August 28, the highs and the lows of Africa

(first draft, Aug 20)

Well I am writing this update with two pieces of good news for the week -



Chambe Peak at dusk



1. I survived Mt Mulanje (although only just!), and

2. The planned anti-government demos scheduled for Wednesday were cancelled at the last minute!



Mt Mulanje - 3 friends and I (it is important to note that they are all half my age!, one even younger than my daughter!) climbed up to Chembe Peak, at 2100m. We had a guide and 2 porters (I was so grateful for those guides I think I might have proposed to one of them!!) who carried our packs. There is a hut at the top, but you need to supply all food, drink, cooking utensils etc., hence the heavy packs. We took the THP vehicle from Blantyre Sat morning, and drove to the mountain (about an hour away), got to the Forest office, where we picked up the helpers and trotted off. (our THP driver stayed at the bottom, thank goodness!) The first hour was OK, but as we went on the trail got steeper, and my sense of humour almost deserted me! The last half hour of the 5 hour hike to the hut was the flattest part of the track, but strangely the most difficult. My legs had gone completely to mush! The hut was such a welcome sight, and we prepared an interesting concoction of tinned foods heated on an open fire for dinner. Washing and toileting were interesting (see facebook photos if you can), but basically we had one tap supplying cold water, and a few holes  in the ground. All of that would have been quite acceptable, had we been able to sleep. Even sleeping on the floor didn't bother me, despite how hard it was, but with four of us huddled together, none of us slept due to the freezing temperatures. Inside my sleeping bag I was wearing a beanie, socks, long pants and three layers of tops, but not a wink was had :(. Walking down was equally painful, but the scenery was pretty magnificent, and by the time I got to the bottom, I did feel quite a sense of achievement, albeit with a completely numb set of legs! I must say that by the time I got home, I was so pleased to see the piece of foam that calls itself my mattress!!



Walking down was harder than the ascent!



The next challenge was getting up Monday morning, especially the two flights of stairs I have to climb to get to the office. My work colleagues all found my levels of pain quite comical! Monday also saw me facilitating our Strategic Planning Day, so I was not able to sit in corner and feel sorry for myself, I had to be up the front, smiling and completely focussed on the task at hand. It was probably the best thing for me!! The good news is that by Friday, I was again able to get up and down the stairs at the office without pain (thank good for Neurofen!!!!)

Wednesday was scheduled to be the second day of anti-government demos. There has been such uproar in Malawi since the first (July 20) demonstration, when 19 people died as a result of (alleged) police gunfire, and this demo was scheduled on the basis that President Bingu hadn't responded to the petition he was delivered back then. Tuesday saw the presence of many many fully kitted out riot police, walking and driving around Blantyre, on every corner and ever present. Last thing Tuesday, the demo was cancelled. There has been so many explanations for the cancellation, some of which include a) a UN delegation arrived to investigate what is going on, b) the police didnt have enough officers or teargas (yes, that was really on the front page of today's paper!!), c) the organisers were called to a meeting with police on Tuesday and told they would be held responsible for any deaths and property damage so they changed their minds, and d) the organisers were paid off by the government!! Truly, each one of these scenarios has been reported in the papers!, draw your own conclusions! Anyway, I was picked up by the CD at about 9:30am Wed morning, when he was sure nothing was on. Town was quiet, most shops remained closed for the day, it was more like a Sunday, and there remains an easy calm since, although the official word is that the Aug 17 demo has just been postponed for a month, so the Pres hasnt been let of the hook!!

(cont .. Aug 28)

So my optimism and love of Malawi took a dive last weekend when a group of four of us were walking home from our favourite "restaurant" on Saturday night around 8pm. Four youngish thugs confronted us on the road that leads to our lodge, and relieved us of our handbags. I was lucky, only lost wallet (with only a portion of my cash), credit cards, camera, glasses, iPhone ... but one of the girls had everything (including passport, all money etc) in hers. That actual attack took us by such surprise. I put up a bit of a fight (as best I could while lying on the ground) and was refusing to give up my bag. It was only later I discovered a couple of them had machetes, so, in hindsight, I think we were pretty lucky to get off with only a few bruises.

Sunday we trotted off to the Police Station to report the crime, and was able to show the local 'detective' the actual whereabouts of my iPhone, compliments of the "Find My iPhone" app on my laptop. What followed was like a scene from Keystone Cops. We had to arrange a taxi (as apparently no police vehicles were available), and two of us plus two detectives and taxi driver set off in the direction of where my PC was telling me my iPhone was (not surprisingly, in one of the local slums). Tamsin and I were naturally quite nervous, the two detectives (one a female built a bit like Dawn French, the other a very skinny male) were so fascinated by technology I had on my laptop, that when we asked what would actually occur if we found the right house .. they laughed!! The taxi drove us as far as he could get us into the slum, but we eventually had to get out and go on foot given the shitty state of the  'roads', so you can imagine the sight of the four of us walking around with my laptop open and trying to track the phone, and about 20 of the slum kids following along ... needless to say that wireless coverage eventually gave up, and so did we. It would have been OK anywhere else, but a blue dot on a 'road' with no name in Blantyre could be one of about 10 houses, so we lost the trail.

The next evening the phone turned up in a different area of Blantyre, apparently sold now. This time the CD and I picked up 3 detectives (along with their guns and handcuffs) in his car, and went off again. I was trying to work out exactly what we would do with the offender/s if we caught him (were we to then take him to jail??, coz with the five of us in the car the crim would have had to travel in the boot of the car!), but again we had the problem of too many houses for one 'blue dot'. Since then we have lost the trail, either the phone has been wiped, or it is has run out of charge. The police havent given up, they have supplied the serial number to the network operators, who will supply a call log if it is used (with any SIM!). Apparently the most common trick is to call the phone, tell the person they have 'won a food hamper from Airtel", and they need to come and collect it. Apparently works every time!!!

On a personal note, I have recovered from the attack, I was a bit shaken for a few days, like a frightened mouse every time someone on the street spoke to me, but thankfully all good now, back to normal, even the bruises are fading, so just a distant memory now! Hard way to learn a lesson (NEVER WALK ON THE STREETS OF MALAWI AFTER DARK, EVEN IN A GROUP!!), but I have learned it now!!

Such a long note, wont bore you with the trivia that has followed, but happy to say Bill has been busy putting together a package of replacements for everything I lost, and it arrives Wednesday, courtesy of an Australia THP investor who is visiting - it feels like waiting for Christmas ... I will have my GLASSES, as well as money. What more does a girl need???

Hope everyone is well, and apologies for the long note. Congrats to all who have stayed the distance!!