Back in Lilongwe and feeling 100% again, there was nothing stopping me from playing some rugby! Oh, except that I didn't know where they trained or how to get there, and the phone number I had found wasn't working... But I wasn't about to let these details get in my way. After work on Tuesday, I headed with my colleague Eric to the minibus station where he put me on the bus going in vaguely the right direction (again, I wasn't exactly sure where I was going). Getting dropped off at an intersection with no rugby posts in sight (it was dark by now), I went to the petrol station to ask for directions to the school where the team trained, and was put onto a bicycle taxi. (These are bicycles with little cushions on the back and spokes coming out of the back wheels that serve as foot rests - surprisingly comfy apart from the guilt you feel staring at the increasingly-sweaty back of the poor dude labouring to get the pedals going...) My cyclist-chauffeur took me to Bambini School, where there was nobody to be seen or heard, but after a short discussion it turned out that this was Bambini High School and that there was also Bambini Primary School around the corner. Heading there instead, I heard the promising sounds of rugby banter, and followed the lights to where the comforting sight of shuttle runs hit me like a hard but reassuringly textbook tackle. Thanking and paying my now-panting cyclist man, I headed towards the equally knackered rugby folk feeling pumped and ready to go. I had arrived at the ideal time - post-fitness - and introduced myself to the "coach" (the team-member shouting out shuttle-run lines at the time) and the only other girl there at the time, Desi. The rest of the session was a game of tag, and it was great fun to play for the first time since Arusha. The team were a friendly bunch and the mission to get there had been totally worth it - although I was happy to avoid it next time and delighted to hear that one of the guys, Stewart lived just down the road from Landirani's offices where I was staying and would be able to give me a lift in the future. As they settled in for post-training beers that they brought along in a cooler box, I had already arranged a taxi to pick me up and headed back sweaty but smiling. That Friday, I got the promised lift and had a much easier journey to training - although this time there was no missing fitness. I struggled my way through, and was awarded with beer afterwards - this time I was dependent on the lift with Stewart so I just HAD to stay as late as he did… This ended up being rather late (basically when we finished the beer), and the core bunch who were left decided that we would disperse home to shower, etc and then reconvene at "Harry's" - a bar in Lilongwe. After the quickest turn-around ever, and much to the amusement of the Landirani guards, I whisked back out (as gracefully as one does after a few beers and no food) and hopped into Stewart's awaiting car and onwards to Harry's Bar for a night as fun, messy and late as only rugby nights can be!

The next morning, head pounding, my conscience reminded me that I had promised Nyomi a lovely bike-ride around the city, but my body was telling me that there was no way that would be happening. Instead I took a stroll in to Lilongwe old town. Emma, who I had met in Senga Bay over Easter, was coming to visit and so I met her for some lunch and a stroll around to explore a little. Neither of us knew much about what there was specifically to explore and so we headed to Mabuya camp where Emma would be staying, conveniently just around the corner from Landirani. We met Nyomi and Heather there, and as we walked in I saw a familiar face: Chad from the US who I had briefly met in Mzuzu was staying at Mabuya for a few nights too! After showing Emma around the Landirani offices and changing into swimming stuff, we returned to Mabuya and chatted away to everyone there. We were soon joined by David, who I had met at rugby, and he suggested we go somewhere for dinner. Born and raised in Malawi, David's recommendation was a well-informed one and seeing as it was getting late and none of us had eaten, Emma, Chad, David, and I headed to the Soul Farm. We played a few games of pool while waiting for the food, I won't mention who won (I DID), and I had my first cheeseburger in months and it was deeevine.

The next day, I made good on my promise to Ny and after managing to borrow a bicycle from an Italian that she knew, Ny, Emma, and I went for a bike ride around Lilongwe. Lilongwe has a funny layout and doesn't feel like any other city I've ever been to: there is the Old Town, which is essentially a couple of blocks with a shopping mall, a couple of restaurants and a market. Then there is a stretch of a couple of kilometers through leafy parks and a nature reserve before you come to the City Center, a leafy green area containing big business blocks, the government buildings and embassies. The city is split into numbered Areas that make no numerical sense and if anything just confuse things! We cycled out to the Botanical Gardens which are just past the Parliament building in the city center, and strolled around the park for a bit - a small part of which was arranged flowers planted in an organised way, while the rest consisted of unkempt parkland. On our way back we picked up some fruit and veg and made ourselves some lunch, and then went our separate ways. I headed to David's to take a swim in the dam and enjoyed his mum's home-cooked spaghetti and television: Simple things, but being the first time in months that I had been in a proper family home and not at a backpackers or the room at Landirani's, it was such a novelty!

Speaking of novelties (and possibly a little more unusual), on the way back to Landirani Trust we found a chameleon on the road and took it with us! As an unaccustomed chameleon-handler, I dropped him at one point and in the seconds it took to stop the car and hop out to look for it, the little guy had already turned the same black-grey as the car floor and was nearly impossible to see. I was much more careful with him from then on and we made friends in the end, and I've thought of that little guy many times since, envying his ability to blend in whenever - the number of times I've wished I had that skill on my travels!

The rest of my time in Lilongwe flew by, working, exploring the city's nature reserve, rugby-ing, and braaing. By the time I was heading onwards I felt familiar with the streets of Lilongwe and attached to it's odd charm. Again I said goodbye to the colleagues and friends that I'd made, and got back on the road with a heavy heart as ever.