12 May 2008

We are in Malawi now!
We crossed the border on Friday, 9 May, and are extremely glad to be here. The last week in Mozambique (since we left our beach stay in Pomene) was pretty rough. Moz. is very expensive, much more than we were anticipating, and we ran into lots of hassles, lots of bad roads, and could not find safe places to camp, so ended up having to pay for dorm rooms at backpackers, and one night just slept inside the truck. It was very very long days of driving, and driving the truck for those periods of time is physically grueling and exhausting for WR. There was lots of discussion about what is the point of the trip if every day is going to be like this.From what we heard from people at the Pomene lodge, the government of Mozambique is trying to develop it into a destination for luxury and high-end travel, like Botswana already is. There isn’t much interest in accomodating budget travel or camping, and prices have sky-rocketed in the country just in the last year. None of the prices in our Lonely Planet guide were correct, all were higher, whereas so far in Malawi the prices are right on.
On the road from Chimoio to Tete, we had our third flat tire, but it was the same tire that had gone flat en route to Chimoio. The patch did not hold, the innertube was too far gone. Right now we are still driving with one of our spare wheels on, but when we get it fixed we will put in a new innertube this time. A crowd of children gathered by the side of the road to watch WR change the tire, and Julie took a great picture of them. They were very excited to have their picture taken.
We arrived in Tete in the evening on May 8. The highlight of the town is a big suspension bridge over the Zambezi River. The campsite we had been told about in Tete, on the river, was closed. We ate at a local restaurant with a very nice owner, got diesel, drove around the town trying to decide what to do. We didn’t feel safe parking on the street to camp, but found a parking lot near a local hotel where we felt safe to park, and just slept in the truck. There was a transport lorry in the parking lot with 4 camels in the back. They were being driven from Kenya to Vilanculos, Moz. where a life of giving camel rides awaits them. We chatted with the truck driver a bit. They were all male camels, and were tied so they were sitting, couldn’t stand up in the trailer, poor things. The driver said they were males because females wouldn’t have calm enough temperments to stand the trip.
We caught a few hours of sleep in the truck, then started out the next morning before dawn for the Malawi border. We reached the border at 8am, and immediately a Moz. customs official was at the car and took our passport and vehicle papers away. He came back in awhile with Julie’s, stamped to leave the country. Julie had to get a visa for Moz. at the embassy in the US, so had a 3-month visa to be in the country. We were there for a total of 34 days. WR didn’t need a visa, and at the border when we entered, he had asked, and they said he could stay for 90 days. Well at this border to leave they said he had only been stamped in for 30 days. First they said it would be a $75 fine. Then they changed it to $75/day, or $300. With the budget we’re traveling on, this is a massive amount of money that we absolutely can’t spare. WR tried begging, pleading, negotiating, talking to all the different officials he could. We sat in the truck and waited for a couple of hours, hoping to wear them down or outwait them or something. No use, they didn’t care. Other people we talked to, border guards, said that was not the right fine, but there was absolutely nothing we could do about it, because the immigration officials wouldn’t budge, and they were holding WR’s passport, so were in a position to extort whatever they wanted out of him. So after a couple hours, and feeling completely sick with anger about it, he paid the fine. From what we saw in Moz., there is a culture of corruption and this is the norm. WR said he would never go back to Moz.
On the Malawi side of the border, it took us a couple of hours to get all of the paperwork done for getting in, but it went very smoothly. The 3rd party insurance for the truck was $80, and the temporary import permit was $8. There were no immigration fees. Neither of us needed visas, and we were stamped in for 30 days. We are planning on staying in Malawi for awhile, so will get visa extensions as needed every 30 days. At the Forex at the Malawi side of the border, WR was chatting with the clerk there, and told him about our frustrations with Moz., and he agreed that that’s how Moz. is. He said that after one week in Malawi and we would forget all about it, and if we stayed here for three months we would stay for six months!
We drove the 110km from the border to Blantyre. Blantyre is not the capital, but it is the biggest, busiest city in Malawi (but still quite small compared to other African cities). We are staying at a backpackers called Doogles, and are able to camp here for $3/person/day, and they have a nice outdoor kitchen. It is a great place. We’ve only been here for two and a half days, but so far we love Malawi. It is very much set up for budget travel and for camping, and the people are very laid back and friendly. Blantyre seems very nice, it is a very compact and walkable city, and has everything you could need.
Saturday, May 10, was our “one year since the day we met” anniversary. To celebrate, we got dressed up all nice and went out for dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant here in Blantyre. It was no “Addis in Cape” (Cape Town) or “Ethiopian Diamond” (Chicago)—fabulous Ethiopian restaurants we have been to in the past—but hey, this is Malawi. The food was great, and we had a very nice time, depsite the lack of atmosphere or décor.
We are planning to stay in Blantyre for a few more days as it’s very cheap and we are enjoying it. The plan right now is to head for Mulanje in the middle of the week to do the hiking/mountain climbing at Mt. Mulanje, which will take about 5 days. From there we will go back through Blantyre, then to the southern end of Lake Malawi, near Mangochi, to Malawi Children’s Village.