A Zombie in Zomba

Caleb and I
Okay.. this time I won’t mention the lake! Too late! I went up to the mountains instead. Zomba plateau to be precise and immediately after heading down to Blantyre first on the Friday and waking up super early the next morning for my lift to the base town- hence the zombie state! The route to Blantyre was in honour of my educational meeting at CURE hospital for the complex cases discussion from Ntcheu. I almost didn’t make it because, en route, my minibus hit some pretty severe weather in the form of a flash storm, where we had a gobsmacking downpour of hail with a visibility of less than 5m, and streets being flooded on both sides. That didn’t stop our driver from keeping going, nor did my constant shouts and pleas from right behind him!
Flash Storm
Zomba is this picturesque mountain city, the old capital of Malawi in fact before Banda relocated it to Lilongwe, with limitless vistas onto the fields around and further onto the lake. The route to the top was essentially a road with few shortcuts off the beaten track. My intention to do the whole thing along a potato path obviously went wrong somewhere, but did nothing to curb my enthusiasm about rising up in altitude. At some 1800m in height, the air feels somewhat fresher and the heart lighter. I really enjoyed being back in that element as evidenced by the pictures. The temptation was there to stay in a hut at the top but unfortunately they had a rallye the same day and all accommodation was booked. So we decided to go back down and in the end that move paid off. I stayed at my mate Caleb’s house in a nearby place called Domasi and it was just the most fitting escape for me, as concerns the nightly drumbeat cadence of Ntcheu. There, I stayed on the veranda, fenced by a fine metal mesh, which kept the mozzies away. It was quite frankly like being under the stars, and what more, without disco noise but the natural roosting and humming and click-clicking of the myriad creatures around. Caleb was in top form and is currently working with the Malawian Institute of Education to enable them to produce some educational videos etc. His interest and knowledge in African current affairs is astounding and these insights are even available in electronic format on the web. Just type in Caleb Muchungu and you’ll be exposed to some real African views rather than the typical whitewashed one we often get.
From Zomba.. with awe
After my fix of altitude and silent night, I made my way back to Ntcheu on the minibus, which was another great incursion into the world of African transport. In other words, never run a tight schedule if that is your chosen mode of locomotion. It waits at every station to try and collect that one extra passenger at the detriment of the available bum space in the already packed vehicle. It slows down at the sight of every potential passenger along the way, to reaccelerate to some wild speeds I wouldn’t do on a British motorway, once it’s figured out that person actually prefers walking to being a passenger of theirs! It then always gets halted at road blocks, where policemen eagerly scan the vehicle for the slightest flaw to impose some fine. And that negotiating can take up to 30min easily. But the fun lies in the witnessing of all this crazy rigmarole and the ample opportunities for conversation with Malawians. Not only is it a great way to get to know the culture better but it’s also an opportunity for you to be an accessible muzungu as opposed to the convential image of a 4x4 barricaded white face in a segregated shopping complex car park, where they sell cheese, chocolate, pizzas and the like. The minibus, in a figurative way, allows people to see there are also tourists/expats who eat nsima and usipa (the local tiny fish from Lake Malawi which I had the priviledge to eat, as prepared by a local Malawian friend of mine according to a traditional recipe- truly succulent I thought.. although my other friends didn’t seem to agree so much). I think I am now starting to see beyond my Bradt guide... and for myself. Oooh Malawi!