We only had one heavy downpour when we were in Malawi, at the Dedza Pottery along the Mozambique border, an hour south of Lilongwe-we'd just started out on a walk and could see it coming, so turned back. Malawi is not called the "Warm Heart of Africa" for no reason at all. It is a very beautiful and diverse country. This was my fifth trip to Malawi over 45 years. They have been scattered at different times from 1965 and 1991, to 2002 and 2005, to now. It was Gudrun's first visit. But I'd never been to Lake Malawi; only in the south at Zomba-the old colonial, tree lined capitol; and Blantyre. The Lake was our main destination this time as we planned to stop at four different places heading south along the way. Malawi's flowing rivers, high mountain plateau, lush greenness and many lakes make it a destination of contrast to Botswana.
We had only a few minor problems. One was the conservative Government of President Bingu wa Mutharika reinstating Kamuzu Day as a national holiday on the 14th of May (Life President Hastings Banda's birthday).
