Australia

This is my first long-term travel to a destination that is more developed than my home country.

The feeling of traveling around here is quite different that travel around, say Africa.

Loads of people try to make their way through employment market, in casual jobs, because minimum wage here is better compared to almost any single European Nation.

Also, there are young people that are on the Australia - South Eastern Asia Experience. Loads of partying and lots of beach-time.

My story is quite different, though. I work and study and only have a couple days less than two months to travel around.

Instead of focusing my travel only on hoping on/ hoping off buses, I focused on trying to leave like a local in cities and enjoying beaches and water sports.

People here are a rather weird mix between really respectful and a hint of breaking the rules. Well-tempered, party-goers, sportsmen are a few words that come to my mind when I think of Australians.

I could describe beautiful places such as Whitehaven Beach or Great Barrier Reef or even Sydney but, for the first time, I think it is better for every single one of you reading this to form your own opinion.

I'll definitely come back to this place and it'd be really nice to come live here for at least some time.

It is worth the long and painful flight, believe me!

Not sure I want to write more on this post, until the next one =)

Change

I haven't been the most constant of writers. I know that already.
It has always been hard for me to be constant at something.
Yet, I've never lost hope in certain things.

HOPE in travelling, being happy, loving those who surround me and trying to make them happy at the same time.

So many miles since I've written here for the last time.

So many peoples met, so many experiences acquired.

So much further to go, as well.

So much change undergone in the last couple of years.

Feeling so very blessed that the road is always waiting for me to come back on and slowly, step by step, be able to become myself, strong and determined once again.

I can't promise that I'll be constant and that I'll robotically write about everything I see and do, 'cause living is also worth it and time is limited.

On my next post, I'll summarize the Australian experience so far.

If you haven't traveled yet, if you're afraid to do it on your own, I say: go for it! It can only bring learning and growth as a person.

espacios de luz - promesa.

More than a year without posting on my travels, something that makes me feel alive and gives me strive/ passion to live.

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good and that I will post on my travels again.

So long my dear friends! Until the next post!

PS: feel like singing, wish somebody would teach me how to...

Should I stay or should I go?

I woke up rather early with a mixed feeling. I liked this place a lot, but there were also many places I wanted to see and I still had many miles ahead of me. I took pictures of pictures of Mayoka, still hesitating what to do. I got my things ready and saying goodbye quickly as I left, I went to the village. Miguel came with me and waited till the truck I was on left. I was on my own again.

After I was dropped me off, I tried to get a ride to Mzuzu. Luckily for me a car went by and only for 600 MWK I got a seat. Queen-like travel! People in the car started calling me mzungu (which means white - just skin-wise) and asked me whether I'd call them black people. I said that I'd rather call them Malawi people, and that if they told me, I'd happily called them by their names. One lady nodded with a gesture of approval and I went on: I'm not mzungu. See the difference between the color of my shirt and of my skin?
 (My shirt was supposed to be white -it actually had earth all over it- but still served to prove my point) I'm orange, not white. And see? I've got brown dots, There's many colors in me!

People just laughed, it was good times!

We got to Mzuzu in a blink of an eye, from there took a minibus to Chitimba. I sat on the front seat with a short stout sassy lady that asked me if I could offer her a job. (Not really, no…), when she came to realize I was only a tourist she was pretty disappointed. Halfway, we stopped and bought some fruits from local women.

 What's the deal? Why do they buy so much fruit? 

Is it because these villagers sell it so cheap that it would be rude to ask for less?

Or maybe is it a kind of help towards the less fortunate?

Do they have large families and they buy such quantities to feed them?

Do they use fruit as a thanking present between neighbors?

It could've been any of the above, but as it usually turns out to be (at least in Africa), it was none of them. Shortly after our large buy of mangos. (that were packed in many bags and scattered in the front window-sill, we stopped in the middle of the road, almost seeking refuge below this imposing rock cliff. We sat there, in complete silence, the engine had also been turned off.

Slowly, baboons started to draw near. It was before we could realize that a whole clan was surrounding was. Everybody who'd bought mangos started throwing them -as happy and as naïve as Mozambican people casting food/ garbage on the road- at the monkeys.

A general frenzy raised between the animals and the soon started to fight over the food. Little by little, we started moving along the road and they would just follow us. One after the other, mangos would drop and be quickly caught, only to be taken away by a stronger baboon.

The excitement these people experienced (and their wanting to share their experience with me -'Throw, throw' they'd say to me) is something I'll never forget and understand.

After that, the scenery began to change into cultivated green hills.  Malawi, in general, was even much greener than Mozambique could ever be. Northern Malawi was so much greener than that. So green that eyes would seem to hurt.

WIth the last light, I arrived at Chitimba. Locals advised me not to go up the 15 kilometer road by myself. ('Too dangerous missy, bad people!'). Some young boys recommended me to stay at a hostel nearby, while little girls tugged at my pants offering me some small bananas. 

Hard-headed as I am, I hitchhiked. I paid 400MWK to a truck driver and got a ride for at least ten people. The distance didn't seem long, though I was prepared for a long trip: distances can be deceptive in Africa.

What I was not prepared for was the road condition. Steep slopes with big earth cracks and bumps (not bumps, big rocky bulks that made my whole body shake) were part of the nicest bits. I held to the side of the truck with all my strength and after 20 minutes my left wrist started to ache. A man took pity on me and let me sit in a cement bag. Oh holly cement bag, beloved art thou!  I tried to keep myself from bouncing with all my strength (later on, I learned I got some nice purple bruises from this ride). To top that, there was a big lightning storm towards our heading, comforting!

People would appear walking beside the road in the utter darkness. 'How do this people manage to walk along?' -Let alone finding the way back home-

The driver said he thought it was too dangerous for me to walk alone to the Mushroom Farm Campsite, so he was dropping me off in town. When we got there, only a few lights were still on: Main Road, Big Market. I could definitely tell that people over there were not that used to having mzungu visitors, even if they were excited, they remained somewhat wary of me.

My final destination for the day: Stone House at the far-end of the village. The night watchman wanted me to have a room, but my kwacha budget could not afford it. I slept on the floor, with my sleeping bag, beside a big mirror. 

Night night, sleep tight! (if mosquitoes stop pestering me) 

Cliff diving + Snorkeling + Beach Games (avoiding Bilharzia)

Had breakfast with the 3 Finnish guys and a Swedish boy (he was working at the build-site of a school in Zambia, near Lake Tanganyka) at a place near our hostel. The waiter confused our order of 5 eggs on toast and 1 pancake with 5 eggs on toast and 7 pancakes (buck up!)

We met a group of Norwegians that were working on a government-run sports program throughout Zimbabwe. (This fact will turn relevant later on my trip). 

I felt kind of sleepy after that long meal.

Some hours later boat trip was on. We first went to the cliff diving site. It was rather hard to climb and there worms on the lower part of the rocks which wasn't nice at all. When I got to the top I felt the adrenalin rush of the climb, though the drop wasn't that high.

Snorkeling was a bit of a turn-off but it woke me up.

On the way to the beach we fed some fish-eagles and watched them hunt, impressive!

Last but not least, we relaxed on the beach and played a game that goes something like this:

Three sticks parallel to each other and every round they get separated from each other further more.

The last to do the 3 jumps between the sticks wins.

I got 5th place out of 30, not bad, 2nd out of the girls.

Not bad!

For dinner had Chicken Satay in Kaya Papaya, that was OK. Played two UNO matches and went to sleep.

Loving Mayoka

Nothing is more relaxing than awakening to the sound of waves. Our dorm stood on a rock cliff that view over the entire bay. Went up to brush my teeth and used the ecological bathroom. (for those not familiar with this implement, it's a toilet with no flush but two decomposing chambers that run for 6 months each, waste is fermented for that period of time and it is necessary to throw some ashes, dry leaves and / or virutas to keep everything decomposing smoothly and odorless). Every tiny detail was so carefully laid so that everything could run as smoothly as possible.

My breakfast, though, was somewhat disappointing: the mango shake was OK, but the banana pancake could've been so much better. I went for a walk around town and got back for the boat trip which was  cancelled due to strong winds. Shaaaame. I took some time to write, read, breath the fresh breeze and marvel at this beautiful place. Two of the three managers came to apologize about the boat ride and said it was going to be postponed to the next morning.

We stayed in for lunch and couldn't have been more right with our choice: cream onion soup + full-condimented beef burger with chips, delicious! A light breeze came in from the bay and light intensity was just balanced. Everything made you want to stay longer at Mayoka, there's definitely something captivating about it!

Mid-afternoon sat with Zuzu, a lovely Australian girl that was traveling for some 3 years around Africa with her boyfriend, and their idea was to get married at the end of their trip in Greece. Wow, what a story to tell to your children!

Light ran out more quickly than I expected, so I played some 4-in-line and jenga with Miguel. 

Met a Spanish girl that was working at a dive center in Kande Beach.

Had lovely fish + salad + potatoes buffet and played UNO with some crazy Finnish guys.

After that the night became a little awkward. Gary, one of the managers got completely trashed. He started to dance naked on the bar, then started spitting everywhere with his beer, using offensive language… A shame.

Leaving that aside, Mayoka has a incredible environment, food and concept. 

PS: If anyone reading this is actually considering to go to Nkhata Bay and wants to stay at Big Blue: please don't! I've been told by many people that the place is being run by a wretched English woman and that there's been a series of mugging episodes down there.

All the way from Cape Mac Lear to Nkhata Bay

A truck came to pick us up 6am sharp. We run some errands in town and left 7.30am. We stopped many times on the road to pick up people or drop them off. We were so packed by half of the way that when a mama got into the truck, sat down on the floor and left me with no space to put my feet. I was literally holding my body weight on my hands and hanging almost all of my body outside of the truck. A man came to notice this and made some space for me.

We finally got to Monkey Bay around 9am. By that time, the bus to Lilongwe was packed to the door with people and as we stopped, it left. Rather disappointed, we figured it would be best to get out of there by any means.

There was a truck leaving for Salima. We jumped on as men were preparing the back part of the loading platform for additional bagagge. They were doing terrible knots with rope a very poor state, so I went to help with one of mine. They tried to take it from my hands but I resisted. Around 7 guys stared as if a woman tying knots was something far-fetched. Others laughed. I only cared about one thing: that whole structure would hold. Meanwhile, Miguel paid for both our tickets, I was rather disappointed he didn't even bargain. Just in front of us, two Japanese girls were about to pay. The man collecting for money asked for 1500 MWK (what he had paid) and they said they knew the price was 1300 MWK. Not only did they manage to pay that, but they also got the man to give us (reluctantly, of course) our money back. Incroyable! (The two girls were working for an HIV/ AIDS government program and had taken some days off.)

[That's the first time I thought of Malawian people + money from a different perspective. So far, my belief had been that Malawian economy was one of the weakest and that local people tried to scratch out a living from wherever they could. But that approach didn't seem quite right: Why would they be nice in the first place? (I mean, I had encountered a lot of people that had been really heloful and were expecting nthing from me - they really seemed to be glad to help).

So, what was I missing?

It is a fact that a major part of the population live anter the poverty line and maybe tourist are the only individuals that could even out their misery. As in: they charge whatever locals can pay, produce a big loss, and tourists are the ones that pay a bit more so as to reduce the debt (at least in public transport services).

But this didn't seem likely to be true. What was the real connection between Malawians and money?

My guess is that they don't really care. I mean, they care as far as basic accommodation and meals are concerned, but not in a greedy way. They might ask for a price that is slightly elevated, but if they don't get it they are strangely OK with it.

Usually it's quite hard to bargain a price because they're peaceful and quiet -they don't enjoy the acting, heated-argument part that negotiating is all about.

In conclusion, if you don't have enough money, they'll take you anyway. But it can take some time to learn how to address to them and be effective.]

When we got to Salima we heard the wonderful news that a bus going to Mzuzu via Nkhata Bay was bound to come in an hour or so. We ate some chips (in its traditional blue plastic bag) with 3 small pieces of goat gut. Took some pictures of the children hanging around, stretching their hands out like crazy to get our plastic bottles. When the bus finally got there, we fought our way through the bus. Everybody wanted to get in. A lot of people were keeping the seats for friends, so we had to stand up. We travelled about 6 hours standing. Some guys that were sitting decided to stand up and make us even more uncomfortable.

I started saying: 'There's no space, there's no space.'

It was pitch dark when we got to Nkhata Bay and took yet another bus to get to town. After that, we got a free pick-up to Mayoka Village.

When we got there, I knew all days travelling had been worth it. The atmosphere was amazing!

I had spaghetti bolognaise, salad+bread with a banana+honey smoothie and a brownie. Yum!

Let's see what tomorrow brings!