Travel Adventures

Travel is never easy in Malawi, but sometimes it is a greater adventure than others. Only about 10% of the roads are tarmac, leaving 90% to dirt. All the roads suffer from the rains. The tarmac roads develop potholes that resemble craters. The dirt roads become rutted mud or washed out paths. Vehicles take a beating on these roads. Some can’t make it. Travel to villages this time of year must be done in sturdy 4-wheel drive vehicles. It is an adventure.

This past weekend I was invited to participate in elders’ training for a parish in rural Chiuta Presbytery. The parish is about four hours from Blantyre, an hour of that drive on dirt roads, now mud, due to the rainy season. I figured that my Honda was not up to the task, so I asked my friend Sam Ncozana if he could assist me with transportation. He said his Land Rover was just the vehicle for the trip, so we agreed that I would pay for fuel and a driver and we would be set. But nothing is ever that easy.  The Land Rover takes diesel, and that is scarce right now. Sam finally found some on Wednesday. Thursday he needed to use the Land Rover for a trip to one of his worksites, but there would be plenty of fuel. What he didn’t bank on was the Land Rover breaking down. It had to be towed back to Blantyre and we had to rethink our travel plans for Friday. Resourceful Sam called his father, Silas, to ask if we could borrow his Land Rover. Silas said yes, but his had no fuel, so we would have to source fuel. Sam’s Land Rover was almost full, but wouldn’t move. So Sam drained the fuel from his Land Rover into Jerry cans, loaded them in the back of my car and we headed off at 5 a.m. Friday. We went to Silas’ in Zomba, emptied the Jerry cans into his Land Rover, left my car for him and headed to Chiuta. The muddy road was a bit rough, but not as bad as I had expected. Except for one place that was a bit rough, my Honda could have made the trip. I was feeling guilty for all the trouble we had had to go to arranging for the Land Rover when it didn’t seem necessary. But the trip wasn’t over.



Silas and his Land Rover



Sam dropped me at the church where the training was being held and headed back to Blantyre, via Zomba, exchanging vehicles on the way. He would be back to pick me up on Sunday afternoon. I was on my own, walking with the rest of the village. This was no problem. It rained heavily Friday night, but we were already in for the night, so we didn’t have to walk in the rain. Saturday brought scattered showers, but nothing too heavy. Sunday dawned bright but during the morning, the clouds rolled in. Thunder and lightning ignited all around us, but we did not have rain. Sam was due to be at the manse at 1:30 to pick me up. I called about 2:30 when he hadn’t come, to check on him. He said he was at the bottom of the mountain at Liwonde, looking of diesel so his father could make a trip on Monday, but the Land Rover was on the way with his driver Zander and should be there by 3 p.m. Zander arrived about 4 p.m., the Land Rover splashed with mud. Zander said he had encountered heavy rains on the way. We quickly loaded up and headed out, since the threat of more rain was all around us. We had only driven a short distance when I was deeply grateful for the Land Rover. The rains had created small rivers along each side of the road. Only the crown of the road was above water, so we had to splash through. Further down the road, the rains had washed away the right side of the road, leaving a difference of about 10 inches between the original surface of the road and the washed out area. This lopsided road ran for about 2 kilometers. The Land Rover straddled it easily. The Honda would not have made it. As we approached a wooden bridge, Zander stopped to assess the best way to proceed. The small creek under the bridge had become a rushing river over the middle of the bridge and the road on the other side of the bridge had been partially washed away. A bicyclist who had just crossed the new river assured us that the bridge was sturdy and the road only slightly damaged. Zander proceeded carefully, parting the newly formed river as we drove over the bridge and carefully veering to the right, away for the collapsed portion of the road. When we crested the hill above the river, we paused to praise God for his care, for Zander’s driving and for the Land Rover’s ability. The rest of the road was muddy and rutted but the worst was behind us. Once on the tarmac road, we breathed more easily.

We called Sam to check on his progress. He had failed to get diesel in Liwonde and had returned to Zomba, to try there. We found him in a line with my car, hoping we would get there with the Land Rover before his turn came. We had. We quickly switched places, positioning the Land Rover to be refueled and took my car to Silas’ to await Sam’s return with the Land Rover, so we could collect the rest of our passengers and head  back to Blantyre in the Honda. The hard part was behind us. All that lie ahead were the potholes