Day 296 / 61

Date: 2 February 2023
Sleeping location: Doogles, Blantyre, Malawi
Distance (km today/total/total Part 2): 0 / 18181 / 3344
Estimated climb (m today/total/total Part 2): 0 / 155800 / 37800
Calories: ?!?!?!
Day in three words: Varying visa ventures

In the morning I felt better and less sore in the knee and shoulder, but when I saw myself in the mirror (for the first time in several days) I realised I was looking very skinny and decided to eat as much as possible today to recover more strength and self. The obscenity that followed is set out in full below. 

My main admin today was to visit the Mozambique consultate and figure out the visa situation. Visas on arrival were sometimes granted at the border I was aiming for, but information was sparse and sometimes contradictory. I took a moto to get there; usually I hold the seat below me but the driver here insisted that I grasp his love handles to keep my weight forward, as did another one later in the day. Perhaps my svelte physique is irresistible to them. At the consulate I was informed that visas on arrival are not a thing since December, that I could not get a visa at this consulate, and that the new e-visa system takes up to five days. I wanted to cross in two days. I decided to apply anyway, immediately, hope for the best, and if it hadn't come through in two days just go to the border and wing it. The online process was much easier than the Malawi one, with the only strange requirement being proof of a hotel booking, but only for one night and not necessarily for the night you plan to enter the country. One of the questions was "Do you suffer from any contagious or mental disease?" which is so vague that I'm still not sure my answer of "no" was accurate. 

After this I went to a couple of supermarkets, but by now my standards of grocery excitement have shifted and the Malawian ones aren't that thrilling any more. Hopefully Mozambique or Zimbabwe can offer higher highs. Got some good fried chicken though. On the way from here to do some sightseeing I got an email saying that my e-visa application has been rejected as I didn't submit proof of onward travel. But there was nowhere to submit this. I emailed back explaining my situation and pointing this out. 

A lot of the "old" bit of Blantyre surrounds the church of St Michael and All Angels, which is a remarkable building. It's quite big and beautiful, and an absolute smorgasbord of architectural styles with loads of random little flourishes, but the most interesting thing is its history. Its construction was coordinated by a reverend with no formal architecture training who drew no detailed plans, and carried out by locals with no similar experience using over eighty different types of brick. It was completed in 1891, when it was said to be the only permanent church between the Zambezi and the Nile, and remarkably it's still standing today. Sadly it was closed so I couldn't go inside to see the organ made of blancmange or the stained glass window of a dinosaur or whatever other madcap treasures were in there. In general Blantyre feels more historical, and nice, than Lilongwe, with some nice leafy districts and old red brick buildings. It still lacks a sort of central space though, as most big African cities seem to.
 
Back at Doogles I tried to apply for the e-visa again, on my ipad this time in case the mobile site had somehow hidden an input box. The process was the same, and furthermore I noticed a statement that those travelling by "bus/car" did not need to submit proof of onward travel (as the options were "plane", "ship" and "bus/car" I had selected the latter and put a registration number of "bicycle"). I emailed the visa people again, pointing this out as well, then submitted a second e-visa application since they are free and I figured maybe the first rejection was a mistake. I was worried about being trapped in some Kafkaesque admin nightmare for days but my second application was accepted after less than an hour, which I was extremely happy about. 

Food and drink diary
Coffee, pack of biscuits
Omelette with toast, coffee
3pc fried chicken with chips, ginger beer
Pack of biltong
Egg and cheese toastie with chips, beetroot/apple juice thing
Samosa Chaat, chilli paneer, garlic naan, sprite
Vanilla and strawberry ice cream cone (and I think the guy made it extra big to impress me)
Sweet potato wedges, two beers 

Malawian Signs Corner
Shop of Assorted Items 
Rodisha and Nyasaland Bus Company [suggested slogan “we treat you like our colonial master”] 
Pork Masters 

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