I flew from the Nairobi airport to Llongwe, the capital of Malawi. The airport was located a long distance out of the city, and there was no public transportation available, so I had to pay for an expensive taxi to get into the city.

I got dropped off at a hotel that was recommended in my guidebook, and luckily they had a room available for $10 per night. The hotel was only a 15 minute walk away from the city center, but it was anything but a clear and straightforward route. The center of this city was very strange - it was not really a center at all but a few semi-modern shopping centers located around a single intersection. I didn't take a single photo.

My travel research had found that one backpacker destination in Malawi was Nkhata Bay, located on the shores of Lake Malawi. I bought a bus ticket and left in the morning. Unfortunately, our bus didn't leave until it was full (normal practice in Africa) and we sat in the parking lot for several hours before leaving the city. The bus made many stops during the trip, both to pick up and drop off passengers, and I didn't reach Nhhata Bay (map) until after sundown. It was a smaller town that I had imaged, and finding a hotel was difficult in the dark streets. Finally I found the Safari Hotel near the edge of town, and booked a room for a few dollars. They had a kitchen, so I had dinner as well.

Lake Malawi is part of the Rift Valley and is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. It is over 350 miles long and averages averages about 50 miles east to west. The depth of the lake reaches 2,500 feet. Lake Malawi National Park, containing Cape Maclear, near the south part of the lake is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The next morning I looked for another hotel near the famous beaches. I found that most of the tourist locations were about 2 to 3 kilometers outside of the town.  I walked out there, and found "Myoka Village", and got my own beach-side bungalow for $8 per night (see photo at right).

It was a great place to relax and I stayed there two nights. In the morning, I could hear the waves lapping against the beach rocks and a gentle breeze coming through my screened windows. It was very difficult to leave this beautiful peaceful place and hit the road again, but I had places to see (which were unknown at this time). I had to resort to philosophy to get myself back in motion. What is the difference between vacationing and traveling? - and I knew I was definately traveling here.

I got a bus to my next destination - Cape Maclear (map) on the south coast of Lake Malawi. I made a mistake by choosing a minibus instead of a larger bus, and it made many, many stops along the way. I had to make a bus transfer in a small city, and didn't arrive until 6 pm. I got my second bus at 7 pm, and still had 130 km to reach Cape Maclear. I reached the village of Monkey Bay and had to stay there for the night. I think there was only a single hotel in this small town, and I got a room for less than $2 for a night.

The next morning I took the only transport method available to reach Cape Maclear - a Matolo. A Matolo is simply a small pickup truck where you sit in the back without a seat. It was very crowded and uncomfortable as I rode with many people and several 100 pound sacks of cornmeal. At Cape Maclear, I found a hotel called Fat Monkey right on the beach. I relaxed on the nice sandy beach and swam in the clear water. One disadvantage of this area was that there was a local community of about 10,000 people right on the Lake, and this area lacked employment opportunities, so when I was walking around, I was constantly hounded by people offering their guiding services for tourist activities. It was really too much. 

At Cape Maclear, Lake Malawi National Park

I found one of the local hangouts of the village was the "Seattle Reggae Beach Bar". I dropped in for an afternoon beer, and told them I was from the City of Seattle, which was about 10,000 miles away. I was greeted warmly, and they said they had never come across another Seattle tourist before. I learned that the owner was a lady from Seattle who had married a local Malawi man, but she was currently out-of-town, so I wasn't able to meet her.