Nkhata Bay or Bust!!!

With just a slight detour and unplanned stop in Rumphi, we're back on the road, but before we move on, let's recap the condition of the Hilux:

• two flat tires
• cracks in the radiator
• running hot
  
• extremely dirty, but still running
  

And let's recap the condition of us:

• tired
• hungry
• extremely dirty, but still running

Apparently, the Hilux was running hot. Maybe it was tired of the dirt roads. Maybe it was tired of hauling excess cargo. Maybe it was pissed it was dirty because it sure sounded like it was pissed. If a car was ever able to express its emotions, the sound the Hilux was making on the way out of Rumphi was it saying to us, "$#@% YOU!!!"

A combination of a hissing/wheezing/not very pleased about having to continue noise was coming from under the hood, definitely a noise that is not normal, definitely a noise we haven't heard the entire week.

But we were on a mission. A mission to get to Mzuzu. A mission to return the tire. A mission to reach Nhkata Bay, to taste the buffet, to soak our feet in the lake.

I thought the Hilux would be stoked to be off the dirt road, but I guess it wasn't happy about anything. I thought the Hilux was our friend, we were wrong.

We reach the main junction, we turn onto the M1, and, wait a second, what's that noise ...

Rumphi, Malawi: Still Not the Land of Milk and Honey

Katy, Mellissa, Jon, and I met Dan at the hospital at the end of the road. Dan said the three we transported did not appear to be gravely injured judging by the doctor's reaction when they were admitted. So we got back in our dusty car and decided to get something to eat.

We drove down to the main drag of Rumphi and stopped in a restaurant/bar that Dan had eaten at before.

Here's a view of the main drag through Rumphi from the front of the restaurant.


By this time, it was already 3:00 p.m. and we were pretty hungry. Thankfully we had eaten a little something in Nyika before taking off.

Both Katy and I needed to use the restroom, so we went to the adjacent bar/poolhall to find it. There was a toilet all right, but no running water. Nor was there a trash can. I'll leave it there out of respect for the faint of heart.

When we returned to our table, our traveling companions were gone. They had gone out back where the owner of the restaurant had kindly prepared a bucket of water for us to wash off the dirt that was caked on our hands and face. I went back to clean up, too, but by the time I got there, they had emptied the bucket. So I lathered on some hand sanitizer and returned to my seat.

The menu was one that we had grown accustomed to reviewing. Chicken, meat, or chambo (a type of fish found in Lake Malawi) with a side of either chips (i.e. french fries), nsima, or rice. We all ordered a permutation of these options.

About five minutes later, our server returned and told us that it would take awhile for the people who ordered chicken because the chicken was still thawing and wouldn't be ready for another 30-45 minutes. Also, the chips would take awhile, too, because the potatoes weren't ready.

Well, we were running late. If we were going to make it to Mzuzu (an hour away), buy a tire, drop off the borrowed tire to the Nyika office, and use the internet before everything closes (which tends to be around 5:00 p.m.) we better get a move on.

So we told our server that we were sorry but we needed to get going. We went across the street to the "PTC" (that's the People's market pictured above - there's one in every town) to buy a few snacks, and we headed down the road to Mzuzu.

Rumphi had no gas for us on the way up, and no lunch for us on the way down.

Deja Vu Version 4.0

We woke up Thursday morning with a plan. We set an alarm and everything.

Here's the plan:
1. Put the patched tire back on the car and the borrowed tire in the trunk
2. Drive to Mr. Mhongo's place to tell him we'll drop the borrowed tire with the Nyika office in Mzuzu
3. Grab lunch in Rumphi
4. Drive to Mzuzu
5. Get gas, buy a tire, drop the borrowed tire at the Nyika office, use the internet
6. Get to Nkhata Bay before sunset so we can negotiate the tricky final ascent to our hotel
7. Kuche kuche or two, watch the sunset over Lake Malawi, whatever comes naturally

We are focused. We are determined. We are excited about this hotel overlooking the lake that the Cheese and Squeezy are raving about.

We got up early, got ready impressively fast for a group of five sharing a single bathroom, and packed up our stuff.

Jon and Dan went outside to get ready for the tire change and . . . rut-ro. The patched tire doesn't hold air.

So back we go for the fourth time in two days to the mechanic's yard. The mechanic said he could fix the tire but he would need an hour. We asked if there was anyway to do it faster since we were in a bit of a hurry. "How about a half hour? Is that possible?" "Sure, come back in a half hour." We didn't go anywhere. An hour later, the tire was patched.

We're an hour delayed before we even begin.