Sam Conquers a Continent, Trip Number Two. Intro and Malawi: The Chinese are Here, and So is Madonna.

So I’ve been traveling a bit.

Over nearly two weeks, I traveled across three countries, different in culture, history, language, landscape, and socioeconomic development.  (I know this blog has been a long time coming– I made this trip in early April, but with a big paper coming up for my politics class, I’ve had to set aside blogging for now.)

Malawi is an impoverished former British colony with more extreme poverty than I’ve seen anywhere else on my trip.  But it is also the most beautiful place I’ve seen in my life.  Lake Malawi, which stretches across the entire country, is a vast expanse of clear, azure water than sparkles in the sun.  The lake is set against lush green mountains that rise from the shoreline.

Mozambique is a country languishing from a multi-decade civil war that ended just in the 1990s.  It also suffers from an affliction known as “former Portuguese colony.” In the century-or-so-long period of destructive and often cruel colonial rule in Africa, Portugal stands in a class by itself.  The Portuguese built almost no infrastructure, provided no education to the people of the colony, and clung violently to the country well after African colonialism was kosher among the so-called civilized nations.  But war and Portuguese stupidity weren’t really sufficient– just to keep things interesting, Mozambique, to disastrous effect, adopted communism after independence.  For now, what I’ll say is this: it shows.

Mauritius is a tiny island paradise far out in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar.  The beaches on the island are unparalleled.  But we didn’t go so far just to get a tan.  The culture there is exceedingly unique: a vibrant mix of Indian, French, and Chinese influences.  The first language in Mauritius is French, despite the island being under British control for more than a hundred years.  Unlike much of the rest of Africa and most of the Caribbean beach destinations frequented by Americans, Mauritius is a thoroughly middle-class country.  I spent more time in Mauritius than the other two stops, and I’m glad of it.  The beautiful country managed to surprise and impress me every day.

Before I arrived in South Africa, none of these three countries were in my mind as possible travel destinations.  I had heard of students visiting Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Botswana but none of these.  Mozambique, though, is a fairly common vacation spot for its beaches.  Malawi is not but should be.  My friend’s Lonely Planet guidebook included Malawi as one of the Southern Africa destinations, so we hatched an ambitious plan from early on to visit them all, so Malawi was tacked on.  (Unfortunately, that goal– due to vastly unrealistic financial assumptions– won’t be met, but I’d say we did pretty well.)  Mauritius is the home of my French teacher, and after a little research, we were all in love with the idea.  So our tri-country trek came to be.

Malawi was first.  As we flew into Lilongwe, the capital, Madonna’s adoption trial was underway.  As you probably know, she has one Malawian baby already but came back for seconds a few weeks ago.  I don’t intend to demean her motherly exploits, but she is taking advantage of lax adoption laws and ignoring cultural customs (being an orphan doesn’t quite mean the same thing in much of Africa. The baby still has grandparents and extended family that wish to care for it.) Anyway, we rushed from the tiny airport into town to try to catch a glimpse of her (mainly for the chance to see her confused face as four Americans rushed her for an autograph in the middle of Malawi.)  But no luck– the trial had ended earlier that day.

In Lilongwe, we drove past the new parliament building under construction.  I was amazed to discover that it is being built by the Chinese government.  What could be more a symbol of national pride than the seat of the people’s power in a democracy? Well, nothing really.  So for it to be financed by a foreign power is one of the most outlandish ideas I’ve ever come across.  But for anyone doubting the influence of China in Africa today, doubt it no more.   Look at South Africa as well: the ANC, the ruling party with the moral legacy of Mandela, recently denied the Dalai Lama entry to the country to avoid displeasing Chinese investors.

We then made our way across the small country to the western shore of Lake Malawi.  It took just over an hour to reach Senga Bay.  There, we stayed at a hotel owned by and sharing a premises with one of the largest processing centers for the famous Malawian cichlids, the beautiful multi-colored fish from the lake that are exported to fish owners around the world.  My dad had some beautiful specimens for years; in fact, our “fish room” was quite a special part of the greater part of my childhood.

Originally, we had planned on staying in one place and exploring from there, but our hotel owner suggested we take a boat trip across the lake to Cape Maclear, a remote but beautiful outpost across the lake.  So the next morning we awoke early for the trip but were delayed after discovering that our hotel did not accept credit cards.  So we were off to town in a pickup to the only ATM in the vicinity.  There, we waited for at least 45 minutes for cash (and you need quite a bit when the exchange rate with the dollar is about 150 to 1.)  And that reminds me of one more thing: South Africa is by far the cheapest country of all that I’ve visited.  My guess is that there is such an absence of a rich or middle class in countries like Malawi that the only people going to restaurants or staying at hotels have excess money to spend.

On the road to the ATM and back, we had a great chance to get a glimpse of everyday Malawian town life.  Salima, the town we visited, had mainly dirt roads and very few cars.  The streets were swarming with walkers and bike riders.  Everyone seemed curious about us, the children especially.  Almost always when we passed groups of children (then and throughout Malawi), they’d smile and then run alongside our vehicle waving at us.  Adults were much more reserved.  Vendors tried to sell us everything from bananas to eggs to straw hats.  We did buy some local bananas, which were delicious.

After a bumpy and nauseous three-hour ride across the lake, we stopped off at an inlet by a small island to snorkel.  The water there was the clearest I’ve ever seen, and  the rainbow of cichlids swarmed around us as we swam.  On the coast, we watched the sunset and ate a great fish dinner.  I also enjoyed my favorite drink, a gin and tonic, made with, curiously enough, Malawian gin.  For some reason, Malawi produces its own gin, and bottles of the stuff are cheap and everywhere.  I’m not exactly a connoisseur, but I thought it tasted pretty good.

The next morning we were off to the border with Mozambique.  But along the way, we made sure to stop off at the Mua Mission, an historic Catholic mission, church, and arts center.  The grounds there were beautiful, and as it was Palm Sunday, we were able to listen to some amazing songs emanating from the mass in the church.  The complex also houses a woodworking center, where local craftsmen carve and sell wooden sculptures.  Several works produced at Mua have been displayed at the Vatican Museum in Rome.  We had the privilege of being shown around the shop and museum by several of the woodworkers.  I had hoped to find some neat crosses or rosaries to buy for religious family members, but surprisingly enough, the works included very few religious items.  The carvers told us they were extremely proud of their Malawian heritage and focused their work on more traditional subjects.  I ended up purchasing two decorative masks there.

The mission at Mua, however, was not the only church I saw on the trip. Along the roadside, we passed many small, simple churches.  Though insignificant historically or even architecturally, I was nevertheless struck by a form of beauty in them.   Many looked almost identical, but each incorporated a cross into the design somehow.  And each did it in a unique way: some with a different color brick on a wall of the church, others with a carved wooden cross attached to a wall.  Malawi is a desperately poor country, but with very little, local worshippers managed to create beauty in their own way.  As we continued our trip, I continued to notice how religious traditions and architecture reflected broader social and cultural traits.

So ended our brief stay in Malawi.  Next, we crossed into Mozambique, a decision I now entirely regret.  I absolutely loved Malawi and in hindsight, would give anything to have extended my stay there at the expense of dreadful Mozambique.  But I’ll save that for next time.

Until then, here are my top five experiences/ sites of the trip:

1- Snorkeling in Lake Malawi.  You already know about this one, but it truly was the most gorgeous place I’ve ever visited, not just in Southern Africa but anywhere.
2- Eureka Plantation in Mauritius.  A former sugarcane plantation.  Bryan and I split off for the day to tour the house.  We also enjoyed an amazing traditional Mauritian creole meal (a series of delicious curries.)
3- Port Louis, Mauritius.  A really cool city, the capital of Mauritius sits in a valley on the coast.  It has a really great Chinatown.
4- Malangatana’s house in Maputo, Mozambique.  So Mozambique wasn’t all bad.  This world-renowned artist allows visitors to tour his actual home and workshop.  He wasn’t there when we were there, but we had a chance to gawk at rooms full of his unique work.
5- The Black River Gorges Park in Mauritius.  Beautiful mountains, valleys, and forests with excellent hiking trails, lakes, and waterfalls.  We explored the area and even came across a gigantic and significant Hindu pilgrimage site.

PICTURES: Click to enlarge.