Africa$h

My travel trio had once again changed, Mitchell was still around but English Paul had been transferred for American Scott. We managed to catch the early morning bus from Dar Es Salaam towards the Malawi-border, however we were all running low on Tanzanian shillings and nobody wanted to exchange more so we decided to go without food or drink until we reached the new country, problems arose though when the bus didn’t take us to the border in time to cross that evening. We were forced to find a bargain of a room and then make our way to the crossing the following morning, however we didn’t have enough currency for both accommodation and bus ticket but some sneaky misleading manoeuvres made sure that the bus cost us nothing. Once in Songwe on the Malawian side of the border we were faced with our next dilemma, the exchange rates we were being offered for our dollars were pretty good, but we felt certain we could get better once we reached a bigger town, in Malawi at the moment the devaluation of the local currency Kwacha means that one can get almost double of the official rate if you find somebody on the black market willing to buy dollars. We didn’t arrive in the town of Mzuzu until it was once again too late to do any business but an albino man named Christopher was kind enough to guide us around and took us to a cheap hotel which would let us pay for our room the following morning when the black market would reopen, this did however mean that we would once again have to go to bed on empty stomachs. When we awoke the next door restaurant made us some eggs which were delicious after almost three days of starvation, and we could eventually find a rate which was satisfying, pay for our tabs and move to the nearby Nkhata Bay. The bay provided a much needed place for relaxation and over the next few days we relaxed on the sandy shores of Lake Malawi, going on boat trips and enjoying beach parties. Then we met Swedish Marcus and his Australian wife Kate who work for National Geographic, they were driving down the coast to Nkhotakota where a ferry leaves once a week for the island of Likoma, and they kindly offered us a lift, so while Scott stayed to complete his diving-licence, Mitchell and I tagged along with the couple towards new adventures.
In Camera related News:
“Once Bitten, Twice Shy?” Not for this author, one would think after learning the hazards of salt-water in the Red Sea he would have learnt his lesson but no, once again the blue waters were too tempting and after going for a swim with the camera it turns out that it is not resistant to fresh-water either, so watch this space to see if it is possible to repair it for a second time.