After a bit it subsided just enough for us to go out to the bar to meet up with everyone and eat dinner, but boy was it crazy! Mark, our unstoppable cook, somehow managed to cook us a delicious meal of beef stew, mashed potatoes, and spinach outside of our truck in the torrential downpour! I don't know how he does it!
When we got back to our room it continued with the downpour, taking out the electricity and, quite unfortunately, overflowing our toilet... THAT was not the greatest thing to wake up to.
Today was another travel day. I know. Shocking. I think it's one of those things that you read when you're booking a travel tour but then don't really give another thought. You will spend a lot of time in the truck. A LOT. And it will grate on you. But man the beautiful places you'll end up will make all the driving worth it :).
Today we set out at 7:30 am for our next destination, the Ngala Beach Lodge on the south side of Lake Malawi. I cannot lie. I was more than a little upset to be leaving our oasis on the north shore. Yes, our room had some issues, but I LOVED LOVED LOVED meeting all the beautiful people that we did while at Majiziwa (yesterday's hotel) and could have happily stayed there for at least another week or two.
So we set out driving in hopes of reaching our destination around 4 pm. And we actually got there early!
All quite tired and a little downtrodden after leaving yesterday's paradise, we arrived at 3 to the Ngala Lodge. After the last few day's mix-ups with our rooms, when handed our key, I asked if it had a double bed for us. The nice man smiled and said "I think you'll be QUITE happy with your room."
And then we walked into the most amazing lodge I've ever seen, with 2 bedrooms, one with a king sized bed, one with two twin beds, and a full working bathroom, A-frame ceilings about 20 feet high, and beautiful, canopied mosquito nets over the beds (yes, I said beautiful when referring to malaria nets - they can 100% make or break the comfort of your bed and your night's sleep!!!)
UNFORTUNATELY I have no pictures to show you this glorious room... mostly because we immediately left to explore our surroundings - the gorgeous infinity pool, bar, and restaurant, before heading down to the lake!
Our lovely hosts at the lodge, Barbara and Allen, spoke to us a bit about the lake, informing us that it is known as the "Calendar Lake" because...
- It is 365 miles long.
- It is 52 miles wide at its widest.
- It is mainly fed into by 12 major rivers.
Unrelated to the whole calendar thing, the lake also accounts for 1/3 the area of Malawi. Interesting, huh?
Jon and I wandered down to the beach, later joined by Marcus and Roger, and walked along until we came across a village right on the shore. We were examining some of the dug out canoes when we were AMBUSHED by about 30 of the most adorable kids you've ever seen! They came over to us, shouting "hello", giving us hugs, and wanting to hold our hands. They were SO FREAKING CUTE. I'm so glad I had brought my phone down to the beach so I could capture such a beautiful moment!
Hanging out with our new friends, who were between the ages of 6 months to about 13 years old.
I'm in there somewhere...I think...
We probably spent about an hour with the kids, talking (they all learn English in school), doing gymnastics, singing, dancing, and laughing. Jon also basically became a jungle gym for some of the youngest kids, with them climbing all over him and him lifting them up by the twos and threes!
After walking us back to our hotel, we (sadly) said goodbye to our newfound friends and washed up for dinner - shepherd's pie! Mark was able to use the kitchen at the restaurant and seemed SO HAPPY to have an indoor space to cook in given that it had started downpouring again!!
After dinner, we took advantage of the (spotty) wi-fi to send out a few quick messages, before heading off to our amazing king-sized bed!
Before the trip started, we asked our guides what their favorite country we were visiting is. Without hesitation, they both answered Malawi (and they are both from Zimbabwe!) They said Malawi is "real Africa" with beautiful people and beautiful scenery. I couldn't have said it better myself. While things started off rocky in Malawi with our three hour customs/border crossing, the last three days have honestly been my favorite of our trip so far. We felt quite welcome here at every turn, every person that we've encountered in this country has been nicer than the last, we've been met with stunning views every stretch of the road, and finally got a chance to relax and rejuvenate. I am REALLY going to miss Malawi when we leave tomorrow. It has been a long time since I've come across a place that I've immediately wanted to return to, and I'm not quite sure I've ever come across such a place that simultaneously feels like an oasis, as well as a home away from home. Hopefully until soon Malawi <3.
Jess' highlight of the day: our impromptu friendships on the beach
Jon's highlight of the day: seeing the beautiful place we were staying for the night
No comments:
Post a Comment