Monire mose.
Yesterday was a 'day off' for our group as it was Malawian Independence Day and a national holiday . After Mass and breakfast I took the others on a 3 hour hike after a lot of persuasion. The sky was grey and cloudy and they were convinced we were going to get soaked - but thankfully the rain held off. We went to the reservoir, which I think is the most beautiful place in Mzuzu. It reminds me of Loch Lomond as it is a large expanse of water surrounded by hills and greenery. I picked up a local boy en route to be our guide and he was more than happy to do so. His name was Cairo and he told me that his father and mother had died and he's never had the chance to go to secondary school but he still hopes to finish his education some day - a very typical story in Malawi. We were only allowed 5 mins at the reservoir as it is now guarded due to people jumping in the water. The guard was reluctant to let us as if his boss had appeared he would have been sacked on the spot. We gave the guard and Cairo a little money to thank them for their help.
After lunch and a siesta we went to the Mzuzu Hotel for to celebrate Independence Day with a couple of drinks. Then we were invited to dinner at Mr. Banda's House, the head teacher of St. Peter's. We had a lovely evening with him and his wife Elizabeth, who is an AIDS support worker. Mr. Banda got quite emotional when talking about his trip to Scotland. Interestingly his most memorable part of the trip was Blantyre, the home of David Livingstone. It is hard to put into words how highly the Malawian people regard Dr. Livingstone.
Today we go on pilgrimage to Livingstonia, where he set up camp in Malawi. It is a treacherous journey ending with a 15 km drive up a mountain with 22 hair pin bends. Pray for us!!!! We will spend the night on a mushroom farm before returning to Mzuzu tomorrow.
Pawemi,
Bernadette, Celia, Paul & Anne
Just great hearing the daily news much better than the local paper. Oh my God the journey sounds horrendous, my stomach is churning at the thought. What an adventure you are all having. Will say a prayer for you all!!!!.
ReplyDeleteMargaret (celias Mum)
"After lunch and a siesta we went to the Mzuzu Hotel for to celebrate Independence Day with a couple of drinks."
ReplyDeleteReading this I think the Creme de La creme of North Ayrshire education have had more than a couple of drinks!!! Get back to work, I'll ask the English dept to send you out a grammar book!
Late report from you for yesterday. I hope all is well and it's just that you're far too busy. Despite the poor forecast we've had another fine couple of days here. Jim jenkins will be suffering today, he had a few bob on Germany to win the World Cup - at very generous odds.
ReplyDeleteHere's a wee snippet you can use to impress the Malawains. Today is the feast of Our Lady of the Brig", otherwise known as "Our Lady at the Bridge of Dee" or "Our Lady of Aberdeen". It seems that in the 15th century there was a well dedicated to the Blessed Virgin where miraculous favours were obtained.
ReplyDeleteMay, Mary protect you and strengthen you in your endeavours.
lovely to hear about all your experiences. have tried to contact you, celia, by text but so far unsuccessful. siobhan has also tried. she will be in monkey bay on sunday and leaving on monday and was hoping to catch up with you for a crabbies. hope you get this before then. have fun! x
ReplyDeleteHi Bern
ReplyDeleteSounds like your having a brill time! Think I have finally mastered this. My mum and dad are over, they say hello. We are heading to the Fletcher wedding at the weekend. Bernard is the walking wounded just now, football injury his leg is twice th size. Kieran misses his aunty, he will be chasing after you when you see him next.
Speak soon,
R x