Wed July 16- Club Mak at Lake Malawi

I had planned to wake up early to finish packing but I slept until 7am and our bags were supposed to be at the bottom of the hill by 7:45pm. So I rushed and basically shoved everything in and hoped I didn’t forget anything. Peter was all dressed up and came by our room to help/chat. He asked if I had my passport and I would have forgotten it if he hadn’t reminded me! After I took it out of the safe I hid it in a drawer and forgot I didn’t have it with me. That could have been really bad. Peter saves the day yet again. I gave Peter a bag full of supplies for his orphanage that I didn’t want. Inside were pipe cleaners and he was very interested in what they were. A simple craft supply we take for granted.

Multiple people have been told that it’s perfectly safe to go into the water at Lake Malawi, but the advisors explained about the parasite in the water. Apparently you will think you are fine for days, months and even years to come but in about 7 years the parasite will destroy your organs. Every piece of literature from the USA advises Americans not to go in the water even though you will see other tourists in the water. So our group had a discussion about not being fooled into thinking its safe to swim.

We said our goodbyes to the workers at Annie’s Lodge. It was very, very sad for us and especially for them. They knew things would quickly go back to normal and wouldn’t be as exciting without us. Krista and I delivered our goodie bags to some of our favorite workers.

We were on our way! We picked up Endalipa on our way to the lake. He is from Malawi but came to get his PhD at Virginia Tech. He wanted to show us his father’s house that he grew up in and also a typical village that has been severely affected by HIV/AIDS and over 30% of the population has died. The stops were only about 20 KM away from our resort so we drove the majority of the way first. The drive was quiet and uneventful. Most of us were very tired and just relaxed. We saw hundreds of Baobab trees and Dr. Kelly said this area has the most Baobob trees in all of Africa. I would hate to say that we are used to seeing Malawi and nothing excites/interests us but I think its about the time of the trip where everyone has felt like we have experienced this adventure and we are ready to go home.

We first stopped at a village close to Endalipa's home and as we were driving around, the bus got stuck in the sand. Yikes. We all got out and some of the men pushed and it was out in a hot second. Endalipa walked us around and showed us some of the crops and even the coconut trees. We all commented how nice it was to talk to someone who has been to our country and knows what’s different about Malawi. The village kids all came over and we saw an albino child who was about 7-8 years old. There were very few adults, only children and a handful of grandmothers. Endalipa thought it was very important for us to see this and we were glad he was willing to take us. However you can tell the difference from the first village we stopped at in the beginning of the trip, we play with the kids for almost 30 minutes, take pictures and hand out stickers. This is probably our last village and we just waved and smiled. Our energy level is just not as high as it used to be.

I really had to go to the bathroom but I was prepared to hold it. Amy, Krista, Lauren and Sarah all expressed how badly they had to go to the bathroom as well. So we decided to tough it out and go together. Endalipa showed us the “bathroom”(hole) and we each took turns. It was an experience. There was a hole, toilet paper and little outlines of where your feet go inside a little hut. Haha.

Our next stop was Endalipa's fathers house. The village ladies came out to greet us and the children followed. His father is the one has 60 children. So Endalipa had brothers and sisters all over the place. We all came to the porch and greeted his father and then went inside his house. Endalipa showed us his bedrooms and how he lived as a child growing up. We knew how much this meant to him to show us how he lived so we were glad we could arrange it in our schedule.

Endalipa was going to catch a bus back to Domasi College as we continued to Club Mak. The main road was being worked on so we had what Malawi calls a “road diversion” and drove next to the main road for the entire way.

We arrived at Club Mak around 1pm. The entire morning it was very cloudy and we really wanted some sun while we were at the lake. Around 12noon the sun came out so everyone was getting anxious to arrive.

I know I have said this about every place we stayed (except Ethiopia) but this place truly is paradise! The gardens and landscaping have such beautiful flowers and plants! Plus the structures and walkways are so artistic. Of course, this resort had its own runway and even a golf course, tennis court and 2 swimming pools. We got off and were greeted with fresh juice and thought we were assigned to room 16. A man escorted us to the room but then Krista looked at the key and realized it said 46 not 16. So we turned around and went the opposite direction. We were bummed because room 16 is on the beach in its own little chalet. 46 is near the gate and in a shared building. However 46 is very spacious! It has 2 bunk beds in the front, closet and bathroom then the main room in the back with a patio. There is Dedza pottery here! We like our room but still vote Mvuu to be our favorite.

We quickly changed to our bathing suits and headed to the beach! Palm trees, sand, chairs and sun… what more can college girls ask for? There is another large mission group here who is from Thailand and they are doing some type of medical trip here. Their group was out in the water playing, canoeing and paddling. Thankfully it wasn't hot so we didn't even wish we could go in the water. We sat on the beach and just soaked in as much sun as we could. Unfortunately it wasn’t as sunny as we had hoped but we knew we could still get a tan in the clouds so we held out for a while. At the lake, vendors come to the shore in a canoe to sell you their stuff. We chatted with a 3 men and they seemed very nice and willing to bargain.

We didn’t have lunch and that isn’t included in our meals so Krista and I split a mini pizza. It was excellent! We were very satisfied and ready to take a little walk to look at the venders outside the gates. As we walked we had 4 little kids follow us. We smiled and waved but continued on. The venders here get tourists all the time so they are not willing to bargain like some of the other places. We hear their prices and laugh because we have been here for a month and we’d like to think we know a good deal when we hear one. Yet Charles is the only one who’s actually gotten a good deal. So we decided there wasn’t much worth getting here since they weren’t willing to go down on their prices.

As we walked back the little kids followed us. One little girl was holding a small baby on her back. Sarah and I tried to interact with her to see if she would show us how to put the baby wrap on but we don’t think she understood. We continued to walk and made it back to the resort so we said goodbye but they kept following us. We went to our room and the kids wouldn’t leave. We closed the door and they stood outside. Lauren peaked out and their eyes were right there watching us. They giggled at us from outside and we were laughing inside. They were beginning to scare us. The baby was off the little girls back and I was beginning to think she was going to leave the baby on the doorsteps for us to take. We needed to leave these kids so we turned on the TV so they would think we were still in the room and tried to escape out the front since they were at our backdoor. The plan didn’t work because one little boy chased after us. We made it to the reception and the kids knew they couldn’t go that far so we were safe. We aren’t really sure what they wanted. Around here if they want money, they put their hand out and ask, they aren’t shy about it, but these kids didn’t do that. So maybe they just wanted company and someone to play with?

It was time to watch the sunset on the beach! I got my camera ready and we managed to get a glimpse of it before a huge cloud blocked out view.

Although this trip is hardly a vacation, we still do many of the same tourists things. Taking pictures, videos and buying souvenirs for a month long is really getting exhausting. For a two week vacation it's all fun but after 4 weeks of documenting everything and bargaining, I am looking forward to “everyday life.”

We went back to our room to clean up before dinner. Dinner was at 7pm and it was a buffet. Traditional Dancing was going to follow dinner. We went early to get a good seat. The dining area is outside and I love that! The moon was out and the evening was just so pleasant. Dinner was ready early and it was such a treat to have a huge variety of foods! We acted like we have never seen real food and everyone was practically drooling with excitement. Pizza bites, rolls, chicken, avocados, cooked vegetables, rice, sweet and sour pork, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and catfish. And dessert too!

After dinner the village dancers performed. I was ready: camcorder and tripod ready to go! They don’t do this every night, only if we request it and Dr. Kelly called this morning to make sure they were planning on it. So it was a great treat. Three ladies clapped and sang in the back while the men played the drums. Different people dressed up in rags and masks came out to dance. Well they didn’t really dance they just flopped around looking in the donation box asking for money. They were actually really scary looking and got very close. We had seen dances similar to this one but these men had the most impressive costumes.

The Thailand people were sitting on one side and we sat on the other. Each sides had a donation box. Sometime they would look in the Thialands box and it would be empty so we told them to look in ours and it would be full so then they would try to fill their box. It was like Americans vs. Thialands… but all in good fun!

After the village dancers it was time for the acrobats to perform. This is something new, Dr. Kelly had never seen this before. WOW! It kept our attention for a long time. They would stack themselves 3 people high and then jump down. No pads, nets or anything. They jumped, flipped, and summer saulted in the air. They did all kinds of cool juggling and balancing tricks. It was a lot of fun and I got it all on tape!

It was past 9pm so everyone headed to bed. Our group is not used to late nights. Even though everyone was overstuffed, we were already talking about the morning breakfast buffet.

I’m sitting in my bed under the mosquito net typing and I’m getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. We didn’t use the nets anywhere but Mvuu, but here they came and put them over the bed while we were at dinner but it doesn’t seem to be working. I’ve never had a major issue with them until tonight. I’m going to get some Deet out and see if that helps because this is really unpleasant. What’s the point of these nets?

Heidi told us about the history of the museum that we are visiting tomorrow. She said a man came to the village and wanted to document their rituals and the village agreed but the deal was the pictures could never leave their land. So he set up a museum with all of the photographs and information about their rituals but no photographs are allowed because it can’t leave this land. I think it’s a really cool concept and I’m looking forward to not being able to take pictures.