Leaving Liwonde Along the Shire River
Today on April 11th, I left Liwonde. Because I stayed in town rather than at the Kutschaer place, it was easier to get going, though it would have been nice to have stayed there. Liwonde has the Shire River coming through, and that’s what I was staying along. There are hippos and crocodiles in the area, but I couldn’t see them from where I was staying. It was definitely very good to have breakfast along the river, looking out over the water.
The Shire River Barrage and Its Journey to the Sea
The bridge that goes over the Shire River has a barrage, which is there to stop most of the water from flowing down the river and leaving Lake Malawi. This is done to preserve the water level for electricity generation during dry times, as I understand it. The Shire River then flows south and actually joins the Zambezi River near Chirummo (C-H-I-R-U-M-M-O) in Mozambique, eventually reaching the Indian Ocean as part of the Zambezi River.
Road Conditions and Stunning Scenery
The town of Liwonde has not very good roads, but after leaving, conditions improved quite a bit — until I hit another long stretch of repair work. In this case, they’re basically making a brand new road with a temporary road running alongside it. They seem to be working pretty efficiently, but they do so many kilometers at a time that it still takes a very long time.
It didn’t really matter for today though. It was a comfortable ride and the scenery just keeps on giving. It’s endless beauty — the interesting shapes of the mountains are just reward after reward. They also collect road toll at one point, which is generally not that much, so I was happy to contribute.
Arriving in the Capital City — Finding Accommodation
I don’t spend a ton of time finding the right place to stay, and this time I chose the New Area 3 Lodge, which was a new name for an old establishment. It was in a place that was sort of marginal, and the main road to get there was under construction. You either had to go around or ignore the signs. A lot of traffic had to detour around the closure, which took a long time. But as long as I get there before dark, I’m pretty good.
The city is divided up into numbered areas. I haven’t totally figured out how that works, but it didn’t stop me from getting to my lodge. The place seemed pretty reasonable, and my main requirement is that Wi-Fi is available — otherwise communication doesn’t happen as much, or I end up using too much data on my regular plan. That all worked out.
Dinner at a Chinese Restaurant — African Security Style
The lodge didn’t have a real restaurant — they only serve breakfast. So I decided to go to a Chinese restaurant just down the street. However, it was recommended that I not walk there at night. So I drove the long way around in my car. When you get to the restaurant, it has a wall around it so you can park inside, and there are security guards. It’s just the African way — either put up or don’t go there.
The food was delicious. I had a great soup, and as you know, at Chinese places you better make sure you take the small size, otherwise you end up with soup for a family of four. It was absolutely scrumptious. So that really worked out. Made it to a capital city again, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Thanks for being there with me!
