October 3, 2015
To Mzuzu: the wind is not our friend today
"That was brutal" Rachel says as we fight a strong headwind to get back to the main road. The wind. The same force that can be friend or foe. Yesterday, the wind was our friend. Today, not so much.
There were no serious climbs today, but the small inclines always seem bigger when fighting the wind. And the wind seemed to swirl in all directions.
We are in Malawi at the end of the dry season, so the landscape is brown and the fields look ready to plant. We don't see guesthouses until 30kms past the junction to Rumphi, so even though we had to retrace the 9.6kms, going to Rumphi for the night was a good decision. Free camping along this main road would be difficult except maybe at schools.
We see women at the water pumps and carrying the water in plastic tubs on their heads. Unlike Uganda and Rwanda where water was pumped into big yellow plastic jugs and then carried on bicycles. We pass by a work group making piles of sand along a dry river bed and later another group stacking rocks that have been chipped down from bigger rocks. Most activities that the western world does so easily is very labor intensive in Africa.
An early start at first light meant we got into Mzuzu before noon and before the day became too hot. We stop at a very modern shopping center for supplies before finding the Moozoozoo lodge, a backpacker place. When we arrive, Andy the Scottish backpacker we met at Hakuna Matata Camp was about to leave. Perhaps we will see him again tomorrow at Nkhata Bay.
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Today's ride: 70 km (43 miles)
Total: 7,402 km (4,597 miles)
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