Brief Missive from Malawi

By popular demand...

I have been told that some people are a little curious, not to say concerned, about my whereabouts. Although i've been keeping the family informed (largely so they don't send the army out looking for me, which would be embarassing) the main reason for my not posting an update is because internet is neither widely available here, nor particularly affordable.

At this very moment i am writing from Cape Maclear, at the very southern tip of Lake Malawi, having cycled all the way down from Matema in Tanzania on the very northern tip where i disembarked from the ferry which arrived 36hours after i did in Mbamba Bay (don't you love it when a plan works perfectly).

Malawi is very different from Kenya and Tanzania and i have yet to really make up my mind how i feel about the country. There are many beautiful, relaxing places - especially on the lakeshore - but other aspects are less attractive; in some ways it is a little too like South Africa for comfort. More interestingly, i have been travelling with two Dutch cyclists for the last 2days and will probably continue to ride together for at least a few days more. As my luck would have it, he is a firefighter who competes in the World Firefighters' Olympics and they both ride mountain bikes competitively, so i'm rather glad i've had two months of cycling already... Still, it's an interesting change from my usual solo exploits.

More from Blantyre in a week or so.