A Little Holiday

I spent the last week away from Ripple exploring more of Malawi with friends I have met here. We took the ferry from Nkhata Bay over to the tiny island of Likomo Island. From there, me and two others went onto Mozambique to a tiny town called Cobue. This ended up being a huge mistake with us discovering just how tiny it really was and having great difficulty finding lodging and food. For once, I was disappointed with Lonely Planet as the lodge we had hoped to stay in was 20 km away and very difficult if not impossible to get to. We thought our little place we live in Malawi was remote, but it turns out that this was much more so with essentially no traffic coming or going and the only town boat broken. We ended up finding a place for the night and returned to our friends on Likomo Island the next day to a wonderful backpackers called Mango Drift. We were spoiled there with amazing views, crystal clear water, and fabulous food. I'll let my pictures share the rest....
It felt like we were climbing onboard the Titanic when we boarded the "Illala". We chose to go first class which meant we could stay on the top deck and had the option to rent a mattress. Unfortunately, it was very cold up there with no protection from the wind. On our way back, all of the mattresses were rented so it was a pretty miserable night laying on the hard floor freezing in the wind. The other options were down in the lower area with no windows being pushed up against chickens and fish. So, we were pretty lucky.
Me and Sarah on a little boat heading over to Mozambique. It was a bit of a mission getting on these small boats off of the Illala. Note how tired I am. Not looking my best.
Women washing themselves, clothes, and dishes in the lake.

The beautiful sunset in Mozambique. We decided we couldn't complain too much about Mozambique with views like this.
Children washing dishes beside the trail.
It's nice to have connections. The girls to my right work at Mango Drift and they are friends with a guy who has painted me pictures back at Mwaya Beach. They invited me and Patrick, another volunteer, over for lunch of rice, goat, and beans. I met her whole family and her mother is to my left.
The sunset from Mango Drift on Likomo Island

Me and Patrick having an evening swim. A rare treat as where we live we worry about crocodiles.