An ordinary day of travel in Malawi

Door: Nanineheshusius

Geplaatst op Jan 13, 2011

13 February 2010

I am sitting on a wall at the bus depot in Mzuzu, while writing, waiting for the minibus to leave. It can take a while...it needs to fill up. It only leaves when the bus is full, no seats empty and if possible 2 persons on one seat. In the meanwhile I am just enjoying the buzz at the bus depot. All kinds of salesmen would like to sell me bread, soft drinks, combs, radio’s, mirrors, belts, blankets (it’s boiling hot...), samousa’s, flip-flops, towels, telephone units, lolly’s, eggs, wallets, toys, tooth brushes, lanterns, handkerchiefs, sifts, and so on
A little girl with a pink dress that doesn’t fit her just jumped out of the bus to do a wee-wee on the pavement as if it is the most normal think to do, she dropped her boys undies and started peeing.
This are actually things you see every day, but I never took the time to write about it, while that are just the great things of being in a different country.
Ariks stops by to have a little talk; he is one of the other bus drivers. He also goes to Karonga and asks why I am not going with him. His minibus is not even half full and he is more expensive that the bus I am waiting for now... He understands, asks for a gift, says goodbye and leaves again.
Oh, it looks like we are getting somewhere with filling up the bus, only 3 seats to go..., 2...1...and we are departing.

3 hours later we arrive in Chitimba, where I get off. I am going to pick up the chair that I’d ordered and say goodbye to Karlijn en Lisa. The chair is amazing, exactly the way I had pictured it. Most woodcarvings are just too much for me and when I explained Norman the woodcarver what I liked, he told me that he was going to make it for me. So my chair is custom made and as an extra he made me a small bao game, matching the chair. The whole set is quite heavy and a pain to travel with,but knew that already before I made the order and so I am going to send the whole package home from probably Mbeya.

At 17.30 I manage to get in a truck, fully loaded with maize and people. It is dark already. The truck arrives at 20.30 in Karonga, that is located up north near the border with Tanzania. I have forgotten the name of the guesthouse I wanted to stay at and I also am not very sure about where the guesthouse is situated...I know that it is not that far from the bus depot and that the name begins with a C ,that the doors are purple and the room rate is 2000 Kwatcha.
The truck driver offers to drive me around in the hope I will recognise the place, but I fail in that simple task and we are heading off to alternatives. I now stay at a place that is 1200 Kwatcha, right on the beach...was worth driving around for.

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