Leaving Nkhata

Apologies to all of our followers for the late posting of this blog - I can give no excuses, other than the usual ones of tiredness, busy-ness, laziness, and difficulty accessing the net.
However, Thursday saw us leaving Nkhata Bay. Roderick Kavuta, of the Mary Martha Orphan Centre, came to collect us and joined us for breakfast before we left.
Whilst we were all happy to be heading back to Mzuzu, we tried to eke out our last couple of hours in the sunshine - Mzuzu enjoys a much cooler climate than the blistering heat of Nkhata Bay.
As we left Mayoka we stopped at the traders' stalls en route, picking up a few gifts which they had been making for us. We said our "Goodbyes" and headed into Nkhata to pick up some fish to take back to the Priests' house. Sadly we left fish-less!
We arrived back in Mzuzu about lunchtime. We had lunch, unpacked, and prepared ourselves for an afternoon visit to Mr Shawa's house - Head Teacher of St. Peter's Primary School. We met Mr Shawa at the school and he led us to his house. His house is in the township of Zolozolo - a small suburb of Mzuzu, approximately thirty minutes from St. Peter's. Mr. Shawa led us through all the shortcuts - over burns, up narrow paths, through communities. We were all glad that we didn't need to make such a trek on a daily basis, getting to and from school!
On arrival at Mr Shawa's house we met his wife, son and nephew. We enjoyed their company, and a meal which Mrs Shawa had prepared for us. Mr Shawa's neighbours visited after the meal, coming into the room which we were in and sitting on a bamboo mat which had been put down for them. The company was good and camaraderie was shared. One little boy, obviously not used to seeing Mzungos (white people), was visibly distressed when he saw us. He screamed and cried for a long time!
After an hour or so we visited Mr Shawa's other house - the house which he currently lives in - and made our way back home. We were introduced to many of Mr Shawa's neighbours on the way, which was lovely.
A very early night was had by all. Indeed, even staying up for tea proved difficult for some.
Age doesn't come alone...

Mayoka had been great fun and our visiting had been very enjoyable but batteries now needed to be re-charged in preparation for our next few days in Mzuzu.

Paweme.

Celia, Bernadette, Paul and Anne