We dodge our early morning swim because we see some clouds in the sky. I think that Jordan and I are in need of some rest, and our audacious sunrise swim isn’t really that necessary.
We’re going on a boat to Thumbi island for a little snorkeling tour today. As we’re sitting outside eating breakfast we both have the thought to check how much money we have my. Upon digging around it’s revealed that we are almost out of cash. And it’s also confirmed that there is no ATM in Cape Maclear.
We’re wondering what to do when I see someone asking for a snorkeling tour too. I miss my chance to ask her if she’d like to come with us; and hopefully the tour operator will be ok to wait for the money a bit. Too late, another guide is talking to her.
I chat to Symon who we booked the tour through yesterday and he says that it’s all good for us to pay another time after we get petrol and drive back to monkey bay to draw cash. He also tells us that a group of three others is going to join us - brilliant.
It’s time to go! We find out that the group of three joining us is the same group of the woman I saw earlier. We also find our that we’re doing the full tour of the bay. We spend some time getting to know Kylie, Aaron and Jeremy. They’re American students doing work at the hospitals in Lilongwe. They’re quirky, clever and interested.
We jump into the boat and meet the guides. The boat is a large wooden fishing boat with a 25hp engine on the back. It has seats and a shade cloth and makes for a pretty idyllic touring boat. We cruise parallel to the beach looking at countless lodges and resorts in the tourist driven section of Cape Maclear. Then the infrastructure changes abruptly and is replaced with endless wooden racks with fish drying in the sun.
The boat comes ashore amongst the sunbathing fish and we hop out. Symon talks us through the lives of the local fishermen and the variety of fish they hunt. I ask how COVID affected their jobs as tour guides and he said that all the tour operators returned back to their fishing roots - using their tour boat as a vessel. He says that it’s a great life, but the standard of living for a tour guide is better.
We are shown the huge stone fire pits where the fish are smoked after they are dry. Sections of a catfish take up an entire grid, it would have been enormous. It’s the first time in ages that I’ve been on some sort of a cultural tour, and it’s definitely bringing on a sense of feeling like an outsider looking in. The feeling is quelled a bit when I join two young boys with a self made soccer ball and manage to keep it up about six times - they clap and my ego loves it.
The boat is waiting for us up ahead on the beach and we climb back in. Next up we cruise towards a small gap between the mainland and a small island. The water level has risen within memorable history and a small number of animals have been trapped on the island, cutoff from the main land.
Hastings - the other tour guide - stands up front and yells for the Fish Eagles. One quickly appears and he throws a fish into the water nearby. It locks onto it and glides out of the trees, following a large arc and then dives and perfectly grabs the fish in its talons. More fish eagles appear and Hastings offers them a feast.
Once we’ve passed through the gap we are able to see the mountains of Mozambique in the distance over the lake. We keep referring to this body of water as the ocean - but catch ourselves with a laugh each time. Unprotected by the islands, the water is much more turbulent here with small waves making the boat rock. We decide to forgo a swim here and head to Thumbi island.
The crossing from the gap to Thumbi island is slow and mellow. We get to know Aaron, Jeremy and Kylie a bit better and share some biscuits. Drawing close to the island we see a small beach with a few boats similar to ours on the shore. We pull in next to them and Symon gets off with an array of food and cooking equipment to prepare lunch. He wishes us farewell and we head off on the boat to go snorkelling.
Within a few minutes we edge the boat up against a rock and Hastings throws some bread into the water. Thousands of tropical fish churn the water’s surface in a fight for food. He also shows us how to hold some bread in cupped hands and catch a fish with our bare hands. The rest of us do not have as much success.
Hastings launches himself off the back of the boat with a mask and snorkel. We follow suit. I’ve done a fair amount of snorkelling and diving throughout my life, and in many different places. Yet I think that it’s almost exclusively been in salt water. Diving into the warm waters of Lake Malawi with just a mask and no fins felt a bit weird at first, but the lack of buoyancy of the fresh water made it so effortless to swim underwater. I opted for no snorkel as I prefer to just dive, and how easy it was.
I could just point myself towards the floor and I would slip down through the meters of perfectly clear water with ease. The water is soft and silky on the skin and the fish abundant. Large granite rocks underwater make for interesting little places to find creatures. Jordan is in her element too and almost an hour passes in a flash.
We hop back onto the boat goosebumped, smiling and hungry. The small motor pushes us back towards the beach where a feast is waiting for us. I’m so happy to see that my new favourite fish - Kampango - is on the menu with nsima and vegetables. It’s absolutely delicious and abundant.
We talk with the lovely guides who have taken us on this amazing adventure - but the trip is not done yet. We pay the national park fee to some very friendly rangers then are back on the boat, heading for Otter point. A small island made of large granite rocks protruding from dark blue water with a scattering of tenacious plants. Apparently there is a small crocodile that lives here.
We loop around the island and pull up along side two other tour boats and join in the chaos that is the rock jumping circus of Cape Maclear. Large boulders surround deep pools making them perfect diving boards. The vibe is not too competitive but rather fun and encouraging.
Jordan jumps without fear. Two Malawian men could have appeared on kookslams if I was filming after dragging each other down some slippery rocks into the pool while trying to get out. We splash around here for about half an hour and then call it on a high note.
As we started, we end by cruising just off the shore along the beach back home. When we arrive we quickly change and get ready to go on a mission to draw some money. First up is heading to the black market to buy fuel (the local petrol station is empty). Rocky jumps on the back of my bike and directs me deep into the village.
Small houses fringe winding roads that are full of people, animals, cars, motorcycles and miscellaneous things. I try keep track of our route but quickly realise that I’m not going to be able to get back here myself. We finally get to the market and there is a stand with an array of plastic water bottles filled with petrol.
I fill Metta’s tank and buy a 5L to take back for Aaron, Kylie and Jeremy. It’s fairly expensive, but the prices of fuel in South Africa have definitely desensitised me. We head back, I thank Rocky, give Jeremy the fuel and then Jordan jumps on the back of the bike.
We head off to Monkey Bay to draw some money. The golden light of the afternoon, the winding road through the beautiful national park coupled the lack of bags on the bike make this the best ride that we’ve had in Malawi.
Metta is perfectly content going 40km/h, she’s ok going slower than that and if you ask her very nicely she will go 60km/h for you. There is no rush, we slowly cruise through the unfolding hills and watch baobabs amongst the dense African bush.
We get to Monkey Bay and successfully draw money. We bump into Austin and have a quick chat and then head back to Cape Maclear to get there before dark. Once again the drive is truly spectacular, this time accentuated by the setting sun.
With cash in hand we settle up our debts, have a quick swim and then make a budget dinner of Provitas, peanut butter and cheese while sitting on our dormitory floor. I do love travelling with Jordan as she is a master of frugality, and yet somehow keeps the food delicious.
We join our three new friends at the Thumbi view pool for a beer and then rather jealously watch as they eat a curry buffet. Luckily they grabbed a bit extra that we snack on gratefully. Next up we decide to go and visit the local bar called Hiccups. We head out on the road to the right, toot a zoot and marvel and the stars for a long time until we realise that we should have gone left. No problem, we turn around and admire a new set of stars.
The dusty street of Cape Maclear is dark at night, yet perfectly welcoming. Shapes appear out of the dark - each with a smile and greeting. Children play games and sing songs. Laughter and voices emerge from buildings lining the road. It reminds me of walking through a campsite of a trance party deep into the night.
We arrive at Hiccups and I order a local gin and tonic that is truly amazing. Jordan reminds me that gin and tonics are not compatible with budgets, haha. There are a few drunk tourists at the bar and one of them is convinced that Jordan looks just like a singer. She locks onto Jordan for quite a while insisting that she must be XXXX (I’ll put the name in here after asking Jordan) (this is Jordan, the singer was Sinéad O’Connor)) and I take a walk around a truly enormous pub, with big dance floor and two swimming pools. This place must have gone wild during the tourist hey day of pre-COVID Cape Maclear.
We take a seat outside and talk through general nonsense. We’re all quite tired after the big day but aim to try stay until 10pm. (Another) Austin appears and asks if we have armbands - they are setting up decks and things are going to turn into a party. He makes a deal for us as we’re there early and soon we’re on the dance floor in a circle with some incredibly groovy local dancers.
We have a classic dance circle going for quite a few hours. The music starts off with absolutely amazing Afro Beats and then kind of devolves into the more generic stuff that me and Jordan bond over due to our shared love for a club called Boogies. The local homies are stoked to dance with us and it’s a really sweaty fun time. The only downer are two drunk older local guys who hound the women and bumble around. The local boys do their best to shepard the drunks away.
It’s 10:30pm and time to go home. Kylie headed back earlier and we walk with Jeremy and Aaron down the beautiful safe and calm night streets to their accommodation. Jordan insists on a swim and we drop clothes and have a beautiful skinny dip under the stars. We marvel at one star that is incredibly bright - Aaron remembers that Jupiter is meant to be incredibly close to us this week and we decide that this must be it.
Jordan and I walk hand in hand down the beach, under the stars with the lake lapping on the shore. It’s perfectly romantic for about 30m until the sand turns to rocks and we stub many a toe, we laugh at the absurd situation and fall asleep almost immediately when we get home.