranger with a rifle and elephant dung on the road. Unfortnately, the tar was in horrible shape and disappeared completely every few hundred yards, and when we passed the sign that said 45 kms (28 miles) to the main tarred road I groaned. Knowing that we had some distance to travel once we reached that road and it would probably take at least 2 hours before we got to our destination, which meant that this “shortcut” was going to take us an extra couple of hours. On the other hand, the students got to experience some real Malawian roads, and we all got to see some really beautiful scenery.
Mabvuto did a wonderful job and he had to have been tired when we got to Ngala too, so we ordered our dinners right away and got settled in to look around a bit before it got totally dark. The location is beautiful, and the new owners from South Africa are in the process of doing a lot of renovation, so some of the parts are in need of some work, but they are lovely people and the wonderful location made everyone very happy.
Today has been a day of relaxation, which I think everyone was more than ready for. The students and Professor when walking on the beach and met a bunch of the local people which they really enjoyed. Plus they had some time to chill out, make sketches which they love, and they are having a watercolor class right now with their Teaching Assistant(TA) - photo attached.. We’ve all had fun getting to know Mabvuto too, and the students have had some time to ask us questions and get better settled and oriented before we head for Mzuzu tomorrow. It should be a pretty easy day with at most a 3 hour drive on roads that we know – and know are bad for part of the way, but the scenery as we climb up the from the Great Rift valley will be spectacular for the young people to see.
May 25, 2008
I think everyone really enjoyed the day yesterday, and Mabvuto was invited to join the watercolor class, which he really seemed to enjoy. He said at dinner last night that this has been a “once in a lifetime” experience, to be invited to meals and to be a part of the group. I’m sure most people treat the driver as a servant, and since there is a daily allowance of $25 paid, send off the driver to their own devices. Leslie, who is the Professor that organized and is paying for all this, has been wonderful about including him in all the meals and buying drinks for him so he could relax and enjoy Ngala Lodge with the rest of us. And it has been very special for the students too, to be able to spend time with a Malawian. So the plan today is to drive up to Nkhata Bay so the students can have Chambo, the local fish from Lake Malawi, for lunch, and hopefully arrive in good time to Mzuzu.
We started our day today chatting with some people who are here from Wisconsin visiting their son who is ending his time in the Peace Corps. They rented a car from Avis and drove up to Nyika National Park, got in an accident and totaled the vehicle. Amazingly, Avis didn’t tell them that they should have 4 wheel drive to go on that road, and they made it to Nyika but not without a great deal of difficulty. Then on the way down, they were in an accident with a truck, probably because of how narrow the road is, totaled the car, and it took them 6 hours before another car even came down the road to be able to help them. Despite the fact that they had taken the optional insurance, they were held responsible for the damages to the car, and are now stranded and trying to figure out how to get to Liwonde National Park. I gave them some information about our car rental company and the local bus company that travels on this road, and a taxi driver who has driven people all the way to Lilongwe. Hope they are able to get on their way at some point soon.
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