Home Away From Home

HOME AWAY FROM HOME- Saturday, September 3^rd, 2011

We have found a home away from home, a refuge, a place we can relax and forget all our worries – and all that within a two-hour drive from our Lilongwe home.  Where is this magical place, the country of plenty? 

One Word: the LAKE! When you look at a map of Malawi, most of its Eastern border is made of a huge lake, some 50 kilometers wide and 350 kilometers long, truly an inland sea for this landlocked country.  And what a breath of fresh air it offers!  We honestly could not distinguish the other side and felt like we were back in Jamaica or in Sri Lanka, at the beach bordered with palm trees..

Along with 2 other families, we drove to the lake, on a nice road, going through villages and little towns, passing markets and artifact vendors.  As you can imagine, the Lake is a pretty touristy destination, for expats as well as locals. We arrived before 11:00 am, picked the most perfect spot on the beach, under a straw umbrella, our feet in the sand and our head in the palm trees.  The kids were fast at changing into their swimsuits and within 2 minutes of dropping our stuff, they were IN the lake...   Water games, snorkeling and sandcastle were on the activity card for the day. 

Since we were using the beach (for no fee) of a nice hotel, we also had access to their pool (for a little fee) and their restaurant…so after basking in the sun and playing in the water, we ordered a nice lunch that we all enjoyed pool side. 

In the late afternoon, we set back on our drive back to Lilongwe, faces happy and tired from smiling, already looking forward to the next trip to the lake!