visa run

I made a visa-run to Blantyre, Malawi this past weekend. On the ride there I slept - when I awoke at the border it felt as if I'd arrived in a completely different land! The air was COOL, the humidity was gone, mountains provided a brilliant backdrop to bright green tea plantations and tall rows of corn. It was so lush and green and colorful. Absolutely beautiful!! The mud and straw thatched huts turned to log and concrete homes. The road became paved. Bicycles were replaced with trucks and cars. Blantyre has a shopping center with a ShopRite, a Malawi version of Target, more than two restaurants :-), and a cinema! And...in Malawi they speak ENGLISH! All too good to be true! I couldn't believe I hadn't come sooner. I didn't want to leave. :-)

A colleague of a colleague gave me a ride to Blantyre and offered me to stay with his family in their home. I enjoyed home-cooked Peruvian meals and played legos with their youngest son. He is four and very talkative. :-) The compound they live on is just outside of Blantyre, up on a hill, with the most magnificent view. The air was so cool and fresh. I slept like a baby!

Here are a few (motion) snapshots from the truck - starting in Moz, crossing the border, and back again. The ride there took about six hours; the return trip took 12 1/2, complete with a flat tire on a new Land Rover (with an inadequate jack) on the one stretch of land that no cell phone reaches, no electricity can be found, 8pm, and it was raining. Thankfully I had a flashlight and an umbrella with me! The chickens on the top of the truck weren't so lucky...