Day 291 / 56

Date: 28 January 2023
Sleeping location: Mawunde Lodge, Mangochi, Malawi
Distance (km today/total/total Part 2): 82 / 17934 / 3097
Estimated climb (m today/total/total Part 2): 400 / 153100 / 35100
What’s this: CASSAVA
Day in three words: Farewell Lake Malawi

I slept with my doors open in order to be woken gently with a view of the lake, perhaps assuming privacy that wasn't necessarily there, and I was completely naked (but luckily under the sheets) when a man came unannounced to deliver breakfast. I spent the first hour of the day writing my blog and having breakfast on the bench on my porch before realising that it, and I, was now swarming with ants that seemed to literally live in the bench and were now literally in my pants, as well as in a number of other places. 

After reassembling Mags I met Neville at Mgozo for a second breakfast and farewell. I really enjoyed my time with him, he's nice and funny and good company but in a totally different way to most of the other people I've met on this trip, probably because he's 30-40 years older. Just as I left he rushed back to apologise for being accidentally rude to someone, which is the sort of person he is. I may yet meet him in SA in March, or in Europe in the summer when he's touring over our way. 

I rolled out of CM at 12.30, stopping briefly to look at the missionary graves. This was the site of a mission in the 19th century, before they eventually moved up to Livingstonia when they became tired of everyone getting malaria all the time. There was also an impressive number of baboons around, which also can't have helped with founding a mission as they are bloody annoying sometimes.  

After the short sharp climb I was back on the flat farmland/marshland once more, enlivened by more baobabs (including one village which had about twenty in it) and a bumpy road with potholes to dodge...keeps me on my toes at least. I mainly just kept riding, as befits a power-half-day, but at one point I stopped to take picture of some kids playing in a pond and the chorus of "give money"s reminded me why I have mostly stopped acknowledging children here. Just before the day's destination of Mangochi I finally "completed" Lake Malawi as it began its outflow into the Shire river, heading south towards the Zambezi. I’ve had some good times along its shores and will remember it fondly.

Mangochi itself was a chaotic and strange place. Two of the first things I experienced were a loose cow running around, mooing constantly, and a complete stranger waking up to me, presenting a cassava root and saying "this is cassava", which as non sequiturs go is right up there.* He didn't even seem to be selling it so maybe he was just showing off. Pickings were slim on the guesthouse front. The first didn't exist; the second one was very odd and seemed like a guesthouse cum boxing venue so I decided to give that one a miss, the third was Islamic and I figured Muslims are usually pretty clean and nice** so I went with that. It was fine enough, although there was no towel provided so I dried myself under the fan, which was so rickety and powerful that I was worried it would fall down and cut my head off. I had two basic dinners at two different places, to avoid looking insane by ordering two dinners at once, and I suspect one of these was responsible for the events of the following night and the subsequent fallout. I blame the not-quite-hot rice. 

Malawian Signs Corner

Blue Death Insect Killer

Uncle Charlo Booze Den

Avengers Construction 

God's Time Is The Best Shop

Mehboob Health Centre [Sorry] 

*He could have got even more points for saying it in the style of "THIS. IS. SPARTA" from the film 300. 

**The sign on the outside said "no alcohol" so my (Cardinal) Richelieu brandy was extremely illicit stuff in here.