Nyika plateau

Nyika plateau III
Originally uploaded by antoniocodina

Ivonne left yesterday and it was pretty sad.. We knew it was going to happen but you cannot really believe it until the day arrives. We also had to give Bwenzi (Ivonne's cute dog) in adoption to a German family. I'd have loved to keep her but I don't really have a garden and it would be difficult for Bwenzi..

Anyway, the week before Ivonne's departure we visited Nyika plateau, in the north of Malawi. Nyika is the biggest park in Malawi and is based in an impressive plateau at more than 2000 m high. Is quite difficult to get there (100km of dirt road) but totally worth it. We camped despite the freezing cold nights and we got lost driving around the park. There are no signs at all and is very difficult to find your way!
On the way down we broke the front shocks of the car and they had to be repaired in an emergency operation because Ivonne was selling the car a couple of days later! Drive slowly if you go to Nyika.

I already put some pictures in my flickr site (follow the link on the right!) As you will notice, I have a new dSLR camera that my parents brought me...

Disparities

I red an article in one of the last weekly Guardian (I think the
original article appeared at the washington post) describing the
opening of the second Sushi bar in Monrovia. The flow of aid workers
into Liberia since the end of the war has produced many locals or
supermarkets where expats and wealthy Liberians can spend in a few
hours the month salary of a Liberian..
While I was reading it, I couldn't avoid thinking how similar the
situation is in Malawi. We don't have sushi bars in Blantyre (yet) but
we do have restaurants where a meal can cost 3000 MK, which is
certainly a months salary for many people that is lucky enough to have
a job here. At shoprite you can find any variety of food imported from
South Africa at european prices. People can check their emails in
their flashy laptops using the wireless connexion. The car park is
full of beautiful 4x4 showing off the stickers of their NGOs while
outside the falling apart minibuses queue and street kids ask for
spare change.
A few week ends ago we spent a week end in a lodge in Zomba, spending
around 50$ for bed and breakfast. And when you go out of the lodge you
find people (many times children) carrying wood down the mountain to
make a living. Sometimes I freak out about the disparities, and I
wonder if we do any good coming here and trying to live like we do at
home, spending loads of money under the nose of poor people. but while
I write this I am thinking in when will I come back to shoprite to but
chocolate, or an ice cream, or ...

My parents are in Africa!

Yes, my parents and their three friends arrived almost two weeks ago
to Lilongwe, and we traveled together in the center and south of
Malawi. Now they are somewhere in Zambia, in a tour organised to
Victoria Falls. their phones don't work and I cannot contact them, but
I suppose they are doing well.. I will meet them in lilongwe before
they come back to Spain.
I was quite scared about their visit, as I mentioned before they don't
speak a word of english. Only spanish, (but very loud!). My fear
became true when they arrived without any luggage. They were supposed
to pick up their bags in Johannesburg before catching the plane to
Lilongwe but they didn't know it.. At the beginning they were quite
stressed. The poverty of Malawi hits your eyes and brain.. but in a
few days they got used to the landscape and the friendliness of the
people and everything went very well.

Next week I'll take a few days off to go to the north with Ivonne, and
after that she will be leaving, back to the UK. It's going to be a bit
weird for me, staying here without her, but I don't think I'm ready to
leave the job at the moment, or live in the rich part of the planet.
If everything goes as I plan, I won't be back in Europe until May next
year, for the wedding of my sister (family pressure!) and that could
be (may be) the end of my Malawian life..