More than any country on Earth, Malawi’s character is predominantly defined by its major travel wonder, a large freshwater lake that runs almost the entire length (over 500 kilometres) of its eastern border and represents around 20 percent of its total area. The lake is extremely deep, sitting in a rift in the continental shelf.
Nicknamed the Lake of Stars, this majestic lake sets a photogenic scene. Sparkling in the bright sunny days, the sandy, palm-fringed beaches, towering baobab trees and small African villages of grass and mud huts contrast on a background of Mozambique’s mountains. Long tables of small fish bake dry in the sun outside the huts.
Most backpackers head for the southern end of the lake and Cape Maclear. With regular matola (trucks or vans with open backs piled high with up to fifteen or twenty people, the occasional chicken and bags of belongings) plying the route along a rough dirt tract, the cape is an idyllic beach location. With the hostels integrated into the local village and some places managed by Malawians, Cape Maclear has a more comfortable feeling of supporting and working with the local population. 
UNESCO-listed, this area of the lake is a National Marine Park. Walking a short way around to a rocky outcrop called Otter Point, the water is teeming with mbuna. Snorkelling reveals a dazzling display of blues, yellows and oranges as hundreds of these friendly small cichlids swarm, nibbling bread from your hand. Relaxing on the shore, otters can be seen floating on their back feasting on their quarry of shellfish.
The mbuna are a freaky fish. Attracted to the brightest coloured male, the female lays her eggs and stores them in her mouth. On the male releasing his sperm, the female swoops through the water fertilising her eggs. The eggs stay in her mouth even after birth when the small fish stay inside this protective environment till large enough to fend for themselves.
In this anniversary year of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, the mbuna are also a lesson in evolution. Scientists have found that in different parts of the lake, the fish have evolved to suit their eating. Some have sharpened angular teeth to scrape algae off rocks while others have flat mouths to filter small marine life from the sandy lake bottom. Various others have adapted for their chosen diet of snails, fish or water plants, each with suitably evolved mouths and teeth.
The sunrises and sunsets in this area are quite spectacular. Avoiding the heat of the day, sunset is a time of high activity. Local fishermen in dugout canoes cast nets while the women wash clothes and children at the water’s edge.
Lake of Stars continues.
Other African Posts
Real Africa? (Central African Republic)
The Great Congo River Journey (Congo)
Living on Stilts (Benin)
A Real Voodoo Experience (Benin)
African Top Ten Travel Wonders
Monday, May 11, 2009
Lake of Stars (Cape Maclear, Malawi) - Part One
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Photo of the Week - Busy Shopping (Congo)
A small town in East Congo, not a long way away from Goma and the mountain gorillas, bustles with lively activity in the food markets. Though taken over a decade ago, I still enjoy the contrast of the colourful women's outfits and vibe of the market with the drab grey exteriors of the sad surrounding buildings and their corrugated iron roofs.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Bad Karma? (Hong Kong)
I rolled over trying to work out where the alarm was. I'd only got into Hong Kong late the night before so what moron had set the alarm for 5:30 in the morning? Startled from my deep slumber, I suddenly realised it wasn't the alarm but a phone. I flapped about the table in the semi-dark slowly coming into mild consciousness and finally answering this obtrusive device. I scrambled open a curtain to allow a sliver of light to escape into my room.
It was home and it was bad news. It normally is at that time of the morning. I decided there was little I could do about it right at that moment and thought I'd go back to sleep. Sure enough I couldn't sleep, my mind going a million miles an hour. My eyes flashed around the room to get my bearings when I stared transfixed at a small goldfish bowl in the centre of the decorative table - the only room furnishing in the tiny room apart from two rickety wooden chairs. The sole goldfish lay upside-down floating on the surface.
This must be bad karma. And bad things happen in threes...
I decided to get up and go in search of food. Compared with the bustle of the night before, Hong Kong is surprisingly serene at this early hour. The weak sunlight paints the harbour in a dull yellowish glow as it tries to penetrate the heavy haze. I stagger into a small cafe and grab some food and a steaming black tea. I have never trusted the coffee in Asian countries and their tea is always excellent. Both the breakfast and hot drink are surprisingly refreshing and I head back to my room a little better in spirit, ready to face the day. I still have to handle the issue back home but the body feels much better than its shock awakening an hour and a half earlier.
I fidgeted for my room key to find the door ajar to the sound of vacuuming. I stepped in to the fully lit room, curtains drawn open with the bed made. To my surprise, I discovered that Bubbles had miraculously revived, swimming contentedly around his bowl and circumnavigating the single black rock and sad wilted water plant. Do goldfish really sleep and was Bubbles simply resting?
The cleaner whispered to have a good day as she rolled her trolley out the door. And the truth stood before me. Among the little bars of soap and mini-shampoo bottles was a large bowl with two dozen or more of Bubble's relations gliding around. A plain over-sized white ashtray sat next to the bowl with not one but two dead goldfish. They were planning for a goldfish pandemic.
Along with the bed-making and cleaning, it seems that goldfish replacement is part of the standard service at this hotel.
Bad karma or clinical indifference? During the day I couldn't get the goldfish out of my mind. It gave me an eerie feeling. The third bad thing never did occur that day but I have never faced the discomfort of a goldfish in a hotel room ever again.
Do you have your own story of animals and hotel rooms?
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Chianti Classico (Tuscany, Italy)
The word Chianti evokes images of tasty light red wines served from strange squat bottles wrapped in straw, marked with the telltale black rooster emblem on its neck. Though most actually come in conventional bottles, these wines are produced among stunning rolling hills in an area between the two pillar cities of Tuscany - Florence and Siena. One of the truly great Italian experiences is spending a few days driving or walking through the Chianti countryside with its quilt of hillside vineyards, olive groves and small forests on a backdrop of ancient churches, medieval walled towns, elegant villas, stone farmhouses and historic Florentine castles - almost unchanged from the superb Renaissance images of centuries ago.
Tuscany is a great place to open the wallet. Blessed with some of the finest hotels in Italy, the region offers opportunities to enjoy beautiful accommodation and sumptuous dining in picturesque surroundings on the grounds of working vineyards and olive farms. 
Each of the four main Chianti towns (Greve, Castellina, Radda and Gaoile) have their own charm but the central Radda has best preserved its original character. While a car makes visiting the various small towns and villages much easier than the limited public transport, one highlight is a loop walk of around twelve kilometers between Radda and Gaoile (get a map to assist) through a number of enchanting Chianti villages and wineries. 
From Radda, walk past a number of villages dotted on the rolling hills to the idyllic fortified hillside hamlet of Vertine. Walking under the entry arch (top photo) as inhabitants have done for almost ten centuries and past the stone keep and bell tower, the walled village of around thirty houses lining a circular street seems unchanged from the middle ages. There is an austere harmony about Vertine with its roughened wall exteriors built of stones that alternate from white to deep orange-brown. A small bar near the arch offers tasty Tuscan treats washed down with a glass (or two) of wine produced from the vineyards which radiate down the gentle slopes from this charming medieval village.
A little further on is the historic village of Spaltenna with its fortified pieve (rural church) and monastery, built in 1030, and now a hotel and restaurant. Nearby Gaoile is Chianti’s market town with a piazza of restaurants, cafes and wine shops and a good place for lunch. 
Returning to Radda, the honey-coloured village of Volpaia is a highlight. Within its ancient walls, the castle was converted into a premium winery and olive press around forty years ago. This village slowly unveils itself as you wander the narrow curved cobblestone laneways, past an unusual eight-sided well and a church, now converted to a cellar. The wine tasting is quite a show including a memorable red with the lyrical name of Balifico.
Wander back to Radda and reflect on a wonderful outdoors day strolling in the Chianti countryside, uncovering historic hamlets while feasting on the centuries old delights of Tuscan food and wine. The travel wonders of Chianti epitomise the Tuscany region and there is no better way to fully sense and experience it than to spend a relaxed day strolling the gentle slopes of this historic region.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Photo of the Week - Mahatma Gandhi's Memorial (Delhi, India)
In a beautiful verdant park on a river in Delhi, a simple, elegant platform of black marble, adorned with floral wreaths and lit with a single lantern marks the cremation of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation of India. The simple words "O God" in Hindi mark the bottom of the platform at Raj Ghat (as the site is called), believed to be Gandhi's last words on being shot. Even today, visiting Raj Ghat brings a harmonious feeling of peace and tranquility and is in sharp contrast to the bustling pandemonium which characterises much of the remarkable Indian capital city of Delhi.
Today, the International Day of Non-Violence is celebrated on his birthday of 2 October every year and marks a public holiday in India. His peaceful approach to mass people-driven civil disobedience has set the standard for civil rights movements around the world.
In the same area, there are memorials marking the ashes of five Indian prime ministers and several other notable Indian politicians.
Other India Posts
It's All in the Stars (Jantar Mantar, Jaipur)
A Royal Facade (Palace of the Winds, Jaipur)
A Monument to Love (Taj Mahal)
From Dead Duck to Bird Heaven (Bharatpur)
