So, I made it up Mount Mulanje! I got about a 1/3 of the way up on the Saturday and was sore;y tempted to turn around and go back. Sheila however, urged me on! 7 hours later after stepping off the minibus in Mulanje town we had made it to the plateau and rested for the night in one of the 10 huts situated there. We met some others also staying at the hut who were Malawian and were planning a trip there with school children to teach them orienteering and other scout like activities. They told us of some of the myths local Malawians believe about the mountain.
The highest peak - Sapwita - which means 'Don't go there' makes Mulanje the 3rd highest mountain in Africa. It is called don't go there because the locals believe witchcraft is on the mountain because people go up there and never return....!
We climbed down a different way on the Sunday which took equally long and by the end my feet were killing me - we had a well deserved soda at the small supermarket in Likumbula which is 6Km from Mulanje town round the side of the mountain. The views were stunning and we could even see Mozambique peering at us from below the clouds! I tried to upload some pictures for you but internet is snail pace here and it wasn't working :-( I'll try next time.
Work continues and is going well. Dr Cashman is back tomorrow, he is the other consultant doctor on the team I work with. This hopefully means I will get to help out with some elective joint replacements on the private patients which I have not yet done as Dr Sam mostly works with the children and minor fractures. A medical student arrived today for her elective, which means I have a travelling buddy for the next 7 weeks - she wants to go to Mulanje, I told her she'd have to wait at least a few weeks for my muscles to recover! I hope that she wants to visit the lake too.
bible study at the McGrath's was amazing - especially the roast chicken dinner beforehand :-) I'm looking forward to the same tomorrow evening. We are going to go to the local Chinese restaurant on Friday for Sheila's leaving meal - she goes on Saturday, please pray for safe travel and for her week in South Africa sightseeing before she returns to the US.
Thank you for your prayers about my stomach - my pain has completely gone :-) I'm now sure it was just a doxycycline side-effect as it is listed in the BNF. Please pray for this Saturday - I'm staying at home this week as I need to renew my visa. Please pray that it will be quick and easy with no complications and that they won't charge me too much.
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