The main event of Saturday was dropping Lin at the airport. We stopped for coffee with her before her flight before leaving her with big hugs all round outside the entrance. It is very different without her. I am finding things to keep me occupied while Mari is working, but it is not the same as having someone else to go off and explore with.
The rest of Saturday was spent catching up on washing, getting Mari’s hair cut, and updating the blog – we had stopped into the Mount Soche hotel to pick up another Skyband card so I could finally upload the things I had written about the last week or so.
In the evening we had a civilised gin and tonic on the khonde with Chris, Mari’s new next door neighbour, followed by a vegetable cheese bake cooked by Mitsidi’s very own domestic goddess, my sister!
On Sunday we went for a walk at Michuri nature reserve with Chris and Hugh, and took a picnic of egg mayonnaise sandwiches, cheese straws (made by guess who!) and salad. We went in Hugh’s land rover, and on the way he explained the corrugations phenomenon we had experienced on the road to Cape Maclear – apparently it’s something to do with lorries and stones, and the best way to drive on it is to find the speed at which you catch the resonance, and then effectively skim along on the top of the bumps, rather like aqua-planing! It’s interesting to travel with a civil engineer for a change – you get a different perspective on life.
When we arrived I had my first experience of a pit latrine – a pretty civilised brick built one, but an experience nonetheless. I have to say though, it beat a lot of Spanish and French hole in the floor loos I used in my youth in terms of cleanliness!
I walked back up to the car park, closely watched by about 3 Vervet monkeys, and we all set off (the people not the monkeys) up trail 2. I would describe the terrain as rather like an English mixed woodland, but with all the undergrowth completely dried out, and the temperature at least 30 degrees. In a similar way the mountains here remind me of Snowdon, but bigger and with heat. No doubt some of the many geographers in my family will be able either to tell me why I feel like that, or that I’ve got it completely wrong!
The monkeys were the only animals we saw except for one small antelope, that legged it as soon as we came crashing along. However, Hugh and Mari were in their element, stopping every few yards to peer through their binoculars and debate what species of bird was in the next tree, and even stopping to consult the book from time to time. The sun grew hotter and hotter, and it was quite a relief to reach the picnic area, which was well-shaded. There were quite a few Malawian families, also enjoying picnics and barbecues, and a park ranger, complete with rifle, who discussed hornbills with Hugh.
After lunch we finished off trails 1 and 2 (taking in the hornbills on the way) and met David, Giacomo and the others, heading up the trail with their picnic as we made our way back to the car park.
Once we got home, Mari and I had a swim, followed by another gin on the khonde with Chris, and dinner of cottage pie, cooked by Linda this time.
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