chills and spills

Somehow another three weeks have flown by since our last post....I'm not sure how. Since I last wrote of our late August escapades, we've been occupied with daily Lilongwe life, and the added joy of the visit of Ms. Katrina Cook, special delivery care of Richland, WA.

We've managed to continue the bouldering exploration south of town in beautiful Dedza, to the great bemusement of the local villagers.



So life has been good, and full. We spent a day getting lost* at a local wildlife park run by some friends, got hit by a minibus whilst driving downtown on the motorcycle**, did some property hunting***, oh, and I got a job! My real own job, in fisheries related work. As of next week, I'll be working with the local agriculture/aquaculture college through CIDA (the Canadian International Development Agency), looking into sustainable aquaculture development in the Lilongwe region. I don't have many more details than that, but it's a 6 month gig, and a good progression in the direction of connecting with fisheries on a professional level here.

*Well, one of us did. Our poor friend Rachel had a bit more of an adventure than she had planned during the inaugural Kuti game count, wandering in grass that towered far over her 5'4" frame for a couple of hours, looking for wildebeest & zebra. When in Africa...

The sun sets over Kuti

Orienteering, game count style

zebra love

Sable, wildebeest and zebra, oh my!

**You haven't lived until you've been sideswiped by a minibus driver in heavy traffic. Great fun, I promise. Road rash feels as great in the tropics as it does at home. And the thought that the dude may have just purchased his drivers license rather than pass a test is very encouraging. 

***Real estate hunting in Malawi is a slow progression of stating a vague interest, meeting with various folk 'in the know', and gently pursuing those connections. This will continue. 

Waterfront property within reach

We also got out for a three day scrambling mission to Mt. Mulanje for my birthday weekend. A plan that had long been in the works, we were pretty thrilled to be able to pull it off in the midst of a hectic workweek for both Devon and myself. The Mountain Club of Malawi manages a series of huts on the massif, which enables one to embark on some more serious climbs without lugging serious gear about. With the lovely company of six like minded friends, we spent the weekend bagging some peaks, route finding, and making plans to come back for more, perhaps with rock gear next time. It's a relief to have access to a fairly serious mountain range so close to home. Mountain ecology worldwide tends to reflect the elevation gradient, more than the latitude, and Mulanje was hardly an exception. The landscape was reminiscent of hiking in northern BC, and I caught myself trying to identify mosses, lichens, and small woody plants. Nerd alert, I know. 

we're going up that way!

looking out over the plateau

obligatory summit shots, Nakodzwe

The similarities of hiking large-ish mountains in Malawi do have their limits, however. I would never think of hiring a guide or porter to scale a 3000 metre peak back home, but here we were quite the odd crew for endeavouring to both explore the mountain on our own, and to do so while carrying our own gear. While the local economy may certainly benefit from the additional injection of tourist dollars, it seems odd to us to remove the challenge of route hunting and spontaneity. Luckily we were able to get away with this strange quirk. 

An unexpected highlight of the weekend before I go? Whilst driving up to the trailhead, we (of course) got lost. Driving through a small village in the midst of endless tea plantations at the base of the massif was otherworldly enough, even before we approached a large group of school children attending outdoor assembly at the top of a hill. Approaching with trepidation, we were, sure enough, soon surrounded by about a hundred kids running after the vehicle yelling in excitement. Probably the best rendition of a sports wave that we've ever seen, and all for the odd sight of eight mzungus crowded into a pickup. And yes, they completely abandoned school and continued to chase us for close to 15 minutes, spilling over the hillside, until we got well out of range. 

so, so much tea

so, so much excitement!

Phew. We made it. And that's all for now! Hugs and love, C & D.