Mutiny in Malawi
Trip Start
Jan 20, 2006
1
9
17
Trip End
Mar 24, 2006
Chintheche,
Malawi
Saturday, February 18, 2006
I was pretty horrified at what I had to wear - a granny dress. Big box shoulders, pleated skirt down past my knees and a lacy doillie round my neck - all in a hideous floral pattern.....in fact i could've sworn in actually was my gran's!!
As you can probably imagine, most of the blokes were dressed in skirts, bustiers, dresses etc., A good night was had, although all felt a little rough the next day
Fashion Disaster!
!Had a fantastic horse ride through the villages and forest near our campsite the next afternoon. Finished with a swim in the sea on horseback, taking the horses off the sand ledge so they actually had to swim - great fun! Also visited a local village (of 20 people) and were treated to a display of singing, dancing and drums, plus a local meal. I really enjoyed this visit over others i've done (maasai, pygmies) because it seemed that the villagers had never or rarely performed for tourists before, so everything was going wrong, and they seemed really coy, but that made it so more real. I quite enjoyed our meal too (particularly as it had no later side effects!!). We had cassava/maize mash, pumpkin leaf mash, little fish (sort of like whitebait) in a spicy juice and a few chunks of beef in a stew. Finished off with a slice of paw-paw fruit. A few in our group really turned their noses up at the meal, but I thought it was fine.....finished off a few other plates too!!!
Our guide is being a real pain. He's quite arrogant and treats us a bit like children - keeping back info about where we are going, when and what to do until the last minute as if he gets a power trip out of it. Later that night, as resentment of our guide continued to grow, a coup was planned in the restaurant. It hasn't materialised yet, although today he hid in the drivers cab as everyone as just about everyone is having a go at him all the time! There was talk of beheading his favourite $60 wood statue he bought in Malawi and leaving it in his bed, but that seems a bit harsh maybe! It does seem like some people are ready to explode though, so i'm just going to sit back and watch!!
