The roads of Malawi are a challenge many times, but after you have driven them for awhile, you tend to forget that fact and just go. Every once in a while, however, you are reminded of the challenge. That was the case Christmas Day.
Jean and Chimwemwe were here while Jean’s foot was healing from a burn she received when water splashed out of the pot onto the charcoal burner and the hot ash of the charcoal landed on her ankle. She was recovering, but walking and jarring the foot was still painful. I am scheduled for surgery on my left hip in just a week and jarring of that hip is painful as well. So smooth roads were what we both needed. They were not what we got. Charles and Alinafe had invited us to their church, which is on the Mozambique border. We were eager to have Christmas with family, but it came at a price in travel. The government is constructing a new road from Mulanje to the border, but it is far from finished. The road to Mulanje is tarmac and a delight. That is about an hour of the trip, about 80 kilometers from Blantyre. There are another 70 kilometers to Chiringa, where Charles and Alinafe live, but the road is under construction and so it is rough traveling. The first leg of the construction is like a washboard, so travel over 30 kilometers an hour is dangerous. The car rattles along the way and the riders are bounced up and down. The slower one goes the less bounce, so we crept along that leg of the trip to Phalombe. From Phalombe to Migowi is better. We breathed a sigh of relief to realize that the road had been smoothed out for the tarmac to come and we sailed along at slightly over 40 kilometers an hour. This felt like speeding after the first stretch. But one we got to Migowi, the road changed drastically. The first layer of tarmac had been applied but there was no sealer on it, so there were to be no cars on it. That meant that we took a “diversion,” a detour on hastily constructed “side” roads that generally paralleled the construction road. This diversion was just a dirt path alongside the construction. Because there had been rain, the path was rutted in places and mushy in others. We had to carefully steer through the mud areas, praying not to get stuck. Where the mud was somewhat dried, the ruts were deep and had to be navigated carefully, to not bottom out and do damage to the undercarriage of the car. I longed for my old Isuzu truck that was high and could go anywhere. I had to take care in the Honda CRV. While it is 4-wheel drive, it is not high and so must be handled with care. I have learned that the hard way, from a hitting rock and having it cost a small fortune to repair. So we proceeded with great care over the rough terrain. The last part of the diversion went through the Chiringa market area, near the church. Even though it was Christmas Day, it was still a market day so the place was packed with vendors set up everywhere along the road, including at the small opening to the path that led to the church. Charles met us at this intersection to negotiate a way for us to drive among the vendors, cajoling some of them to “move shop” to allow us to pass, down a steep grade, around a rock and between two building, then along a rough path among trees that lead to the church building.
The construction part of the journey had taken almost 3 hours. We left home at 6 a.m. for a 10 a.m. worship service. Jean was certain we were going to be much too early. We arrived at 9:58, with 2 minutes to spare. Charles assured us we had done well. Had it rained during the night, we might not have been able to make it at all. The service was great fun and the meal with the family was a delight, but then we had to head back by 3 p.m. to make it off the dirt roads before dark. Travel in the daylight is hard enough. We didn’t want to attempt it in the dark. It was another 3 hours of bumping and bouncing over rough terrain. Coming to the tarmac was a blessing. The last hour of the trip seemed to fly by. When we got out of the car at home, we realized how hard the trip had been on both of us. We both ached. A hot bath and quick meal and we all headed for bed. Jean commented that she was not going to complain again about the hour long dirt road ride to her house. It was smooth in comparison. It is good sometimes to be reminded of how much we take things for granted, like smooth roads.
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