Hello Goodbye

There isn't enough time to tell you all about Malawi but just know that it was a beautiful, peaceful little paradise. It was a break from Africa in a way. I say that with an ironic tone because Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world and my experience in the country, sadly, was a week of relaxing by an amazing lake with a bunch of Europeans. But I forgive myself because it was only 4 or 5 days and it was right in the middle of the trip, sort of a breather week.

Sidenote: People, especially Europeans, really dislike the US. I have run into this a lot on this trip and it is really a shame. People that know me know that I disagree with the US foriegn policy a lot but to travel and have to see how much people disagree and generally dislike our country is really tough.

However, we met a lot of interesting people, all Europeans that were staying at this little hostel. We talked a lot about African politics and it was very interesting. The hostel itself was strange in that all of the white tourists were staying at this one hostel, even though there were plenty others. One reason for this (and be careful not misinterpret this) is that it is run by a white man that has trained his staff to serve in a very western way. Because of this the hostel is a huge draw. It is a perfect place to come to a lake and relax. At most hostels that are run by locals the service sucks, they act like you are in the way and they treat you very coldly. While this hsotel had many locals running the show, they all were obviously very well trained in western hospitality, meaning they knew how to entertain and communicate in a way that made you feel comfortable. It is a bit of a shame that this hostel has such a monopoly on the tourism in this area. But it is something that I have been thinking about a lot on this trip. One white guy runs a bar/hostel in Nkhata bay and does 50 times the business that every other place does. On top of that, it was filled with white europeans. I might as well ahve been in Germany, or London, or any other place and not Africa.

Nathan and I spent an entire day traveling from Nkhata bay to Mbeya tanzania. We took 5 or 6 of the worst busses to get here. 18 people, 2 chickens and 5 bundles of sticks (are there not sticks where you are going?) crammend into a tiny minibus. Once we crossed the border the busses got worse. I climbed in thinking I was the last one on. The bus was overflowing. Then about 5 people ran and jumped on, holding on to the side while the sliding door stayed open and the bus cruised off at about 100 kph. People literally hung out the open door holding on to a wobbily rail while we cruised down the interstate, hitting giant potholes and dodging semi's. It is nuts riding the transport out here. I am not afraid of anything in these countries except for transport and sickness. I feel lucky that I have not had too horrible of experiences with either.

One thing I am not sure if I mentioned last but is something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. While we were on a long hike last week we came across a group of women and as soon as they saw us they all ran away in terror. It was so strange. They thought that us white guys were going to hurt them or take them away and so they literally ran away from us, carrying their things with them.

We are taking a train across some of the most beautiful landscape in Africa tomorrow, we are told that we will see wildlife out the window, and most importantly, the great rift valley which is home to some of the most important deposits of human evolution fossils!

Lake Of Stars

Nathan and I are in Malawi. For those of you that are wondering, Malawi is a country in Africa, not a hawaiin island. It is funny (and sad) that people from America are terrible with geography. Every European, and most africans, know every major city in the US. including Denver, Seatle, etc. It is crazy, especially since |I can barely locate most European countries. And again, I'm off topic in the first paragraph.

Nathana nd I arrived in Malawi and spent two days in Lilongwe. We had a great host in Frauke but the city itself was a bit of a dive. Nothing special about it. We went to a nature reserve that was in the middle of the city ( a very poorly planned city) and were asked if we wanted a guide. We asked if it is recommended and they said yes. So Patrick, our guide, came over to us and loaded his M16. It was strange going into a nature reserve in the middle of a city and needing a guide with a fully automatic rifle.

There are supossed to be a lot of crocs but we didn't see anything. At the end of our nature walk we went by some animals that the reserve keeps in cages. One python. There used to be two but apparently one escaped and is now somewhere in the reserve. One Hyena. There used to be two but the wild hyenas broke into the cage one night and ate the caged one. And a leopard. There was always only one leopard but he growled at us and it was very cool. But it is a rush going to a zoo where 40% of the animals have escaped. There was a group of school children there and as soon as Nathan and I walked up the kids started staring at us. We were more interesting than the hyena! Mzungus are interesting to the people out here, it is crazy.

After lilongwe we went to lake malawi, the main draw for tourism. lake \Malawi is the 9th l;argest lake in the world and home to tons of unique fish. We stayed at a place called Cool Runnings and while the hostel was a dive, Lake Malawi is a little peice of paradise. The lake is warm, beautiful and a lot of fun. We agreed to go on a boat tour with these "beach boys", young guys that hassle you trying to sell stuff, and for 30 bucks (15 a peice) we got food, snorkeling, and a wicked boat ride to an island. When they told us that we would take a boat, we assumed it would be a regular, safe boat. But the boat we took was basically a 50 year old peice of wood. It took 5 guys just to get the thing going. One guy spent the entire ride emptying water from the hull. It was an adrenaline rush. The lake has some massive waves and we felt like we were going to tip the entire ride. It was fun in a scary way.

We also met a rasta names Blackseed and played some pool and hung out with him for the two days in Senga bay. He was a cool dude and cooked us a barbque one of the nights. It was so great!

wE SPENT AN ENTIRE DAY TRAVELING NORTH TO A hip spot on the lake called Nikhata bay. There is a rasta colony here but it is also the biggest spot for tourists. We arrived late at night at the hostel called Miyoka village. It is quite possibly the greatest, most perfectly run place of all time. The staff is super friendly and somehow thye know every single guests name. People come here to relax by day and party by night so the staff knows how to entertain. Last night we drank for 6 hours and only spent about 15 dollars. Incredible!

I DJ'd for most of the night, hooking my Ipod up to the stereo and playing some cat stevens and some classic american rock n roll. Sidenote: nobody here has heard of Dave Matthews. Not even the Europeans. That blew my mind. The hostel ran a pool tourney and everyone was in. I dont have time to explain the whole night but this hostel knows how to accommodate. Everyone had a great time.

And the lake is just beautiful. Photos will show you. It is a dense forest around the bay and the water is perfectly blue. The highlight with the lake was swimming with these local boys that swear that they can catch fish with their bare hands. It is awesome watching how good these little kdis are at swimming and diving. They dont need equipment, they jsut dive down, 10 feet, eyes iopen, and catchfish.

I am sure that I am missing a lot of stories but that is the problem with having just a little bit of time. We are leaving for Dar es Salaam, tanzania very soon and there I hope to catch up on stories, as well as start writing my script a lot more than I have. :)