It's good to have goals
Trip Start
Apr 21, 2008
1
44
225
Trip End
Apr 20, 2009
Likoma Island,
Malawi
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
When I woke up, I had breakfast with the girls by the side of the lake.Great breakfast spot. I enjoy our breakfasts together. I am glad they are on the island with me as we all get along. If I was alone, I definitely would have been bored. Having Erica is especially great as she tends to be the proactive one and convinces us to go on hikes each day.
One of the things I hope to achieve from this trip is to get back into shape. I knew I was going to lose weight (without trying) as I normally do when I travel. I always lose a lot of weight as I am prettyy active when I am on the road. So my initial plan was to lose about 15-20 pounds (which I think I have done already) at first and then start daily exercises to get fit (as opposed to just losing weight). I always complain that I don't have time to exercise back home (it's a very lame excuse) but now I have no reason not to find the time to exercise. All I have is time! I would not be happy with myself if I came back from this trip and didn't keep my promise of exercising most days while I was away. So today is the day where I start my exercises. The goal is not only to get fit but hopefully make my 1 hour workout a common part of my day even when I get back home. I am putting this is in writing so now EVERYONE knows. No pressure. My workout is basic for now but it will most probably evolve. I do some intensive stretching for 45 minutes and then do a series of bicep, tricep and stomach exercises for about 20 minutes. We'll see what this leads to. By the end of my trip, if I can't touch my toes without bending my knees, I will be pretty disappointed. That's a small goal. A bigger goal is being able to do the splits by the time I arrive home. That's a bigger goal for sure. We'll se if I can get there. These exercises will also help "fight" the long days at the beach :).
After I completed my first official workout, I joined Emma and Erica for another half day hike. This time we tackled the southern part of the island. While on the hike, a local man offered to sell us his goat for 3500 kwachas ($25).We obviously declined. We sensed that the man fell on hard times and really needed the money to feed his family.
I also ran into a group of young guys who were drinking the local beer- Chibuku. The beer actually comes in a carton that has huge writing on it stating "International Beer". I doubt anyone drinks this stuff outside Malawi. The locals had me try it and it tasted as awful as it looked. Whenn I peaked inside the carton, it looked more like oatmeal as it was white and thick. I took a sip and immediatel;y returned the carton to the group of guys. They laughed at my reaction. Worst beer I ever tried - by far.
Towards the end of the hike, we stopped at one of the beaches and just took a nap. It's great beingthe only 3 on the island as we have everything to ourselves. I am so glad I came this time of year. Anyhow, we had our heads down for about 15 minutes when we noticed about 20 kids just staring at us from about 25 feet. We could hear the giggles.Every 10 seconds we would hear one of them saying "Hello. How are you?". We ignored them for a while but we eventually gave up and just started talking with them. I eventually played soccer with the boys (the soccer ball was made out of plastic bags and elastic bands) while Emma played "pass the ball" with the girls. One thing I noticed is that the boys are separated from the girls at a very early age in Malawi.You hardly ever see the boys and girls playing together.
At night, the Lake fills up with local fishermen.They go out in these small boats that can only fit 1person. They leave at about 7:30 pm and return in the morning. What's nice is that they bring lanterns with them so you could see these sets lights spread out across the lake.
I was supposed to leave tomorrow but I decided to stay another day. It's too nice here.
