Minibuses.....
First a bit of background information. I was supplying a grade 4 class and the lesson called for the students to describe things about Malawi using nouns and adjectives divided into “Good things and Bad things about Malawi”. On the Good side were things like safaris, Mangoes, the lake etc. On the Bad side were things like robbers, poverty, malaria, and minibuses. It was this last one where I learned how observant little kids can be. They went into great description of minibuses, cracked windshields, “they always cut off my dad”, no headlights, “ they run over dogs”,”they carry like 50 people inside them” , and among other things they have no brakes. It is this last one that brings us to new news that we were rear-ended by a minibus. Upon getting out of the car I was faced with the driver who informed me that “I have no brakes” as if it wasn’t his fault anymore. We tried to call the police (to get a report), but none of the 40 bystanders knew how to call the cops from a cell phone. Tess tried to call from a pay phone stand, but the mini bus driver, and all the by-standers were standing around yelling at the phone operator in chichewa, and the women won't dial the police for us. Somebody finally told us that even if we got hold of the police, they wouldn't come, as they don't have gas for their vehicles these days. So finally, we convinced mr. minibus driver to drive his brakeless vehicle over to the police station with us to file the report. (talk about good police service)
We are still waiting for the police report as you have to find the same person who filled it out and she continues to be quite elusive (it's been over a week!). The Driver was fined 2000MK (20 CDN) because he was in the wrong. At the same time, we were charged 2000MK to get a police report for insurance. talk about a fair system!
jimo
the damage
Mt. Mulanje
Long weekend trip to Mulanje. 10 of us headed down south to the tip of Malawi to a mountain range called Mulanje. Tess and I had packed quite sparsely, thinking we would carry our own packs etc. Normally, trippers get a porter to carry all the heavy stuff and then carry a small day pack. I got a little worried when friends of friends ( who climb every other week) had a porter and we didn’t. Within in an hour I thought I was in smurf land as Tess kept asking “how much further now”. Mount Mulanje looks a lot like the mountain scapes in Lord of the Rings. The trail up was pretty steep most of the way. Like the back passage up to Mordor in parts. At the top there was a cabin which awaited us with a fire on and all. Anyways the next day we went for a further hike up a near peak only to get a better view of the all encompassing fog.
After the day of hiking I was told that Karen was washing her socks in the river by our cabin, she became imbalanced and masterfully fell in with a nice pirouette. Swept up into the rushing waters of the mountain river; Mike rescued her in Hollywood fashion style with a fast grasping strong grip of one arm and pulled her ashore. Karen half embarrassed said she was okay and began to cross the river again this time to go to the cabin, only this time she was able….. to be swept down the river again.
That night after everyone was dry and well fed, we played werewolf (a guessing murder mystery type of game). We probably played it too long, but I did come to the conclusion that I am the worst player ever, as when I was the werewolf they killed me in the first round and when I was a good citizen I never figured out who the werewolf was.
Down the mountain the next day in the rain. Snakes and ladders all the way. It was so slippery as the wet slimy rock didn’t provide much traction and most of the time we wondered if we were on the trail or walking down a mountain river. No injuries but we did have a couple good falls. Alicia entangled upside down suspended by vines and Sonja had a header off the trail. Mike, I think had the most falls as we were all keeping track. Tess was really tired by the end and she could have been on a commercial with Bill Cosby for Jello. We came up with a system where she latched on to the back of my pack with both hands and followed me down. Upon approaching the end and passing through villages, tess thought she would let go as to not look foolish in front of the villagers . Within seconds she slipped and fell on the muddy trail. Laughing at herself along with the villagers, she picked herself up and promptly wiped out again. A small withered old lady (with no front teeth) grinned and pointed to walk on the grass. Tess walked like a geriatric for 5 days afterwards, but is walking a bit more normal now. Below are a few photos!
jimo
(back by popular demand)
The Mulanje crew
