Journey to catch the Ilala

Monday 7th March 2016 – After delicious honey pancakes and black Malawian tea we packed and jumped onto my favourite taxis in Africa so far…the motorbike taxis…wind in our hair, sun on our faces we headed into Monkey Bay town to ask about the passenger ship Ilala…a hundred year old vessel that takes three days to cruise up Lake Malawi and another three days to return to Monkey Bay. They told us the Ilala was running on time so our plan was to catch it at Nkhota Kota on its return journey to Monkey Bay. In the meantime a crooked bus tout had spotted us and was desperate to get us on his brother’s taxi…after some bartering down from a ridiculously inflated price we jumped on and once full off we set. As we passed small villages we watched the people go about their daily business. One market stall was cooking meat, I enquired out of the window what they were cooking and got my answer…goat testicles and penis! Aaron was even tempted to try it but luckily we sped off before he had time! Anything and everything gets put on the taxi buses…today was no exception…cat fish and tiger fish swung from around the wing mirrors and windscreen wipers…a fishy smell floating through the windows invading our western nostrils continuously. On route we tried some sugar cane and shared with the locals. You have to strip it with your teeth and chew to release a refreshingly cool and sweet liquid…a nice pick you up! At one point the sliding door to our vehicle fell off…after much gesticulation and heated conversation it was eventually fixed…for the moment anyway. It was a desperately cramped journey and after changing vehicles 3 times I could hardly breathe and claustrophobia overwhelmed me…I had to get out…at the next stop I launched for the sliding door to reach fresh air and freedom! The driver was lovely and for the remainder of the journey Aaron and I sat in the front seat…it was almost civilised travelling! We arrived at Nkota Kota around 5.30 pm and checked into the Grace Motel. That evening we walked through the evening market…no street lights…everything candle lit…unlike anything I have ever seen. After feasting on local fish and chips we happily fell into bed and a deep sleep.

Tuesday 8th March 2016 – After breakfast we were told there were no car or motorbike taxis in town, so instead we jumped on two Dampe taxis…push bikes…and cycled down to the lakeside. Our taxi drivers were absolute professionals, managing to balance not only us, their passengers, but also heavy bags on their bikes. Ten minutes later we arrived at Sitima Inn…an old colonial style building…where we were greeted by Christina and Alfred, the head housekeeper and butler of the establishment. They were warm and welcoming and Alfred proceeded to show Aaron where the boat would come in that evening. For the rest of the day we filled our time sitting on the terrace bar…eating and drinking…catching up with blogs and chatting to the charming Alfred about his life in Malawi. The Ilala was due in around 4pm…but we were later informed by the owners of the hotel that the boat was running late…it is Africa after all and we never really expected the Ilala to be punctual. We watched a beautiful sunset that evening over Lake Malawi…and then…in the darkness…we saw moving lights heading towards shore…she had arrived! Backpacks on we headed down to the shore in the pitch blackness where local fishermen journeyed us halfway, there we boarded another small boat…it was chaos as passengers leaving the Ilala swopped boats with new arrivals. Boats rocking, people scrambling for a place to sit, luggage precariously being carried from one boat to the other…it was quite an intense experience…my one hope was that we wouldn’t capsize! Eventually we arrived at the Ilala and clambered aboard up the rope ladder. There were three decks…first, second and third class. Third class was full to heaving point with Malawian people, goats, chickens and luggage. We made our way through them and up to the higher decks and the first class cabins. Once there we asked to see a cabin and were shown to cabin 4 which suited our needs just fine. It was 8pm by now and back at the bar we asked to pay for the cabin but were told to pay in the morning and rest up and relax for the night. We thought it strange at the time…Africans never normally want to wait to be paid…they always want payment immediately…who were we to argue…we were tired so settled down for the night in our cabin on the elderly Ilala. Little did we know that tomorrow would bring our darkest day in Africa so far!