Half Way There

overloaded bus
Originally uploaded by yo_paully.

We hit the halfway point of our trip. Today we spent the day at Lake Malawi, the country's most significant geographical feature. The Lake is a beautiful stretch of water that features fishing villages and rocky islands, it's approximately 100 km away from Lilongwe. Lake Malawi is the third largest lake in Africa, covering almost a fifth of Malawi's total area.

On the way to the lake, we visited a market to buy some souvenirs - in Malawi, they call them curios. Again, there are no price tags, everything is negotiated, which made for an interesting shopping experience. After shopping, we had lunch and a great day relaxing, swimming, talking and reflecting on the first week. We've crammed a whole lot of Africa into one week.

We've seen and learned so much this week. The culture, the people, the everyday things that are so different from what we know. The picture above for example is a common scene. People pack themselves into buses, vans, taxis and in the back of pickup trucks, overloading is so popular that you can buy woven replicas at many stands.

Thanks to everyone who has left comments on this blog, we look forward to reading them each night.