Day 32 - MON - 15/10/12 - Chitimba, Malawi
We decided to attempt a 26km round trip walk to a local waterfall which is on the way to Livingstonia which is the mountain peak in the area.
The scenery was amazing in being able to see back up along the lakeside of Lake Malawi. Because the lake is so large it really looked like it was beachside rather than lakeside. On the way to the falls, there was a natural spring that we stopped at to refresh ourselves in the 36 degree Celsius heat. We also stopped for a small fanta break at a little local shack shop.
On the way up it was interesting hearing about the history of the country and its political situation from a local. Such as the Swahili language comes from when the Arab's came to make a trading industry and inter married with local tribes people.
Or with the political situation in Malawi when the last president died after 2 terms and whilst he was still in office. His people and especially his brother tried to hide the news from the people of Malawi while they tried to create a plan to succeed the presidency with his brother to take his position. This is not what the people of Malawi wanted as he was such a corrupt president, likewise his brother was also a very corrupt person. During the delay in announcing his death, his brother went to the presidents office and being that the only person who was allowed to open the door to the office was the president himself or his secretary, imagine his secretary's surprise when she opened the door and found that the brother was fist deep in US currency that the president had ordered be removed from the banks in Malawi and sent to his office so a to 'prevent corruption' in the country. When for all intents and purposes this was exactly what the president was doing. He was syphoning the money out of the country on diplomatic visits internationally and taking the currency in US dollars. This is now the reason why US currency is not readily available, nor rarely accepted in Malawi. To try and stop this kind of corruption.
It came out however that the president had died and the first female president for Africa stood up from her Vice President position and took over. From there she dismantled the government and formed a new one in an attempt to clean out the corruption in the the existing government. She has been in power now for just under a year and with elections coming up in 2013 it sounds like she may become the first elected female president in Africa and will stay in power. It would continue the positive growth for Malawi.
At the waterfall the local men were washing their clothes in the traditional way of scrubbing them on the rocks with bristly scrubbing brushes and a bar of soap and then dunking them in the water that was pooling before the falls to rinse them. Their sons who were swimming when we arrived quickly put their clothes back on when we got there. It was so hot that we all - Joanie, Steve, Kearnsy and I all just jumped in with our clothes on and although the water was a little chilly to start with, it was very refreshing. So we swam in the small freshwater pool for about 1/2 hr.
On the way back we took a number of shortcuts that involved scrambling down the rock paths that the locals took. Back in camp, recovered from the walk with a hydration sachet drink and then went to barter for a replica of a wood screen Kearnsy and I had liked in the bar area. After much negotiation we got one for US$33. Dinner was ready by then and Joash our driver had cooked a fresh goat - roasted like lamb in garlic and herbs and also in a traditional stew. It did taste like lamb but slightly different.
I did some yoga stretching before bed as on the walk back from the waterfall my hip seemed to click and it was a little bit of hobbling back to camp and continued that way until it slipped back in while on cook group I was making toast for breakfast the next morning. :)
