December 19-26
Hello everyone!
After an interesting adventure using multiple forms of transport, we arrived at Likoma Island soon before noon. After cramming into a small boat, we came ashore on this rather small rock near the eastern shore of Lake Malawi.
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| Christmas Day dancing |
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| Mangoes are omnipresent on Likoma at this time of year |
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| One of many sandy beaches on Likoma Island |
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| A baobab tree soaring into the sky |
Likoma is part of Malawi, yet much closer to Mozambique. The reason this island, and its little sibling of Chizumulu, are Malawian territory is historical. Blame the Brits.
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| Malawi is on the left - notice the big detour needed to get to Likoma! |
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| Being close to the Mozambican shore, the island has access to Mozambican beer. This is a very good thing. |
In 1886, two men called Chauncy Maples and William Johnson set up an Anglican mission on the island. It was actually Anglican HQ in what we see as Malawi until after the end of World War 2. It is this long and strong religious association which has apparently kept the two islands under Malawian control.
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| There are actually a few different denominations represented - here is the Baptist church |
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| A church we found on Christmas Day - below is a short, sneaky video of the singing and dancing happening in their Christmas service |
This religious influence is most obviously seen in the large St Peter’s Cathedral. It isn’t quite tall or grand enough, or high up enough, to dominate the skyline. Even so, its size seems distinctly out of place with every other building on the rest of the island. A symbol of British power, perhaps.
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| The church is modelled on Westminster Cathedral |
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| It was finished in 1905 |
The church interior is unspectacular - the man who let us in seemed only to want to share that every stone came from Mozambique. Oh, and that 4,000 people could fit in the church. That’s a significant percentage of the island’s population...and probably a load of rubbish.
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| The site is where the designer, Frank George, witnessed three witches being burnt to death |
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| The stone is from Mozambique but the stained glass is from the UK |
I went back the following morning as a friend had been allowed to climb the tall tower. An interesting climb, which would fail so many Western health and safety standards, resulted in some pleasant views over the bay.
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| Watch your head! This is the caretaker standing on the bell to get up to a higher level. |
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| A nice view from the top, and a nice breather on a run! |
Reaching the church was done on foot. There are a distinct lack of four-wheeled vehicles on the island. We had taken one of them, an open pick-up truck, to our accommodation for the week in the northwest of the island. The ride was just over three kilometres. To say it was bumpy would be an understatement, particularly as I was clinging on at the back. My body lifting and crashing back onto the metal reminded me of riding rollercoasters when I was younger, when my parents would often have to use their arm as an extra belt to stop me from flying into the sky.
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| Arguably the best road on the island |
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| This is how we got back to the Ilala when we left. We organised carefully so there was a little bit more space for 14 of us. |
The island is small enough to navigate much of it on foot. Leaving before 9am, when the Sun would strengthen, was always advisable. The trails and paths were also quite steep, which was reflected in my Strava deciding not to mention my running pace on the runs I did on the island.
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| It's hard to tell in the photo, but I am sweating profusely...at 7:25am |
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| This formed part of the path for us to get to a popular backpacker spot called Mango Drift |
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| #snailpace |
We stayed at a place called Ulisa Bay, a basic but pleasant place on the edge of one of the northern villages. It had a lovely deck from which you could watch the water glitter and the flies rise in the distance.
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| The lodge was near a village, meaning we would see quite a few fishing boats coming and going throughout the day |
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| The place needs a bit of TLC but served us perfectly for the week. Well, apart from the bed bugs... |
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| Usipa are small fish like sardines. We would sometimes get a strong whiff of them as they dried on the next beach. |
I haven’t mentioned the lake flies yet. These tiny buzzers would congregate over the distant water, often spiralling high in the shape of a tornado. Apparently this is part of their mating process. The first time we saw them we thought they were very low clouds.
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| We read that they can be caught, dried and made into a burger called 'kunga'. Never found it, unfortunately... |
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| The mating process? |
There often were clouds hanging around, moodily booming out their thunder. It only rained properly once, which was unfortunately when two of us were walking back from the church. The weather was otherwise spectacular.
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| It forever looked like it was raining in the distance |
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| The island of Chizumulu is hardly visible due to the dark clouds |
On one particular evening, two days before Christmas, we witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. With a local band playing in the background on the beach, it was a wonderful experience.
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| No caption needed |
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| Nice, yeah? |
We spent Christmas on the island, spending the morning snorkelling near a secluded beach before having a hilarious afternoon with dozens of women from nearby villages who performed some dances. It was wonderfully synchronised and choreographed until I jumped in…
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| Lots of little fish - I don't know the name. The vibrant ones were blue, orange or yellow. |
We also ate an enormous amount of delicious fish, one of the main staples on the island. It seems that not a great variety of food is grown on the island. Fish and tomatoes were apparently the order of the day during the first phase of Covid, when the Ilala didn’t travel for a few weeks.
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| The first of two fish barbecues, done within 4 hours of each other. Catfish, chambo, usipa...fish is good for you! |
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| Basic foodstuffs sold outside a house |
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| Nsima would have been popular when the Ilala didn't travel. I ate a lot of it on the trip. Think of it as ingesting a cloud which then weighs you down like a rock. |
The other staple seems to be alcohol. The bloodshot eyes of so many men across Likoma suggested a serious problem with alcohol or drugs. We heard stories of another lodge being overrun on Christmas Day with over 500 people drinking their bar dry before 5pm. That’s not to say that we didn’t contribute to the drinking, of course…
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| The bar mentioned above - it has a noble aim of being cheap enough for locals as well as holidaymakers to enjoy. |
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| Whisky and a cup of tea - Merry Christmas! |
A week on Likoma Island seemed the right amount of time. Enough time to combine exploration with relaxation, not too much time for inertia or boredom to truly settle in. The inconvenience of the boat schedule means that I’m not sure whether I’ll be back; however, I’m very happy to have had such a lovely Christmas on a beautiful rock in the middle of the Lake of Stars.
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| 'Merry' didn't come out very well, did it :-) |
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| Most of our Crazy Gang |
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| How we all feel about Likoma |
Matt
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