Staying at Greenhill Lodge, Mchinji
Distance 118 + 6996 = 7114
Average 17.8
Time 6 h 37 m
Total from Amsterdam 12514
Location S13.79143, E32.886694

Cornelia and Paul getting the feel of a touring bike

Fuel price in Malawi

No more green naartjies, yayy

Showered, tidied up the guest room, packed, scribbled a note and included a bit of pocket money for Sarah to spend on baklava and Turkish delight. Loaded bikes before having breakfast and on the road by 07h45. We followed Paul’s directions and got through the morning traffic which was mild compared with other cities. Were delighted with the slight tail wind. There’s a second hand, very upmarket, clothing shop in Lilongwe that I’ve heard a lot about and it would have been nice to visit but we just didn’t get around to it. It will have to wait until we return using transport with four wheels. At 25 km we stopped to buy vetkoek and had them with tea 15 km down the road at Zibweleletu’s tea room – very impressed with his clean cafe and great tea. The plan was to cross into Zambia today but I felt 118 km was enough for one day. Peter went to check out Kwathu Lodge but we opted to stay at Greenhill Lodge instead as it’s closer to the border, K8500 for the room, includes breakfast. Didn’t take many pictures or wave at many locals as we were too focused on getting as close as possible to the border.

The electricity is off right now but the water was still hot and happy that both of us were able to have a hot shower. Peter is using benzine in the Whisperlite and it worked like a charm though the pocket rocket is still kaput. I had taken some chilli con carne (from supper prepared but not eaten) to have on bread for lunch but we saved it and had it for supper instead with spaghetti and boiled eggs for a bit if protein. For starters we each had a sliced tomato ??. Just hope Zambia has a better variety of fruit and veg and tender chicken and NO goat meat, but I doubt it. Apologies for the boring diary but not much happened. The electricity has been off since mid afternoon, generator came on at 6 and is still on. Its a constant noise that actually lulls one to sleep, much better than a noisy disco with blaring speakers distorting the sound. As I said before, Africa is loud. We polished off the Amarula chocolates, all six of them and they were very more-ish ??.  Night all xx

– Cornelia and Paul getting the feel of a touring bike

– No more green naartjies, yayy

– This is how People’s Supermarket do ‘stock take’ !!!

– Fuel price in Malawi

– Cooking supper on the Whisperlite using benzine, a clean fuel