Eric and I wake up to sunshine and the sound of waves rustling up the shore…
Life is good.
After breakfast, we start thinking about what we want to do and where we want to go.
Do we stay here in Nkhata Bay and enjoy being stationary for a bit? Do we hop on the overnight ferry and head to one of the islands in the middle of the lake? Or do we head further down the coast and explore some of the other coastal towns?
Each of these options is great, but we’re having trouble deciding…
If we want to go to the islands, we have to take an overnight ferry to get there. And since we’ve done both the extra-long and the overnight bus rides, we’re not anticipating a similar ferry ride being that much different – having cockroaches as seatmates and being completely knackered the next day has lost the charm. Plus the passenger ferries only go to the islands once a week, so once you’re there, you’re stuck there… unless of course you want to negotiate your way off with a cargo ship or a fishing boat.
And if we decide to head further south, we lose at least half a day due to travel. Minibuses going south aren’t as frequent and only leave when they’re full, which basically means time spent waiting for a ride on a crammed minibus is time not spent relaxing. So you have to ask yourself, is it really worth the upheaval?
Nhkata Bay on the other hand, seems to be one of those places which has a nice balance of having lots of things to do and having not much to do. There are bays we can walk to, a town we can walk through, people we can talk to and most importantly a lake right outside our door.
Besides, after 10 months of being “on the road” we’re starting to feel tired. And since we still have 2 months left, we want to make sure we’re rested enough to enjoy it. So although we don’t want to get lazy and miss out on some great opportunities, we also don’t want to just see something for the sake of seeing something.
Finally, of all the countries we’ve been to in Africa, Malawi seems to be the most chill. In fact, that’s why most people come here… to relax. Yes, there are lots of things to do here, but not to the same extent as in other places we’ve been – the sights really consist of Lake Malawi and a few national parks.
So after a long discussion, Eric and I decide to just stay put for the next few days.
And our decision is confirmed for us when we try to take money out of the ATM machine and it doesn’t work – we have enough cash to enjoy a few days here, so we extend our reservation at Big Blue Star and settle ourselves in…
We read. We play cards. We go for long walks on the beach.
We be.
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