Malawi

Jambo! (Hello in Swahili)

We have been having a rocking time in Malawi! Our dress up and special punch party was hilarious! I bought the 14 year old Swiss boy a red short skirt and a yellow ribbon tie up piece with one bedazzled breast. He was a great sport and wore it for the majority of the night! The 19 year old Swiss girl bought my outfit which consisted of a pair of boxers that were a bit too small, an orange spaghetti strap tank top, and knee high socks. Greg was wearing a leopard print skirt, of course. We both wore our outfits until the next morning.

We spent 4 nights on the beach of Lake Malawi. On the third day, we got up at 5am and we hiked from our beach campground in Chipita to the town of Livingstonia, about 17 kilometers away, straight up a mountain. Round trip we hiked about 35 kilometers. It was one of the toughest hikes I've ever been on. We hiked along the road for the majority of the way, but periodically our guide would point is along a footpath shortcut. At times these shortcuts were so steep that I had to use my hands to climb up the path. At the top, we saw a beautiful 50 meter high waterfall. We climbed down to a cave behind the falls and just chilled out for a while. This same cave was used to hid people during the slave trade. Past the falls, we saw a little bit of Livingstonia, a town that was started as a mission by David Livingstone the African explorer.

Right now we are on a ferry going from Dar es Salaam to the island of Zanzibar. This area of Africa is much more multicultural than the areas we've been to previously - there is a large Muslim population here. We will stay one night in Stonetown and then move to the North of the island for two nights. We are looking forward to touring the picturesque town, going on a spice tour, and playing in the Indian Ocean.

It is now time for the most important update: beer. In Malawi, we drank mostly Carlsburg beer, which is an import. The local beer Kuche Kuche (pronounced koochy koochy) was weak and a little tasteless. We all miss the local Zambian brew Mosi (short for Mosi Oi Tunya which means the smoke that thunders. This is the local name of Victoria Falls). Lion was the local Zimbabwae brew, similar to Mosi. The bartender in Zimbabwe suggested we drink Black Label - he called it "the wife beater" or "African Pepsi". We only drank one and then decided it was not the beer of choice. It tasted like there may be a few dead wives floating around in their kegs. Here in Tanzania, we've tried two different local brews: N'dhodo and Kilomanjaro (because, after all, Tanzania is home to this mountain). We drank both of these beers in a restaurant that does not have power and is lit with candlelight. They were only somewhat cold because they are kept in a kerosene fridge. At this particular establishment, our team managed to drink the bar completely dry and we have been a very proud bunch ever since. It is necessary to mention the brand Castle. We've found this South African beer everywhere we've been and it has been the standard go to beverage in most situation. The cider Savanna has been a tasty option, and even though Allison has been seen drinking beer on many occasions, this would be her preferred choice. The further north and east we get, the warmer the beer gets. That's just the way they do it here.

Two words you should know:
Mazungu - what the locals call is whities
Mofipa - what the locals call themselves, the blackies
It is quite common to be addressed as mazungu. We've started responding with Mofipa and always get a great reaction.

I'm going out on the deck for some views of the Indian Ocean.

Mazungu out.