Friday, 30th march 2007

To: Chitimba Beach

Left Karonga, which was about 30 km ahead of everybody else. I thought everybody had already ridden past me, so it was a great surprise when Dean and Vivian came up behind me, after I'd been riding about an hour! Felt just great to be in Malawi. Indescribable. Is this just nastalgia, or is Malawi really that great? You judge for yourself. Here is a view of some waterfront property that I saw after lunch, while riding together with Rachel. Do you think they appreciate their waterfront property values?

Didn't want to clog Rachel down and, besides, felt like stopping along the way and talking with some Malawians about the "old days" of the early 1990s, so I let Rachel go ahead and I rode alone. Had a real nice and long chat at a small soda shop with a man who looked to be about my age who remembered very well the famous Sunday when all the priests gave, in the middle of their sermons, the gentle nudging message that maybe Malawian human rights abuses should be reduced... led to the referendum for multiparty elections the next year, and the ousting of Kamuzu Banda in the following year. An exciting time.

When I reached a town about 20 km from camp, I was tired and felt like hopping a truck. I don't remember the name of the town, but there was a pick-up truck, waiting for customers, so we put my bike in it and we waited... and waited. I went to the PTC and bought a cold water. Came back ... and waited. Started joking with the driver that maybe he was planning on going tomorrow? Not today? We had some good laughs, but continued waiting for customers. Finally, I wasn't even tired any more. So, he didn't mind taking my bike out for me to ride and he promised to stop to collect me on the way if they came before I reached camp. By the time they came, I was about 5 km from Chitimba Beach. As promised, he pulled over with a big smile and a wave! I smiled and said, "Oh, I'm o.k. now! Thanks!" He said, "O.k., take care!" and drove off. Made it to camp about 15 minutes later.

...And this was my site as I walked through the gates. The first thing I saw was a big and serious looking sign that said, "Don't wash your clothes at this tap! Use the lake!" The second thing I saw was a woman flagrantly disregarding the sign and happily washing lots and lots of clothes. This cracked the heck out of me so I asked if I could take her picture. She decided it was funny too, only because of my laughter.

------------------ TODAY ----------------- TOTAL

Cycled ----------- 97 km (61 mi) ----------- 4,188 km (2,625 mi)

Sagged ----------- 30 km (19 mi) ----------- 2,387 km (1,599 mi)

Total ------------- 127 km (80 mi) ---------- 2,387 km (4,224 mi)

In Saddle --------- 7 hours ------------------ 267 hours 2 min

Ascended --------- 1,200 feet --------------- 68,095 feet