We made it to Mbamba Bay on lake Malawi!
We packed before heading to breakfast in Hanga this morning. When we returned after eating we found the land cruiser waiting for us. we piled in and began the journey.
about 45 minutes to Songea where we stopped at St. Augustine's college where Fr. Francis Shawa (SJU graduate from the school of theology and now chaplain at St. Augustine's) greeted us and showed us the college. We left Songea after that and arrived in Mbinga for lunch at 1pm. the road left something to be desired...but lets just say it was a lesson on how roads are made! we saw everything from bare roungh packed red african clay roads with a lot of washouts and potholes to smooth pavement. much of the road along the way was in various stages of construction. piles of dirt, big rollers flattening out the dirt, piles of rock, big boulders being crushed by jackhammers, oil trucks laying down the pavement, men hammering stakes to set up concrete molds, an actual cement truck pouring the base layer for the road, again, it was a lesson on how roads are made! never a dull moment looking out the window.
from Mbinga it was about another two hours to Mbamba bay where we arrived around 3:30pm. then we settled into the hostel (run by the sisters of Chipole convent...very nice place) and drove to the water. beautiful sights! we came back in time for sunset and had dinner at 7pm and now are just resting for the night and getting ready to head back to the beach tomorrow. we are getting internet from a USB modem that i bought in Songea two days ago that runs from the cell phone tower. this is the way to go! (no hope of an internet cafe in the village here!) happy to be able to share these thoughts with you all, though.
pictures will come soon. the beach will be beautiful tomorrow! we plan to have breakfast at 8am then head to the water to sit in our little beach hut and play cards, read, lounge, eat lunch, play frisbee, and just hang out for the day. should be good.
talk to you soon!
-ben
Hey Tanzania Gang!
ReplyDeleteSo great to hear about your travels from Hanga to Mbamba Bay. We LOVE knowing where you are. We can pull up your location online and see where you are, and better imagine what you might be experiencing. Of course, we know we can't possibly imagine like it really is, so we will rely on your photos and memories to tell us and show us when you return. Enjoy the beach, and the roads, the company, and the experiences. We can't wait to hear all about it when you return!
It's exciting to read about your "adventures"! It'll be so interesting to see the photos too! I continue to pray for your safety, good health and fun! Keep all these precious moments close in your heart, Jake...we'll all be so eager to hear about them "around the campfire" on our family vacation! Lots of love coming your way across the ocean; from Gramps too!
ReplyDeletehi to all from krystals mom. finally got this blog thing figured out. sorry to hear everyone got a bit of the flu hope that is all settled down. much love we think of you often.
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