Lake Malawi

Malawi is a very tiny African country, the majority of it consists of Lake Malawi, a huge lake.  When you stand on the beach you can't see the other shore, just mountains in the distance.  The first campsite was right on the beach. The beach itself is made of dark brown and black sand flecked with glitter.  There were even waves. There were hammocks hanging along the beach, the first ones I have observed in Africa.

The highlight of Malawi is the lake. It is home to about 600 species of cichlid fish, 99% of which are endemic to only this lake. Cichlids are very brightly colored freshwater fish and are prized for freshwater aquariums. They are also one of the only species of fish that have parental care.

I was given the opportunity to snorkel at Kande Beach and observe some of the cichlids at a small island just off shore. They were beautiful fish. My favorite were bright blue with black stripes. Some were hiding in cracks and under rocks, some were swimming just below the surface.

Just outside the Kande Beach campsite is a local village of 4500 people. We were given a tour and could see how basic their lives are compared to the typical western lifestyle. They gre a lot fo cassava, a white root vegetable that tastes a lot like sweet potato. We were given tours of the hospital, school and orphanage. All the kids kept wanted pens, which is interesting, since they all had pencils.  Funny that pens are such a hot commodity.

That evening we had a meal cooked for us in the village. They laid out a grass mat in the dirt, which we sat upon. As the evening light fell upon us, we were very relaxed and content. It was a false sense of security. Lurking in the shadows were solpugids, some of the creepiest things I've ever seen. The common names are camel spiders or sun scorpions. They move very very fast, like nothing I had seen and they were huge, leg span greater than my palm. They ran across our grass mat, scattering us and causing several exclamations of disgust, surprise and horror. I'm an entomologist, pretty much scared of no bug, and they freaked me out. I didn't want it anywhere near me. I like them better behind glass, not running over my feet.

The highlight of Malawi was definitely the party night. For my Lexington friends, we had an African goodwill party, which was not Jordan's idea. For those of you who do not know this concept, you go to a goodwill store (in this case a second hand clothes market in Africa) and pull a name from a hat. You have $5 to spend on an outfit for that person. Anything you want, everything goes, provided your person is covered up.  I had the pleaure of dressing Jordan, giving her a flannel pirate jumpsuit complete with furry tail sewed on the back. Henry, our driver dressed me. I ended up in a flannel sequin number, very chique. We had a big dinner and there were 3 other trucks participating with dressing up. It was a blast.