Day 285 / 50
Sleeping location: Yanu Yanu Lodge, Nkhotakota, Malawi
Distance (km today/total/total Part 2): 128 / 17580 / 2743
Estimated climb (m today/total/total Part 2): 500 / 151700 / 33700
Where it shouldn’t be: water
Day in three words: The Wrong Goodbye
Despite the early night we all slept terribly as we were "on alert" after being spotted so many times, meaning that we all woke up time after time for every voice, music and bit of rain during the night. I definitively woke at 5.30 to a light patter of rain, feeling very very tired. The rain kept going and soon there was wet, sand and wet sand everywhere, including in my tent which was 1.5x its usual diameter when rolled up. It didn't let up so eventually we set off into the wetness under grey skies along a flat road. All was dreary, and remained so for most of the day. During the morning there were two seemingly nonsense road blocks set up by locals (rather than police) attempting to get money from people. I'm not sure what their justification is but we never had to find out, and probably begin a massive argument, because we could easily slink through, but it probably works on some cars.
I was aiming to get reach Nkhotakota in order to reach Salima the following day, but at lunch Charles and Anne-Claire didn't think they had that much in them. It was hard to predict but it looked like they wouldn't subsequently catch me, and then they were going west into Zambia whilst I went south towards Blantyre, so we said goodbye for the last time. I was quite moist of eye as I will really miss them; I've been with them longer than without in Part 2, and it's been lovely to cycle with such relaxed and kind people. I will miss Charles saying "oh god/gosh" all the time and describing everything as "boring", and I will miss Anne-Claire's relentless positive attitude and ability to always purchase and prepare the best fruit and vegetables for us. Well this is what I was thinking at the time, but as we will see it was all for naught.
After I left them the road deteriorated in poetic style. It was still tarmac but older and the outside sections had crumbled away, leaving essentially a single carriageway with an uneven edge and a big drop off either side. Thankfully it was quiet but there were a couple of hairy moments with vehicles going way too fast and way too close. The road continued to be easy but boring, and my tired legs were given a boost by a guy in a red T-shirt who acted as my leadout guy for about 5km before peeling off with a fist bump as thanks. I kept the momentum going with only a short break on a tree stump watching some locals playing football (and being watched by some kids who had previously been playing football).
I rolled into Nkhotakota about 5.30 and went to a basic but decent hotel with a room big enough to dry my tent if I moved the bed a bit. This plan was foiled when I accidentally flooded the room with the excessively-powerful shower, mainly the area right under the tent. I had to scoop the water with my hands then kick it back into the shower with my feet, then use my jersey as a crude mop to finish the job. During this half-hour process I got a text from Anne-Claire saying that they hadn't found anywhere to stay along the road, had instead pushed on to Nkhotakota as well and were staying in the same place as me. To celebrate we went out for dinner at a place bizarrely called Hunger Games, which did a surprisingly good cheeseburger and unsurprisingly bad ice cream.
Tiyamike Shop - let them talk
Philadelphia Wellness Centre - let food be your medicine
Welcome to Erick Football Hall Show - Happy Sabbath to everyone Jesus loves you
Proffessor [sic] Between Shop
Victory Belongs to Jesus Supermarket
Mama Egg
Comments
Post a Comment