This is Africa

Anyone likely to worry about me – don’t read this one!

Last Friday I joined a cultural visit to Mua Mission.  From there we felt we were just too close not to take advantage of my new found contacts and head to the Lake.  Our driver gave us a lift into a small town on the outskirts of Salima where we jumped out in search of transport.

The only transport option as far as Salima turned out to be bicycle taxis.  It was almost 4pm, we needed to get to Senga Bay before dark and hey it was my first time.  Bicycle taxis have a padded seat over the back wheel.  Sometimes they come with something to hold on to, but otherwise it’s down to balance and grabbing hold of what you can around the seat.  Women here often ride side saddle, but I thought that was pushing my luck.  Thankfully, I had my stuff in a back pack – some ride with suitcases, but I haven’t figured out how they manage that, there’s not a lot of room between the driver and his passenger!   I relaxed once I realised I wasn’t going to fall off and that the driver did have the presence of mind to leave the road when there was a car coming,  if a bit abruptly, given at the back you can’t see anything other than his back.  It’s not only fun but a great way of covering a couple of kms in super quick time.

Arriving in Salima was the usual frenzy of taxi drivers and Matolos vying for trade, there were at least 6 round me before I’d even stepped off the bike.  We agreed our price and yes I admit it, climbed into the back of a pick-up truck, sat on the side with everyone else, holding on very tightly to the frame at the back of the driver’s cab and rode the 10 km into Salima with the wind in my face – not to mention elbows, knees and other less savoury body parts as more and more squeezed on.  OK, so it’s not our Western idea of the safest mode of transport, but it is the only public transport and believe me I’d rather do that than get in some unlicenced ‘taxi’.  As ever, lots of people chatted to us – the usual questions, who are we?, how long have we been in Malawi?, where are we from?, do we like Malawi?, etc plus the constant ‘hey this is Africa’ whenever something makes us laugh.  I know I keep saying it but people are incredibly friendly and helpful.

Coming back was the real delight – not only did they pack on the people but most of them returning from the Lake brought with them bags of fish – from huge bin liners full to small supermarket carrier bags and that many fish do tend to ooze a bit.  I washed my rucksack as soon as I got home but even now I can sense the faint whiff of fish in the air!

More from the Lake itself in the next instalment!