With our new driver, Lester, at the wheel we got a full tank of gas and headed north on the M1 toward Mzuzu. Once we were past the Kusumu (Lilongwe) airport, we encountered little traffic and few towns for the next five hours. After approximately two hours from Lilongwe the terrain began to change. Mountains began to appear.
At the three-and-on-half hour point the world turned green. Huge tree plantations filled the scene on both sides of the highway. Lester said that the tall straight pines were on a twenty-year cycle. The whole forest was clear cut and immediately seedlings were planted to begin the cycle all over again. Lumber appear along side the road in ever increasing supplies. The houses in villages were sometimes made out of rough lumber instead of brick and adobe.
The mountainous rock outcroppings added interest to the drive. We suspect that they are the cones of extinct volcanoes. Millions of years have eroded away all of the original land covering leaving only the granite (?) core. The most famous of these formations is called Elephant Rock. It looks much like an elephant head without a trunk.
Mzuzu is a small town compared to Lilongwe or Blantyre. We were impressed by the beauty with a large boulevard adorned with the purple blooms of the jacaranda as far as the eye can see.
We were greeted at the parsonage by Pastor Copeland Nkhata and others from the church. After the brief greetings we went a short distance to Mzuzu University to the guest house they had arranged for us. The house was very nice and the location was great. There was one problem – no hot water.
We left that location to check out the Anglican guest house on the other side of town. It will work. They have plenty of hot water and the beds are comfortable. So, we headed back to the University, got our things out of that house and put them back in the Carina. A young woman named Katie, from the UK, is staying in the Anglican facility for a couple months and working in the parish office. We also met several other guests who are from Likoma Island, a Malawian island in Lake Malawi just off the coast of Mozambique. We had read about the fabulous Anglican church there and the natural beauty of the island. The retired priest said it is a 5-6 hour boat trip to get there but it sounds like a fascinating place to see on another visit.
Once we had our luggage back in the “boot” it was dinner time so we returned to the parsonage for a feast of chicken, meat balls. rice, potatoes, salad, and beans. Many of the officers of the church were there. We had a good discussion around micro-loans and other matters before deciding it was time to move into our new location.
We headed back to the Anglican Guest House, moved into the rooms and settled down for a good night’s sleep and ready to start a northern Malawi adventure on Thursday.
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