Blue Waters, Blue Skies

If these boxes that smell like fish and probably contain fish and seem to weigh hundreds of pounds fell on my head right now, I would probably die and that would be a strange way to go...I spent at least half the bus ride staring at the thin and frayed twine that held up boxes above my head…luckily the boxes didn’t fall and roadside vendors selling everything from juice to cabbage at our windows at every stop, the friendly woman sitting behind me who invited us to stay with her family that night, and the girl beside us who helped us negotiate the purchase of cookies and soda by sticking her body out the window and yelling in a language we didn’t know..kept me distracted from the boxes of fish. And soon, we would begin to see the lake, stretching out on both sides of us.

From Malawi’s capital city to the northern shores of the lake we would be on a bus of some sort for over 13 hours, but waking up in the morning, opening your mosquito net canopy and walking out to your deck that towers over the waves of the lake on stilts, in your wooden room carved into the bluffs, make it all worth it. At $10 a night, our lodge is spendy for Malawian standards and even ours but the beauty, location, staff, food, and atmosphere make it hard to pack up and find a cheaper backpack lodge.

Our first full day in Nhkata Bay is spent at the beach, swimming in perfectly clear, bright blue water, confusing where the lake and the horizon of the sky start and end, thinking we must be at the ocean. After our first full night, the owner of the lodge, a crazy character named Gary, who reminds me a lot of my dad, makes his rounds to every table around the bar/restaurant attached to our lodge. He greets everyone by name before sitting at our table and apologizing for not meeting us earlier. When we explain we are sisters travelling independently and we arrived just after 1am, his eyes widen and he rushes off to bring us a free bottle of his best wine, one the house, on the house, he smiles! After he pours us our first drink, he asks if we are staying in the dorms, when we say yes, he tells us about the beautiful chalets they have on the lake and since it is low season, they must have an open one they can put us up in, and of course we can just pay the dorm rate. So with our free bottle of wine and room upgrade, we don’t think it can get much better than that, until after Gary has a few more beers, he proclaims to everyone at the bar that we are all drinking free the rest of the night. So amidst the local rasta men playing hand drums, bottles of vodka and whiskey being passed around amongst the bar, the owner’s three dogs laying at our feet, Michael Jackson playing on the radio, and a Malawian beer in my hand, I still am missing Zimbabwe but am happy and lucky to be here, amongst these new friends.

The night goes on and we end up hitching a ride into town with the group from that bar and we dance and listen to music until 4am, sleep until noon, and wake up to waves breaking beneath our bed and banana pancakes in the kitchen. Today we borrowed the lodge’s canoe, yesterday we borrowed their snorkel gear, I’ve read two books in the past two days both borrowed from the lodge’s giant collection, gained at least five pounds since this trip started feasting on food that makes my tastebuds feel alive, I’ve finished my bottle of sunscreen and am feeling more tan than I have in my life, I have even gotten ahold of Farai on the phone, and I am content.