Days 17-21:

We crossed the border into Malawi and made our way to our first campsite next to Lake Malawi, it was called Chitimba. We got our tents set up and gathered in the bar whilst the cooking team prepared our dinner. All of a sudden it started to rain and by rain i mean absolutely chuck it down!! When dinner was ready and we ventured back to the camp we found the area where our tents were was flooded, our tent was now sat in a puddle about 2/3 inches deep!! Most of our things inside were fine but Sarahs sleeping bag was a bit wet as she had a leaky corner so we decided to sleep in the truck that night. When we woke in the morning all the water had gone and it didnt look like it had been flooded a few hours earlier. So we put our tent down, visited the local wood market and had breakfast before setting off for the next campsite. It wasnt too long a drive to Kande beach which is on Lake Malawi again.

After our experience the night before we decided to upgrade to a beach chalet as we were staying there for 3 nights. The first afternoon we just chilled on the beach and had a very nice dinner of steak and sausages.

The next morning we went for a village tour. We walked around and we each had a local person accompany us on the way around talking to us and explaining things as we went along. They pointed out the local plants and crops. We saw the pump that they said well wishers had paid for. They only use it for drinking and cooking, for washing clothes and other things they use the lake water. We saw inside a house where the locals live. It was quite nice made out of brick, it had simple table and chairs inside. There was wires and cables but the power doesnt work yet, that is still work in progress. Next we went to see the local school. Apparently it is a very good school and it has a ggod percentage of people that go to high school compared to other schools. On the blackboard in an empty classroom we went in there was an improvement plan which had similar learning objectives on it as we do in England. They have lots of books that have been donated from around the world so i could see some English text books there from English schools. Next we went to the hospital clinic. It is mostly used for maternity purposes as they do not have room to keep sick people there, they send them to another bigger hospital usually on public transport as it takes too long for the ambulance to arrive. We saw two ladies who had just had babies. After that we made our way back to the camp and had a dinner of goat on a spit. The goat had been delivered alive in the morning and now it was on a spit ready for us to eat!! Poor thing, It was yummy though. That evening we had a party in the bar where we all wore some really loud mis-matched clothes for the bad-taste party. We had bought the clothes from a local market the day before.

The next day we just chilled on the beach again and went into the village for a local meal at night. We sat on the floor on bamboo mats and they had prepared beef with rice, spinich and a very nice pumpkin soup. After dinner the local children sang and danced for us before we returned back to the campsite. It was a very nice evening.