One good thing about a vehicle not operational is that it is good for exercise as I had to walk the roughly 2.5km stretch to the workshop. Contemplated to use a bicycle taxi but looking at the way the normal car taxis are driving, I thought different. Taking a car taxi is also no point because you walk faster than the gridlock traffic. So, while walking having a look at all the local people walking to their various jobs. Many are dressed in their absolute best dresses for work and to see the pride they take in their meagre dress is wonderful. No animosity towards a Muzungu (white man) either. One is treated just like a normal human being.

First bit of bad news at the workshop is that the theory that the 2nd gear drives the reverse as per the LT77 gearbox manual is impossible. The original gearbox has been replaced with a newer version which is not in the manual and 2nd and reverse have nothing to do with each other. We fiddled the whole day and eventually started to talk about buying another gearbox but it will need to come from SA. Problem is too that there is a crack in the housing of this gearbox and it was installed with this crack and we can proof it!! But if the crack lasted this long, we can only hope it will last for the rest of the trip. At 4pm through shear bit of luck we came across the problem. A core plug (and I can't understand why they just did not block of the hole with a solid piece of metal) which started to move inwards (and outwards when I forced the gears) and prevented the gear selector to move that extra 2mm to the rear and prevented 2nd, Reverse (eventually 4th would have had the same problem) to engage constantly. But too late to get gearbox back together and into car, so we will need to wait.

Went to a local restaurant and had as per menu 'Braii T-Bone'. So I asked for the incorrectly spelt braii t-bone and surprisingly nice. Not t-bone off-course, just a piece of meat with a bone on but it was surprisingly good and at less than R20, it was money well spent

Caught a lift from the workship with an ex-South African who built a guest house in Lilongwe and chatted about life in Malawi. He seems very content living here.

Back at the camp site, it is just like a left it. Arina made dinner from the food stuff we have left and afterwards to bed. Lots of people at the bar tonight and music went on until midnight but that did not deter us to fall asleep.