Here are some pictures from Bishop Mackenzie International School where I am volunteering at in Lilongwe. I'm only there one day a week. Last term it was helping with a creative writing class and this term it is working with some art students on video. I'll update with some shots of those students as we the class gets further along.
The only thing indoors is the classrooms. All the hallways are outside.
This is the lunch room.
And here is the menu for the day.
I don't know how they keep from swimming in the pool whenever they walk by. It looks so tempting as we get to the heat of summer right now in Africa.
I knew this of course. But it is hard to imagine how big until you are here. I took this graphic from an NPR story about wondering whether people should cancel trips to Africa because of the terrible events with Ebola in West Africa (I'm in SE Africa). It offers a fascinating perspective on it all.
I do appreciate everyone's concern. Just know I'm safe and aware and it's a long way off.
The first place we stayed on the barnstorming tour of Malawi was Mvuu lodge in Liwonde National Park. It is right on the Shire (pronounced Sheer ee) river that feeds out of Lake Malawi. This is hippo heaven; in fact, the name of lodge, Mvuu, means hippo in Chichewa.
Mvuu Lodge. You need to take a boat to get there. That's the baobab tree outfront, which is iconic in Southern Africa.
Skulls of crocs, hippos, and elephants who died of natural causes.
Warthogs and antelopes. Tons of them. They might need a few larger predators in this park.
Waterbuck
A gorgeous river basin
Warthogs. Notice it is missing a tusk.
Female Kudus.
With Samuel, our guide.
Guineafowls
On the river the next day for a river safari.
This is a birder's paradise.
An elephant sleeping!!
Here is the same one standing. We think it's back right leg might have been injured somehow.
One update of important personal note: Franco Ferrari Bizzaro came through in record time. He's Italian and that is his real name. Just before the guests arrived and after some gentle reminders, Franco pulled off a miracle and had the bed done a month early. My back and our guests thank him.
An earlier pic of Franco and me
The bed in the room. The mattress and bed frame are American queen size, which is why it took so long.
The coolest part about it is the retractable mosquito net. This thing is a work of art.
There's been a huge lapse since the last post only because of travel and poor internet connections--again, the internet here is dial up speeds and that is more of a hope than reality sometimes. So much has happened since then. We've had visitors from the states and gone on a barnstorming tour of wildlife in Majete and Liwonde Parks, as well as a trip to Zambia to see Victoria Falls. To remedy that I'll try and post something every day this week with pictures and videos from the past two weeks for all 6 of the people who read it (thanks Mom and Dad for looking at each entry twice!).
I'll start things off with one of the highlights of my life: Devil's Pool at Victoria Falls. Here is a video Harry (the cameraman and guide) took in Devil's Pool, right at the edge of the falls. I appear at 1:02 if you want to go right there. It will make more sense after reading the rest of the post, but I wanted to watch. Don't watch if you're afraid of heights.
Baboons are everywhere in the park at Victoria Falls. They even welcome you in.
This is what the falls should looks like 8 months of the year. It's dry season, and Zambia uses some of the Zambesi for electricity, so only half the falls are running. It's a blessing in disguise, because the mist is less overwhelming so we see more and it opens up Devil's Pool. The pool is off Livingstone Island...the one covered by the mist cloud above the falls on the upper left.
The area we are walking on would normally be where the river goes over the falls. There were two guides with us the entire time.
Devil's Pool is a natural eddy at the edge of the falls. Yes, we are swimming right at the edge of the falls here. It is only accessible during dry season, which runs from mid-September to mid-December.
Here is the edge of the pool with the rainbow from the water crashing below. You can see the lip we sit on in this ultimate of infinity pools.
O'Brien, the guy in the wetsuit and our protector, seems just as happy as we are.
It's mind blowing.
Amazing to be right on the edge of something that thunders like this.
Right over the edge.
Me joking about going over the falls. Stay where the water is pooling. Beware of 3 feet to the right, Kevin.
A lot of whiteness going on here.
Looking up the falls from the Zambian side where we stayed.
