Cape Maclear Malawi

Yesterday I went wakesurfing and waterskiing on Lake Malawi. It was great and being on the lake almost let me forget that Im missing ski season. I have conflicting feelings about doing these expensive/touristy things in Africa. There are no locals waterskiing, these people can barely afford to eat. Things like climbing mountains and hanging out by the beach are fun for a bit but it makes me feel guilty.

A few days ago, in Zomba, I visited a halfway house for street boys. Im skeptical about these kind of organizations because of an experience I had a few years ago in Cambodia. The Malawian people in charge of this one had good ideas but its difficult to say how much they are accomplishing. They want to be financially self sufficient which seems like a reasonable goal. While visiting the center I only saw 3 beds. They told me 7 boys were living there. One of the beds was for an employee at night and there was a locked room that may have had more beds. There were 5 employees when I visited but unfortunately the boys were at school. They said they have the ability to hold up to 16 kids but it comes in waves. The people seemed nice and open to suggestions. They didnt ask for any money. I gave them a harmonica and a book on how to play.

I hiked Mt. Mulange last week. It was amazing. We hiked for 3 days and summited the 3rd highest peak in Africa. The mountain is a huge plateau with several peaks. I could have easily spent a few more days up there.

On the way from Zomba to Cape Maclear we stopped on the side of the road for a break. We wanted to find shade so we looked for a spot to park under a tree. There was a little girl and Rob pulled up too close and scared her. She ran towards her village. Rob got his bike stuck trying to get under the tree. Me and another guy helped push him out. We left the bikes on the road and went to relax under the tree. A few minutes later I noticed a bunch of people congregating by a bridge. They started walking our way. I told Rob we should go and we started to pack up our stuff. By the time the crowd reached us there was about 30 of them. The little girl that ran away earlier thought that Rob was trying to kidnap her. They were mostly women and children but at least 2 men were with them and one had a machete. We tried to explain but couldnt get our point across. I said we were leaving and went towards the bikes. I put on my gear and got on as quick as possible. Someone threw a rock that landed near my foot. I looked up and saw at least one other kid with a rock. The guy with the machete started scraping it on the road. I think that was to mark a line we couldnt pass. As we rode off they screamed and ran after us. I understand why the incident happened and I dont blame the community. A lot of Malawian kids are kidnapped and sent to Mozambique Ive heard. Its crazy how things can escalate from a misunderstanding.

Today we are heading north from Cape Maclear.

Blantyre Malawi

We got into Malawi 2 days ago. Surprisingly the boarder crossing was the biggest pain yet. As soon as we pulled up on the Mozembique side people were hassling us and trying to get us to convert money. Once we got out of Mozambique the area between boarders there were more guys all around us. They were more friendly, but unfortunately we already changed our money. One of the guys gave us forms and helped us through the process. I knew he was going to ask for money but it was worth a couple bucks to save time and stress. I ended up having to buy third party insurance again for 25,000 Kwacha (1USD = 670 Kwacha), the visa was $75, and I had to buy a temporary import for the motorcycle at 10,000 Kwacha. It was quite an expensive crossing. We had to use the atm at the boarder because we ran out of cash and I didnt want to use all my dollars.

Its mountainous and cooler here so far. The lake is supposed to be amazing and I imagine the entire country will be a nice scenic motorcycle ride.

After Vilankulo we spent  two nights in Inhassaro then had a 430 km ride to Chimoio. We spent a couple nights there. It wasn't touristy and showed the more typical side of Mozambique cities. Next we went to Catandica. We saw a sign for bush camping and followed it. The sign was in English so we knew it would lead somewhere. After about 20 km on a dirt road in the bush we found a farm that had camping. It was owned by a Swiss family. Turned out being a great place to camp in the woods and they even had a pool. The family had built the farm from scratch over the last 8 years. Next we headed to Tete. It was another city with very few tourists. We camped on the Zambeze river.

Our next stop is going to be near Mount Malanje I think. We hope to hike it and then continue up the country. I believe Malawi will be as far north as I get. Im going to bring the bike back to Durban so Rob and I will probably be parting ways soon. I will probably head through Zambia towards Victoria Falls. I heard its pretty dry now, but it gives me a target and it'll be in the general direction I want to head. Im planning on being back in the states by mid June. If I want a chance to check out Cape Town and the rest of SA Ill have to start making my way back in a month or so. There still a lot of Southern Africa to see so I think central and northern Africa will have to wait.

Vilankulos Mozambique

I finished my scuba course a few days ago. The sea was rough the first few days, but after New Years it calmed down. The diving was nice but I missed out on the Manta Rays and Whale Sharks. I saw a small eyed sting ray, an octopus, a moray eel, and a ton of fish. We spent New Years in Tofo. The beach transformed into an area packed with local tourists celebrating the holiday. There was music all the time and the beach got trashed. After New Years it chilled out and the beach got cleaned up.

We got to Vilankulos a couple days ago. On the way up we got stopped by the police. They only asked a couple questions and let us go without showing any papers. Yesterday we went on a snorkeling trip to Two Mile Reef off the coast of Bazaruto. It was a nice spot and shallow enough to swim down and check stuff out.

Today we are heading north. We are going to stop at a town 50 km north on highway 1. Then we have a 415 km stretch that well have to do in one day. Our visas run out January 22 so we are planning on being in Malawi by then.