Saturday morning we left the village for town. We first headed to the monument in town where Malawis first president is buried. The group had a tour of the monument and learned all about president Kamuzu Banda. Learning about him really does teach people how Malawi came to be the way it is. He is an important man in history. The group enjoyed the short tour. We took some pictures and then went down to the local woodcarvers market for some shopping. As we drove to town I gave the team some tips on how to deal with vendors. Many of our volunteers have been in other counties where markets are similar so most were pretty relaxed and felt it would all be fine. We parked across from the market and walked over. As soon as our feet hit the market chaos ensued. All the vendors vying for each of our attention. There are several vendors that I know and they quickly came to me asking if I needed anything and asking about the group. They wanted to be sure that I had told my visitors where to shop. It wasn’t long before several of the volunteers were calling my name and asking me for help. You have to be on your toes in this market that’s for sure! Everyone wanted to get a “good price” so I helped where I could. A few of the vendors got a little to aggressive for some and I had to sternly ask them to go away! I kept my smile, but some in the group were clearly stressed! After everyone had had enough we went back across the street to find a few things at the shopping center. Soon we all were done and ready to head for lunch. There would be a few shops there near the restaurant that were a bit nicer and defiantly more low key. I think the wood carvers market is a must though for volunteers to experience 🙂
The group enjoyed the other shops and while they continued to shop I went and got our table for lunch. Lunch was amazing! We had Italian food and many of us ordered pizza (yes you can get pizza in Malawi). I was keen to keep us on schedule so around 1:15 we figured up the bill and back in the bus we went. We had about a 2 hour drive to the lake and everyone was excited to see the rural areas of Malawi. It is a beautiful drive and a drive with an incredible bonus and the end, the lake!!! No matter how many pictures people see or books they read about lake Malawi there isn’t anything that compares to seeing it for yourself. It’s simply gorgeous. The sun was shining and the group was all awestruck once the lake came into view. The lake retreat where we stayed is set into a hillside that overlooks the lake. After being shown our rooms we all met back at the main area for a cold drink. At 4pm everyone had the option to go on a boat ride and feed the fish Eagles (bald eagles) all but 2 of us decided to go. Elizabeth and I stayed back and decided to take the ride in the morning on the next day. When they all returned from the boat ride they were so excited! They loved seeing the fish Eagles so close up and couldn’t believe the sunset over lake Malawi. Greg got some incredible pictures! We have 2 talented photographers on this trip so I have left all the picture taking to them.
We had great dinner all together and then decided to hang around playing some games. We split into 2 teams and played a game similar to charades. Lots of laughing and a few new inside jokes were made and then it was time for bed. We didn’t have a wake up time so we all were excited knowing we could sleep in.
The next morning most of us were up at the normal 6:30 or 7. I think everyone was excited to spend at least 1/2 day more enjoying the lake. The ride to feed the fish Eagles was awesome! All of us went this time. The wind was blowing and the water was quite choppy. This made for a bumpy and wet ride 🙂 after feeding the Eagles we anchored the boat out in the deep water and some of us went for swim. I was encouraged by the others to jump in off the boat and after jumping in I was glad they had convinced me. The water didn’t feel cold at all and for a few minutes it was fun swimming with the big waves tossing us around. It was amazing how quickly I got tired though. That is a lot of work to keep yourself up and near the boat when it’s so choppy. After a few min I swam for the ladder they had put over the side and climbed back in. Most of the others followed behind me. We went back to take showers and pack up. The drive back was going to be 2 hours at least and we wanted to be back before it got dark. Everyone was so sad to leave the lake, but at the same time juts thrilled that we had been able to have this one night there.
Tamweka Update-
On Saturday morning I got a call from Tovia. She was supposed to take Tamweka back to the hospital and return the samples so that the TB test could be done. She called me around lunch time and said they had dropped the samples and got back on the minibus headed for home. Results wouldn’t be ready until Monday. Tamweka had started vomiting again and Tovia said it was worse than before. I told her to not go home and instead go back to the hospital. I told her that we could no longer manage this on our own. She informed me that on Saturday the hospital is only open 1/2 day. I told her to wait and I would call her back. I made some calls and found out that the emergency room would be open so I phoned Tovia and told her to take her there. I knew my phone wouldn’t work while we were at the lake so I wanted all of this sorted out before I went off the grid for 2 days. Tovia called me an hour later and said the ER doctor and told her just to take Tamweka home and give her medicine and things should improve. So that’s what Tovia did. We would see Monday what was happening. I will post about Monday asap with another update on what’s happening now. Please pray for her because she is a very sick little girl. It’s heartbreaking to watch her struggle.