Lilongwe

This morning we had another incredible sunrise. I headed out to the beach after packing up my stuff and spent fifteen or twenty minutes enjoying the view and snapping a few pictures. Something about the arrangement of the light and the clouds here creates the most amazing scenery. Every once in a while I'll see a sunrise or a sunset back home like the ones in Africa, but never two in a row that are as impressive as the ones during the last couple of days. I wonder if it has something to do with the climate or the atmosphere here. Or maybe I've just been getting really lucky.

Today was another long one on the road. We left Kande Beach just after 7:00 and headed towards Lilongwe, Malawi's largest city, on our way to the Zambian border. In Lilongwe we stopped near a couple of strip malls and two small grocery stores so everyone could stock up on whatever they might need for the last week of the tour. The intersection we were at looked like a run-down version of something you might see in the middle of West Valley, but when I asked our tour guide about it she said it was the center of the city. It's almost hard to imagine that such a place is the largest commercial center of an entire country, but then again, Malawi is the poorest country in Africa. All I can say is that the center of Lilongwe is a far cry from Wall Street, Times Square, or even West Valley.

After many hours on very bumpy African roads, we finally arrived at the Zambian border. Depending on the nationality of a visitor to Zambia, a visa might cost $45, $55, or it might even be free. Since I happen to be from the United States I got the American discount - my visa cost $135. I looked that up online months ago and I knew it was coming, so it really wasn't a big deal, but it's still a little frustrating.

We finally arrived at camp after dark and had a quick dinner before calling it a night. Burning a whole day on the road is a little draining, but I did get to see a whole lot of African landscape. I guess there are a lot of different ways to experience Africa. After three weeks of driving through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, and Zambia, I think I'll feel like I've had a very legitimate overland trip here.