Hippos and others

Never in my life have I have seen or been so close to Hippo's and Elephants!

Yesterday while canoeing along the national park a male Hippo who was kicked out of his herd gave us a nice demonstration of how wide his mouth can open!

Then later at night at 1am the elephants came to walk around the lodge we were staying at for the night. I kept my tent flap open as I was expecting them. He walked straight to the tree and bush next to my tent, he was literally 2 meters away! My heart was racing as I could even smell the leaves he was chewing. It was an amazing experience. Elephants can sense humans up to 30 meters but these ones are not afraid as they remember the areas where they could be poached. They have a memory of up to 30 years. Some other pix taken from the boat ride last weekend

Malawian Babies

Malawian babies don't cry.
They are tied most of the time to their mothers back in a simple cotton wrap.
Their diapers are made of cloth and changed maybe once twice a day.
If they do start crying, whatever the mother is doing she will scoop the baby to the front and breast feed her child there and then.
Showing your breast is the most natural thing to do and no one looks!(Except me!)
I saw a mother today breast-feeding and getting water from the well....tough life....

The get used to everything around them from the "back view" and just look and stare.
I've been kids play with sharp objects like knives and broken mirrors but they don't hurt themselves or others....From an early age they learn to know about the risks and avoid any injuries.
Siblings as young as 4 to 5 years old start carrying the babies as a relief to their mothers who are doing other errands

Nsima and others

Nsima is the only consistent food Malawians can afford. They rarely eat any meat, sometimes fish.
Mostly pumpkin leaves with tomatoes, bananas, and mangoes off course even when green and unripe!
Nsima is made from Maize floor which is cooked with water until its get sticky in a form of a fun. I tasted it but didn't like it...I found it tasteless...So I eat rice instead

Everyday it takes us 45 minutes to reach the Villages. We take a taxi bicycle where 17 year old Youssef and Duncan pedal us there under the heat!

Check the greater Kudu which I am doing some research on!

Children from Chatama Village Malawi Liwonde

Malawian women welcoming us to Chitama Village

Day 7 in Malawi

Day 7 in Malawi Liwonde and each day grows on me!African kids have nothing no shoes and some torn clothes...they find scarps on the floor and make toys....kids take care of their siblings while parents are working and all this they play and smile and don't cry :) I am sitting in the garden overlooking the river and I can hear Hippo's submerged in the river making the weirdest noises!Going the village in a bit to work on the mangoes project with the VillagersYesterday we did 2 games drives in Liwonde national parkWe saw Kudu's, bush bucks, Buffalos, Hippo's, elephants, monkeys,etc... it was great to be so close to the animals which you only read about in children's books and movies or documentaries!Enjoy the pix :)