Day 273 / 38

Date: 10 January 2023
Sleeping location: CCAP Rest House, Chitipa, Malawi
Distance (km today/total/total Part 2): 32 / 16888 / 2051
Estimated climb (m today/total/total Part 2): 200 / 145700 / 27700
In demand: fertiliser and inexplicable shirts
Day in three words: Malawi are we

After saying goodbye to the head we set off to do the last 30km into Chitipa. After the rains the road was a combination of all the things that kill bikes and speed; sand, mud, bumps, rocks and huge puddles. One puddle was so big it was sort of a community event with people helping each other to cross, including us. Malawians seem helpful and friendly but do not shout or stare too much - it's a nice combo. Later along the road a guy on a bike gave us some mangoes for free, which is rare behaviour in this part of the world. People speak much better English here than in Tanzania, which is good because it allows more meaningful interactions and also because the google translate app doesn’t do Chewa (the main native language).

Given the crap road it took us almost three hours to reach the border, then another hour to get through the formalities. Initially we thought we would have to schlep into town to get our visas printed, then come back, but using some technology jiggery pokery we were able to print them there. After this we went into town to do the standard new-country-tasks; get a SIM card and data, get cash, figure out what things cost. At lunch we asked about changing our leftover Tanzanian money and the waiter summoned a friend who could do this. I was expecting some kind of wheeler dealer who would give us a bum deal, but instead it was a polite young man who gave us a wildly beneficial rate, much better than the spot rate. Either he is terrible at his job or there is a black market for currency. We had decided to stay in Chitipa anyway, but by the time we'd finished our admin (minus a trip to the supermarket that we’d seen on the way in) it was already 3 so we didn’t even surrender that much riding time. 

Chipita seemed to be a bustling little hub. There was some kind of huge hubbub going on by an unassuming building and after asking around we learned that hundreds of people were queueing (or rather, bustling) for fertiliser. Signs are in English again, after mostly being in Swahili in Tanzania, which is fun as some of them here have such excellent names that I’m introducing a separate section for the best ones:

Malawian Signs Corner 

-Bungwe Grocery and Hung Over Clinic

-Mr and Mrs Mostard Siame Shop. 

-Donna's Eggs - the big brown egg with the golden heart. 

-Lufita Medical Stores - we give you the best but God heals (which kind of seems to make the store redundant).

We found a Christian guest house that was very basic but very cheap, then I spent an hour relaxing in the afternoon warmth with the pleasant sound of nearby gospel singing wafting over me. After “quiet time” we headed out to the previously spied supermarket, which turned out to be a little disappointing, but I did buy some good chilli sauce and a huge bag of “Kamba Puffs” corn-based snack featuring a picture of a tortoise with a moustache and a bowler hat and the slogan "they are magic!"*. Also spied in a nearby shop was a shirt with a sort of angry spray can logo and covered with the phrases “Majic”, “Pawfect”, “Hot Dog”, “Wooo” and “Fresh”. If only I had space in my panniers to buy it. 

We cooked back at the hotel, a sort of jazzy potato mash with salad, but the power was off when we got back and remained off until we left. The cockroaches seemed to be emboldened by the darkness and the number of them in the toilet and, to a lesser extent, roaming around was somewhat distressing. One turned up in my room and then flew (who knew they could fly?) into my neck when I picked up my shorts with it on. I made such a loud noise that Charles and Anne-Claire both called out to see if I was ok. 

*They aren't