Post 3

I'm writing this post from Nkhata Bay, Malawi. I just found by checking my gmail that this is the second place where Benjie and Tovi volunteered. Nkhata Bay is on the shores of central Lake Malawi, and is an absolutely stunning place. I've been here a few days, originally planned on leaving today for Tanzania, but I'm staying through Saturday.

Lake Malawi is as big as Israel, has beautiful clear and warm water, and I'm really enjoying spending a few days here. Part of the charm of the place is also the place I'm staying, called Mayoka village. The place has these mudhuts, cabins, dorms, and chalets all along the steep banks of the lake, and each room is designed so that when you look towards the lake you only see the lake and no land. Its really quite impressive. There is amazing food, hammocks, lounge chairs, a pool table, and a few swimming areas too. The best part is that I'm paying five dollars a day to stay here. Malawi is very cheap, even for Africa I think, so I'm able to stay here a few more days than I thought I would.

I have done absolutely nothing since I've been here. Yesterday I sat in one place for four hours just looking at the lake. Tonight I'm going on a night dive, which should be very cool. The lake has unique cichlid fish, which are pretty colorful and unique the rift valley lakes. Just diving at night should be a great experience too.

I've met quite a few interesting folk, as one does at these kind of places. There is an older french guy who has lived in the Congo and Gabon for decades now. He's travelled up and down the Congo multiple times, which is more than I'm willing to even begin to consider thinking about maybe possibly looking into. There are few Israelis here, nice people, and your regular mix of european countries.

One of the "colorful" things about Mayoka village are the names of the local staff. There are regular ones like Benjie and Willie, but there are also people who call themselves Happy Coconut and Cheese and Toast. The Israelis and myself started naming people too, so we came up with Ketchup Schnitzel, DJ Malawach, and a few others. Its become quite an entertaining thing to do, and people really like their names.

My favorite local person I've met here is named Finley, but is known by everyone as Mr. Chocolate. Mr. Chocolate has this name because he sells a variety of chocolates at Mayoka Village. He started when an Israeli, shock, was very low on money, but had a lot of chocolate bars on him. He told Mr. Chocolate that if he could sell his chocolate bars they could split the money. Apparently he sold them very quickly, for a bit of money, and since than he has solely sold chocolate bars.

Mr. Chocolate is extraordinarily friendly, will tell you his family history in one breath, and is very old for Malawi. He's in his late 70's, which for Malawi is quite ancient. He wears an enormous hat, and every night falls asleep in his chair next his chocolate. I want to take him back to Israel, and I can't imagine life without Mr. Chocolate. I have pictures, and again, if I ever find fast internet will send them.

So now for the reality check about Malawi. The place is great, very nice people, but there are problems. I met two doctors volunteering in a hospital who told me that 50% of the population is under the age of 15. Many of these are orphans from AIDS. In their entire month of working in Intensive Care there were two patients over the age of 70. They said in the UK it would be around 15% and here it's less than a percentage point. The average life expectancy is 46 years old!!! Not surprisingly, based on what I've seen, the number one killer in Malawi is car accidents. So Nkhata Bay is paradise in one sense, but its impossible to forget the reality of the area as well.

I guess this is the end of this post. Eventually I'll leave Nkhata Bay, although I very much hope to come back one day, as its really blown me away with how beautiful and relaxing it is. Hope everyone is doing well.

tchau, Ben