We are now at Cape Maclear on the shores of Lake Malawi having traveled from Zambia and over nighting in the capital Lilongwe. Cape Maclear was discovered by David Livingstone in 1859 and named after his friend the astronomer Thomas Maclear. In 1949/50 BOAC Short Solent Flying boats on the Southampton to South Africa route would stopover here.
The fisherman go out at night and use lights to attract the fish. When David Livingstone first witnessed this he is reputed to have called this “The Lake of Stars“. This way of fishing continues today still using the same dugout canoes but the fisherman have embraced modern technology and use batteries, solar panels and LED lights.
If you ever wonder what happens to all those old clothes you donate to charity, they end up in a market like this. As a result the textile industry in countries like Malawi and Zambia has been decimated.
Tomorrow we are off to an island and to go snorkeling. However swimming in the Lake carries the risk of contracting Bilharzia. So today we have been to the local clinic to get a dose of pills to take. We have to wait two to three months after we leave to give the Bilharzia worm time to grow in our bodies before taking the dose to kill them off. Charming thought!!!
For our last night on Lake Malawi, we decided to go and stay on Mumbo Island which is a one hour boat trip out into the Lake. Staying on the island far exceeded our expectations and had we have known how good it would be we would have been tempted to stay for a couple of nights. Unfortunately for the last couple of days the wind has been blowing. Probably Force 5 or 6 which gave a very uncomfortable boat ride to and from the island and put paid to the kayaking and snorkeling. We did managed to snorkel in a sheltered bay but the rough sea seems to have made all the coloured tropical fish, that this lake is famous for, disappear.
