From Zambia, Toto continued on to the small, vertical African country of Malawi. Malawi is actually one of the poorest countries in Africa, although the people are some of the friendliest. It's a very green country dominated by Lake Malawi, where I camped for several nights.
The lake seemed more like the ocean, since you couldn't see across it and it had waves. It reminded me of Lake Michigan, where I used to visit my grandmother. However, unlike Lake Michigan, the water in Lake Malawi is quite warm. When we were kids at Grandma's house, we used to tease my youngest cousin by telling him that the rock in the water was a hippopotamus. In Lake Malawi you can't go to the beach at night, because you might run into an actual hippo!
I did go scuba diving in the lake during the day. I didn't see any hippos, but I did see lots of cichlid fish. Since this lake is made of fresh water instead of salt water like the ocean, many of these fish are caught for tropical aquariums. You might even have a fish in your aquarium whose grandparents came from Malawi.
What is interesting about cichlids is that the males make nests in the sand which look like big craters by moving the grains with their mouth. The females are attracted to the males based on how nice their nest looks. Instead of laying their eggs in the nest, though, the females store the eggs in their mouths until they hatch two weeks later, going without eating the whole time!
While in Malawi, I went on an all-day hike up the green hills surrounding Lake Malawi to the town called Livingstonia. The town was named after the British missionary, Dr. David Livingstone. You probably remember from Chapter 17 that he "discovered" Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe in 1855. Dr. Livingstone was active in this area, both as an explorer and a missionary. He also saw many of the locals being taken by Arab traders as slaves in this area, which made him very upset. As a result, he was important in the ending of the slave trade in East Africa, which we'll talk more about in Chapter 20.
One of his followers from Britain came to this area and founded a school and clinic in the town, which he named in honor of Dr. Livingstone. Today the town is home to several schools and a university providing education to many of the locals, so Dr. Livingstone's legacy lives on. The guides who took me on the hike were studying at the university to be ship mechanics, in hopes of giving their families a better life.
On the hike, they showed us this school for orphans in the village. They are orphans because their parents have died, mostly from AIDS. Unfortunately, the children were out of school for the day, but I thought you'd want to see a picture of their classroom. The sticks you see are their chairs and desks. The children sit on the sticks and listen to the teacher's lessons. It certainly was more basic and less comfortable than my elementary school and, most likely, yours. The school is supported by the village's chief as well as by donations from tourists. It made me appreciate how lucky I was to have my family and a school to attend as a child. So next time you think about something you don't like at school, remember how fortunate you are compared to these poor children.
Travel Questions about Malawi:
- Which lake has warmer water - Lake Michigan or Lake Malawi?
- Why could Toto not go to the beach at night on Lake Malawi?
- Is the water fresh or salty in Lake Malawi?
- What is unique about female cichlid fish?
- What does the male cichlid's nest look like?
- How does the male cichlid make his nest?
- What did Dr. Livingstone see while exploring the region around Malawi?
- What was Toto's guide studying at the school in Livingstonia?
Global Nomad Questions on Malawi:
- Find Malawi on a map and list the countries that border the country.
- The border for three countries lies in the middle of Lake Malawi. Which three countries are they?
- Next time you go to a pet store, ask the assistant to show you a cichlid. If you have an aquarium, bring a little of Africa to your home by buying a cichlid for it.
- Describe some of the things you have at your school which the orphans at the Malawi school are not fortunate enough to have.
- If you want to do a cybersearch and see pictures of Lake Malawi cichlids, you can click on this link.
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