Going to the Market

Going to the Market:

Going to the market is always a fun way to spend a morning or afternoon. This is were you find the best selection of vegetables and fruit and beans and nuts and clothes and shoes and anything else you may desire. The produce is from local farmers and is always fresh. The larger towns have the best variety of produce where the smaller villages are lacking and you may find only onions and tomatoes. Spices, such as ground chili powder, ground ginger powder, curry powder, turmeric, whole ginger, garlic and chilies are also available and inexpensive. For the weekends when I did not get out of town, I really enjoyed heading to the markets and exploring all they had to offer. Oh I will miss these markets when I leave!!

The second-hand clothes are provided mainly from the States and I half expect to see some of my old clothes that I gave away to Goodwill before I left. You can find almost anything here. I pick up a Patagonia fleece for one of my night guards for about $2.50. So the next time you donate clothes, just think that they have a good chance of ending up in African market.

Crossing the river to go to the market in Lilongwe:

Lots of second-hand clothes, mainly from the US are available:

Even shoes...

Produce and lots of other 'necessities' can be plentiful in some markets…

Cooking oil are sold in either bags or bottles:

Ground corn (maize) flour is a staple in the Malawian diet:

And chickens too...

Lots of fish:

Squid for sale in Mozambique

Transportation in Africa

Transportation in Malawi/Africa:

So how does one get around in Malawi?? There are a number of options…

Bike taxi:







Minibus: The minibuses are the main mode of transportation. The vehicles in Lilongwe and Blantyre are in pretty good condition, but the ones in the outer areas have seen better days and are on their 3rd or 4th life. These are the small vans and have 5 rows of benches inside. The most people I have seen in a minibus is 27 adults and 5 babies – Yikes!!
These travel very fast on the main highway and they are involved in a lot of accidents with many fatalities each time. I travel in the minibuses on the outer roads, but not on the main highway.

Matolas- these are any type of vehicle that will take passengers for a small fee. If you are desperate for a lift, then you are happy to take a ride:






Mozambique has different matolas than Malawi. The one I Mozambique consist 2 benches in the back that face each other. The people sit on these benches and load all goods and about 20 more people in the middle.



Buses loaded down with everything imaginable:



Trucks are usually overfilled filled with goods:



Even the bikes are used to transport goods throughout Malawi:

Mozambique

Mozambique – New Years

Happy New Years! I spent 2 wonderful weeks in northern Mozambique over the holidays. I went with a group of volunteers (1 honorary member) and we first headed to Mozambique Island( Ilha de Mocambique). This is an old Portuguese settlement and was once a very prosperous shipping port in its hey-day during the 16th to the 19th centuries. It was also the capital of Portuguese East Africa. However, after the capital was moved to Maputo at the end of the 19th century, the Portuguese moved out and there has been no new development on the island. Today the old city center ‘Stone Town’, on the northern part of the island, is a ghost town - full of beautiful but dilapidated buildings that were once a sign of the affluence of the island but are now in ruins. The streets are clean and kept but there is hardly any commercial activity, or even residences in this area. Most of the locals live on the southern end of the island in very simple homes. I am curious on the property rights of the abandoned buildings in Stone Town as these buildings are beautiful. A few of these buildings have been renovated and are now guest houses or restaurants, but only a few. The place we stayed in was just recently completed and was really nice-high ceilings, big windows, a porch in the back and we had access to a kitchen for self catering. One evening we moved the kitchen table out onto the porch and enjoyed eating our meal in the breezy and beautiful night. I imagine this place will start to come alive in the next few years as tourism picks up again in Mozambique and investment returns to the island. But we enjoyed the quietness and it was fun exploring all the empty streets while wondering what this place was like 200-300 years ago.

Then we headed up to Pemba – where I did my 1st salt water dive! I took my PADI course in Lake Malawi with Aqua Africa. I was able to split the course over 2 weekends and finished that weekend before Christmas. Andy and Dusty gave me great instruction and I felt very comfortable in the open sea. It was such an incredible experience to be under water breathing and seeing the amazing marine world. I think I like diving 

Then it was off to the Quirimbas Archipelego to the island of Ibo. In the 18th century Ibo was a bustling port for the slave trade and the 2nd most important town in Mozambique, after Ilha de Mocambique. It is a very interesting place to explore, and much like Ilha de Mocambique, the island has been abandoned long ago and is now a ghost town of dilapidated buildings. We had to take a little sail boat called a ‘dhow’ to the island. This boat is just a small wooden boat with a mast made of knobby long skinny log and a single sail made of sewn together pieces of canvas. And when we ran aground, the guys took out these long poles and poled us back into deeper waters. We had arrived a bit late to the village/port of Tandanhangui. The tide was beginning to go out, so the trip to Ibo took about 3 hours, which we were told normally takes 2 hrs. But we had a big full moon to guide us towards the island - it was such a great way to arrive! The island proved to be another interesting place to explore the empty streets of a deserted trading town.
After 3 days we were off on a dhow to take us back to the mainland where we started our 2 day drive back to Blantyre. The northern road we took back was tricky and we almost did not make it through one section as the road disappeared into a big wide and deep mud puddle/lake. But with the persistence of our captain Roger, he got the car through…after many attempts and the last one proving to be successful! Except we lost the roof rack, but without much damage to the car or the rack we were able to put it back on and continued on through the wilds of northern Mozambique. Once we arrived in Blantyre we had a wonderful lunch - I was ready for some good vegetables as we did not come across many during our trip. I was surprised by the lack of vegetables and fruit in Mozambique and it gave me a new appreciation for the selection offered Malawi- because you can always find tomatoes and onions in Malawi! Later that afternoon, I caught a night bus to take me up to Mzuzu, since I needed to get back to work the following day.
The northern region of Mozambique was such a fun and interesting place to explore. I felt so very lucky to have been able to see this area before tourism pick up again and these place become overrun with tourist.

Happy New Year!


Church on Ilha de Mozambique:




Streets of Ilha de Mozambique:


View through one of the abandoned buildings:



Beach view from our camp site in Pemba:



Diving in Pemba:

Catching our ride in a dhow to Ibo:



View from the old fort on Ibo:



Low tide:



I will have to add these photos later.....
As the sign shows, you need to be very careful on which beach you choose to swim:

Kids on Ibo:

The 'port' back on the mainland: