Day 279 / 44

Date: 16 January 2023
Sleeping location: Manguzi Executive Lodge, Rumphi, Malawi
Distance (km today/total/total Part 2): 90 / 17200 / 2363
Estimated climb (m today/total/total Part 2): 1100 / 149000 / 31000
Superhero of the day: Batman
Day in three words: Shroom no more

It was genuinely a little emotional leaving, but it had to be done. To make the most of the kitchen one last time I ordered a double breakfast, veggie fry up, french toast and a big coffee, calories be damned I'm cycling. My final bill was twice my daily budget for the four day period, but it went straight on my credit card so it doesn't really count. We were so blissed out by our time there that we didn't leave until well after 10, which is frankly outrageous. 

After final goodbyes we climbed a little more on the steep dirt road but after a few km it turned to tarmac, and the rest of the morning was very enjoyable. There were big ups and downs and twisty turns on nice gradients, on a very quiet road through beautiful hills, trees and fields with occasional grey monkeys scampering around. For some reason the children here greet you with "bye" so often the first you hear of someone is a chorus of disembodied "bye"s coming from the trees and fields. It's often quite hard to find them to give them a wave.

Around noon some heavy rain came on. Initially we sheltered in a village with nothing going on, then decided to make a break to larger village a few km away with somewhere to eat, but got absolutely soaked in the ten minutes it took to get there. Lunch was flavourless ncima* with beans outside a smoky restaurant in our wet clothes. At one point Anne-Claire sighed and said "I miss the mushroom farm". Life was certainly easier there. During lunch I realised that a guy from Rwanda who had been messaging me on and off "to practice his English" had now asked me for money. This sort of thing is depressing, I expect it from some random people on the road but at least then you know what the dynamic is. When the owner of the lunch place asked for our numbers I gave a fake one. 

After lunch we hit a decent descent and came out of the cloud into bright sunshine, but somehow it was still raining. Is it because I lied when I was 17? From here we were going up a river valley, but so was the wind so it was nice and easy. Near Rumphi we turned into another valley, which is entered between two high peaks so it was a very beautiful arrival. Around here was a wild camp spot on ioverlander which we checked out. It was in a beautiful place next to the river, but too close to the road so we gave it a miss (it may be better in the dry season when the river is lower/nonexistent and you can go further).

After that we tried four different hotels, which were respectively too full, too shit, too expensive, and too without-power-or-water. By the fourth we were so bored we just went with it anyway and negotiated a discount. We were told we could cook and eat in the restaurant but when I popped my head in a bat was flying around in circles. An employee then tried repeatedly to catch it in a curtain, eventually succeeding and putting it outside in a bush. It seemed a bit dazed and broken, poor thing, but was gone later so we decided to conclude that it had got better and flown away rather than the alternative. Further camp cooking experimentation led to a tomato, soya, garlic (powder) and avocado orzo pasta dish which was a solid 6/10. 

Malawian Signs Corner 

Rural polytechnic college proudly displaying its cooperation with both “Buden Wurtenberg” and Baden Wurttemberg
[On an ibuprofen advert] I trust do you? Confidence in a capsule 
A restaurant claiming it was “Home of delicious and hygienic foods”
A kiosk that just said “WORK AS A SLAVE”

*A flavourless gluey mush made from corn which is apparently big in Malawi. Despite its rubbishness it is, somehow, actually better than ugali, so at least we can be thankful for that.