Warm Heart of Africa

'Who is Malawi, Where is Malawi, What is Malawi' as quoted by friendly local barmen Alex. Malawi is an obscure place tucked in the middle of southern Africa. I knew nothing about it and only learned about the country from Matt Springate. The country is only 150 km wide at its widest point and 20% is covered by water. Lake Malawi dominates most of the country, stretching from the very north almost to the southern borders. The only thing that overshadows the lake is the people. The Malawians are great, so friendly and always up for a laugh. You never have to worry about company in Malawi, the country has major over-crowding issues, so people are everywhere. We entered Malawi from Tanzania after a hectic border crossing and headed straight for the beach at Chitimba. The campsite is run by a South Africa who has been in Malawi for 6 years and seemingly is trying to hang onto his youth. Chitimba was our first exposure to Malawi and it was very warm. We had a 1km walk from the main road down to the campsite and where followed the entire way by giggling children. As we stepped out of the mini-bus the call went out 'Mzungu is here' and a deluge of kids came barreling out of their huts. After Chitimba we moved south to Nhkata Bay, the setting off point for the Ilala ferry that shuttles Malawians to the various island that dot the lake. Nhkata Bay is a beautiful place, and has nothing of the seedy port fell. The coastline here is full of secluded rocky coves. We did a sea-kayaking trip one day down the coast to a beach for a BBQ and snorkeling. Setting off in the morning was interesting as the waves were slightly larger then required. Leighanne suffered slightly, but nobody capsized which is always good. Once back on land we played football with the local kids, who were very good, or I was really bad. They play with a ball made of wrapped up shopping bags tied up with string.
The next week was a gradual move south always hugging the lake shore. We met some amazing people along the way, which I'll write about in future postings.
On reaching Blantyre we splurged on a flight into South Africa, getting ready for some creature comforts.