Weekend at Ndkudzi Bay

September 21, 2009


This past weekend, I went with a friend to Mangochi and Ndkudzi Bay. I met Jeremy at my previous hostel (Doogles) and he is doing irrigation projects in Southern Africa. Born in the UK, he grew up in Zambia and has been living in Southern Africa since. He calls South Africa home but spends long stints in Malawi and other parts of Africa. Jeremy came and met me on Friday morning and we left around nine in the morning. From Blantyre, we drove to Mangochi and he dropped me off at Jamira and Maxwell’s place. I spent the day with them and it was nice to feel at home again. We didn’t do much- just cooked and talked and relaxed and played with the kids. Maxwell and Jamira are so sweet- they bought all of the vegetables that are available in the market for me since I don’t eat much fish or meat. I had green beans, peas, onions, tomatoes, carrots and potatoes. I had it with nsima for lunch and then had rice for dinner. I feel spoiled having meals cooked especially for me when I know how much the family likes meat! But I also know that it is their way of being good hosts and I try to be a good guest by bringing gifts for everyone. The only hard thing is finding something for Maxwell because it is hard to know what an adult man would like! Jamira’s dad gave them a chicken so it was moving around the yard. They soon put it in the house so that they wouldn’t confuse it with the other chickens outside. I had some fun posing with the chicken and with the baby goats next door. At night, I went and said hi to my former roommate, Jodi and then came back to the house totally exhausted. I was just recovering from being sick so I didn’t have tons of energy. I went to bed early and shared a bed with Vanessa. Vanessa is like Barbara- she takes up the ENTIRE bed and even sleeps diagonally! It reminded me of home to be sharing a bed with my baby sister (relax B, you are not being replaced). In the morning, we woke up and Jamira made a big breakfast of eggs, bread, tea and French fries of all things. Jeremy came and picked me up at nine to take me to the lake. It was sad to say goodbye and the two little twins even cried when I left. I promised to come back and am planning to take the family to Liwonde National Park to see the wildlife. They have never been and I think that they would enjoy it and should see what tourists come from around the world to experience!

The “cottage” at Ndkudzi bay was absolutely incredible. Jeremy’s friends, Suzie and Mark, own the place and use it as often as they can. Suzie is a British woman who was born and raised in Malawi and Mark has been here for ten years. The cottage is right on the lake and has four bedrooms, a common area, two showers and a beautiful patio. A huge tree hangs over the patio and provides plenty of shade to anyone trying to escape the heat. We spent many, many hours out on that patio relaxing, reading and enjoying the lake. Hands down, the best part of the lake was their toys. They had a catamaran sailboat and a speedboat. Both were a lot of fun. On Saturday, we took the speedboat out and went all the way across the lake to snorkel. The water is so clear and you can see all of the fish down there. I was amazed at the variety and colors of the fish in this freshwater lake. We spent the day on the boat swimming and snorkeling and watched the sun set in the evening. We even managed to go water skiing once the water calmed down. At night, we went over to Cape Maclear for dinner and drinks. One of the bars there was hosting Spanish night so there was plenty of Spanish food, music and sangria. On the way back to the cottage, Jeremy and I managed to get lost in Cape Maclear and spent hours finding our way back to the main road.

On Sunday, we slept in and Suzie took us out sailing. The wind was blowing pretty strongly so the boat moved quite quickly. I was almost a bit afraid of it capsizing! We headed back to the cottage and took a nap- I decided to sleep on the beach and have the tan/burn to prove it. Sometimes, I did feel a bit awkward because there was such a divide between our life and the local community. Wilson cooked and cleaned for us and we did very little besides relax. The kids from the community just sat and watched and I am sure wondered what it would like to be on a boat like ours. Overall it was a really nice trip and I had a good weekend away. Jeremy and I left this morning and went straight from the lake to work. When I arrived, I had to give a presentation for the study that we are doing- pretty quick change in lifestyle! Next weekend, I am planning to go to Mulanje and perhaps do some climbing. We will see how it goes…

I am loving Malawi ☺