Adventures of the Ilala Ferry

The Ilala is the ferry that takes you to and from Chizumulu and Likoma Islands along with various other places along Lake Malawi. Unless you have a lot of money to fly to Likoma, this is your only transport option to get there.

At a couple of the stops, one being Nkhata Bay, the ferry can get right up to the Jetty and so you can just walk on. Well, saying just walk on doesn't really give an accurate description. You more have to battle your way on (or off). Everyone wants to get on immediately, even before all the people getting off have got off. There is one tiny entrance gate and with hundreds of people all trying to fit through it at the same time with all their luggage and goods for transporting it does get quite squashed.

All the other stops require even more of a battle to get on or off at, and they involve an added adventure - the need to use tiny over packed boats to take you from the Ilala to the shore or vica versa. To get through the crowds either to get off the boat or to actually manage to get on to the boat in the first place you had to be pushed from behind so as you could force a gap between all the people and get through.

Whilst you have no choice of boat or as to your method of embarking or disembarking, you do have a choice of class. Normally with this sort of choice I'm very much up for using the lowest class, often much to the surprise and amusement of the local people I join. However, on both my journeys to and from the islands I chose to pay the higher price and go first class. There were four reasons for this... comfort, personal safety, luggage security and the journey time.

Both second and third class on the Ilala were completely packed with people. So many people in fact, that between the busiest stops (most of them) if you wanted to get around those parts of the ship you literally had to climb over people. There were seats - hard in third class and padded in second - but these were all full as was all the floor space, and bags were just piled up where ever they could fit including on and under people. It was clear that if the Ilala happened to sink and you were in second or third class it would be very unlikely that you would be able to get out, especially if you wanted to get out alive. And whilst the fact that the Ilala has been happily crossing Lake Malawi since 1951 without any sinking taking place could indicate there may only be a very small chance of any sinking events happening, it could also mean that one may be due.

In first class there were very few people at all. It wasn't perhaps what you might consider a first class to be like, but then you could pay a huge amount more and get a cabin if you wanted to. As regular first class passengers though, our place on the ship was the top deck. There was nothing special there, just the top deck, but if you were lucky (and on one of the journeys I was) then you could get a foam mattress to sleep on. There was also a shaded area which was greatly needed in the midday heat. During the night it was so lovely lying under the beautiful star filled sky, something that for me added class to first class.

The last reason to mention for not going in second or third class was journey time. The journey to Chizumula was supposed to only take about four hours and although the Ilala was scheduled to leave at 8pm and didn't set off until gone midnight, it really did only take around four hours once we'd got going.

The journey from Likoma to the south of the lake was a much longer journey though and turned out to be not at all so timely. The entire journey was supposed to take about 28 hours, but one day passed into the next and we eventually arrived at our destination 44 hours after boarding at Likoma. Apart from being covered in black smeared ash from the funnel, I was really fortunate on the journey as had wonderful company, beautiful clear night skies and lots of food.

Likoma Island

My journey to where I would stay on Likoma (there were two choices - an extremely posh and expensive lodge well out of my own and most other people's price range, or a much much cheaper but still lovely option) was an exhausting one. Getting the dhow across involved sitting on the beach from where it would leave until who ever was sailing over to Likoma that day decided it was time to set off. The boat ride simply involved sitting in the sunshine whilst the captain did the work and others around me chatted in a language I couldn't understand. And then the exhausting part came. Due to the wind blowing in the wrong direction the boat wasn't easily able to take me to where my home for the next few days would be. I only discovered this however when I arrived at the shore and was told I'd have a half hour walk or could pay more than double what I'd already paid for someone to sail me round. This probably worked out as only about £3 or £4, but when you're traveling for a long time even 10p for some things can seem a ridiculously expensive and unnecessary cost so £3 or £4 was out of the question!

So I set off across the rocks in the tremendous heat, around the edge of the lake where there was no shade at all. A guy had offered to carry my bag, of course for a cost, but to me it always feels very wrong getting someone else to carry my bag. So there I was with the great big thing on my back trying not to let it pull me down onto the ground as I negotiated my way over all the uneven rocks, of which many would take you by surprise and roll over when you stood on them. A kind guy who was heading in the direction I was going showed me the way but he walked so fast that I couldn't keep up. He would occasionally wait until I'd nearly got to where he was but then exasperatingly would set off again leaving me no time to rest.

My mood got worse and worse as I unnecessarily cursed both him and the rocks, along with the dhow's captain and the wind, until finally my accommodation came into sight in the distance. At this point there was the first bit of shade I'd come across, provided by a Baobab tree so I shouted out to my guide that I was very grateful for his help but had to stop for a rest and that he should continue on his way alone. As I rested two figures appeared in the distance getting closer and closer until with great joy I realised it was the couple I'd stayed with on Chizumulu who had gone to Likoma the day before. They'd spotted me on the rocks and had so very kindly come to help! The rest of the day was spent relaxing by and in the lake followed by very welcomed red wine and the most delicious curry.

Being a bit bigger than Chizumulu, Likoma took longer to explore and I found it to be even more beautiful. As we explored we past lots of little houses with vegetable patches (in which no doubt were growing tomatoes, onions and green leaf vegetables) which were protected by fences made of reed type plants. Again there wasn't any traffic on the sandy roads so it was very peaceful and there were lovely views across the lake to the mountains of Mozambique. Life in Malawi is generally a very relaxed affair with a high priority for lots of people, well, lots of men in particular, being to chill out and enjoy life. Life on the islands was yet more relaxed so slow paced and people seemed even kinder and friendlier than on the main land.

In the town we found a very impressive cathedral. We climbed the tower to get views across the island, which in itself was quite an adventure involving climbing tiny stone stair cases in pitch black, scaling uneven ladders, pulling ourselves up through tiny holes in the ceiling and scrambling on to and over the bells to finally get out on to the tower's roof. I feel quite proud to be able to say that here I managed to have my second church bell ringing experience in Malawi (and my life), again without getting into any trouble. On our way back down we were greeted with the sound of the beautiful voices of choirs practicing for the Sunday services.

Another adventure on Likoma was a visit to the witch doctor. We'd heard how he was very much respected and that people came from far away, as far as other neighbouring countries, to come and see him so we thought we'd pay a visit. We had to take off our shoes and then pick up a stick from one pile and take it to another where the witch doctor, who seemed rather angry about something at this point, took the stick and put it on the second pile before marching off somewhere. We were then shown into a room where we were told to sit on the floor and then more people came in and sat behind us until the room was full. There were lots of pigeons about and I saw the first baby pigeon I've ever seen nesting between the wall and the roof.

Everyone began to sing and we waited and waited until finally the witch doctor, still looking pretty angry, came in singing and chanting and making odd and a little disconcerting noises. A group of ladies walked up to the front of the room where the witch doctor was and a lot more chanting and odd noises and talking went on, none of which we had any idea of it's meaning. After a while the witch doctor addressed us. Now he seemed to be in a far better mood and through a translator explained that he was just helping the group of ladies who had come to see him and needed to get back to Mozambique, and then he would talk to us.

When it was our turn, as we didn't have any problems to speak to the witch doctor about, he asked if we'd like to hear his history. Through the translator he then told us all about his life. This took an incredibly long time as it seemed necessary to repeat a lot of things and talk about events day by day, and so what could have been said in perhaps 10 minuets ended up taking well over an hour and although it was interesting to hear, by the time we'd got to may be the 7th of November 1979 we were all feeling a little fidgety!

We learnt how he'd been bewitched as a young man by a member of his family who'd secretly put something in his food. He'd then suffered severely from both physical and psychological illnesses and had spent a lot of time wandering naked in the mountains near to where he lived, until he'd ended up in a psychiatric hospital for two months. Then his mother passed away and her spirit helped him and enabled him to heal others. Now he is thought of so highly that if hospitals can't heal someone, they will refer them to him.

Chizumulu Island

Near the Mozambican side of Lake Malawi, though still counted as within Malawi, are two islands - Chizumulu and Likoma. One ferry takes passengers there and away and passes through once a week as it goes up and down the lake. Chizumulu, the smaller of the two islands, is the island you come to first when traveling south on the ferry and from here you can get a dhow (a small sailing boat) across to Likoma. The first picture is a view back across to Chizumulu from Likoma.

Chizumulu is a tiny island without any cars but there is one tractor! There is a market at one end of the island, though as you can see despite lots of space for things to be sold there was very little on offer - just a few piles of tomatoes and a bucket of kind of doughnuts (of course not sweet though) called Mandazis. One day there were some lovely bread roles too. Although admittedly this was a particularly poorly stocked market, my experience of markets so far in Malawi is that often there really isn't very much at all on offer and no matter how much there is, generally it'll only consist of tomatoes and onions and if you're lucky then bananas too. Whilst this would make preparing a meal full of a variety of vegetables and fruit impossible to make, it does mean that I am filled with anticipation and excitement every time I find a market. For every now and then you find something different - perhaps a papaya or some limes or even green peppers, and you can never be sure what if anything you may find.

Being vegetarian here means that most days I eat either vegetables (some kind of leaves cooked if you're lucky with tomatoes) or beans with either rice or nsima. I then will often make myself a tomato and onion salad to eat with bread and Mandazis and what ever else I happen to come across. Sometimes boiled eggs or nuts or potato chips or cassava. The nsima is made either from maize flower and water or from cassava flour and water. The cassava type I really like but generally it'll be the maize one that people make and I find that sadly it's the maize type that doesn't keep me full for long. If you eat meat then you're choice of food is the same just with added animals! In touristic places if you pay a lot more then you can find other foods but for the people who live here that's not an option or a preference, as they're more than happy to eat nsima with meat or the green leaf vegetables or beans for most meals every day. It makes me see more and more how spoilt we are in the western world to have so much choice and variety all of the time.

Anyway, being a very tiny island, Chizumulu doesn't take long to explore. There is one hill, some little sandy paths and many many huge Baobab trees. At the moment none of them have any leaves on and they look like they're upside down with their roots in the air. I'm not sure at which time of year but they grow fruits which are really high in vitamin C. They have a hard fury shell and inside there is dry white stuff that surrounds the seeds which you can eat. The trunks can be used to make rope as are really fibrous and I guess if you hollowed out the trunk then you could make it into a home as they are so very huge.



Along with the many Baobab trees are many children, often excitedly after a gift or money or a picture taken of themselves. Whilst waiting for one of the dhows to Likoma, a lady I'd met on the ferry coming over and I taught some of the children some songs. At first the children were a little suspicious and hesitant to join in but in the end so many children joined us to sing and dance to Ring a Ring of Roses and The Hokey Pokey.

Nkhata Bay

Returning to the shores of Lake Malawi in a little town called Nkhata Bay, I found no end of lizards, fishing birds, kittens and Bao Game players. Although still far fewer tourists than in a lot of other places in the world, this was the most touristic place I'd been to since leaving Zanzibar, a very popular stop off for most people traveling through Malawi.

At first I stayed in a backpackers on the shores of the lake where there was home made cake (an incredibly important thing in a country where so many things look like they should be sweet but when you eat them are extremely disappointingly not sweet at all), and then I moved to another backpackers a little further south in order to do some volunteer work, which was organised through the owners. Here there was no cake but I did have a huge mango tree growing outside my dorm and was able to witness the first mangos of the season beginning to grow.

One of the aspects of life I love here is that people have time for each other. There is always time to great the people you pass in the street, whether you know them or not. If someone needs help with something it seems help will be given without any questions asked, even if it means stopping what you're doing at the time. Family and community are important and people work together to do what they need to do.

However, for people with mental health problems or learning disabilities life can be very different. Whilst belief in religion is strong here, often so is a believe in witchcraft. Many people believe that those with mental health problems or learning disabilities have been bewitched because of something bad they have done in the past and that this is the cause of their illness or disability. There is very little support available for those who need it and people are often kept out of sight at home with little if any opportunity to participate within the community or live a fulfilling life of their choice. Alternatively people can be completely outcast and left to live on the streets, surrounded by a lack of understanding around their illness or disability and often victims of taunts and laughter.

These attitudes are slowly beginning to change. Within Malawi there are now two mental health clinics. One is government funded in the south, and the other is privately funded by Irish missionaries in a town close to Nkhata Bay. Whilst I was in Nkhata Bay I visited this clinic and was able to find out a little about the sort of work they do.

The clinic supports people with mental health issues as well as people with learning disabilities, although fortunately the two aren't thought of as one and the same. From what I saw and was told I was really impressed with the services offered.

Along side an in patients ward was a drop in centre for patients and their families, and also an outreach service. Services were free to access and I was informed that no one would be turned away. I did later meet someone who had been turned away though, so it's hard to know exactly to what extent each individual can receive support. Those who required it had access to medication and need was regularly assessed with the aim of reducing medication when need decreased, rather than using it long term regardless of changing requirements. Outreach workers met people in the community and in their homes, giving support in gaining skills needed for more independent living, ranging from every day life and relationship skills to vocational training and advocacy. After care was also offered, along with support for drug and alcohol issues. Another focus of the clinic was to provide mental health and community education - such an important area to work through if all people are to have a part to play in society and be treated equally.

Back in Nkhata bay a group for young people with learning disabilities was held once a week at the backpackers where the newly fruiting mango tree was, so I helped out a little with this. People were physically supported to get to the group if needed and once there spent time socialising, playing games, developing and learning new skills and studying similar topics to what they might study in school. This not only gave people the chance to get out of their homes but also helped them gain confidence and independence, build new friendships, and have fun.

Four mornings a week I also helped out at a local nursery school. Here 50 children all under the age of six attended and were split into two classrooms. I did not envy the two teachers who taught them! Even with myself and another volunteer it was often impossible to keep the children's attention. Things were made harder by the fact that whenever a vehicle past along the dirt track outside the school, all the children would jump up screaming and run to the windows and doors to wave. The doorways just had little gates in place of doors which proved fun for the children to swing on, and the empty spaces in the windows (there wasn't any glass) proved equally fun for the children to climb in and out of regardless of whether it was during the lesson times or the breaks.

We found that often, especially for the younger children, the material taught seemed to be at too higher level and so not of interest to the children it was aimed at - another thing which didn't help to keep the children's attention. The time everyone was the calmest was snack time. Here all the children would sit together in one of the classrooms. Before eating everyone shouted a prayer, the same one each day, at the top of their voices asking god to bless many different people in their lives, along with their food. They would then tuck into foods such as plain rice or bread or crisps, along with fizzy drinks. There was nothing that might help their concentration levels, but for their families there wasn't really any other food they had a choice of providing. Some children didn't get given any food to bring with them and for a brief moment when everyone else started eating they'd sit quietly looking rather sad, but then the others would always happily share their food with those less fortunate.

On one of the mornings the other girl volunteering and I planned a lesson. A task which at first seemed a quite daunting but actually turned out really well. We decided to teach about what plants need to grow. We looked at the cycle of a seed through to a mature plant and what it might then produce which could be eaten. Recently some ground nuts (peanuts) had been planted in the school's garden and so a few at a time we took children out to water the new shoots. This was a huge success and I very much hope that the teachers and future volunteers might continue to help the children to water so they can see the plants grow and then harvest and eat the nuts themselves.

This watering task not only helped the children learn but also helped lighten my duties, for another area I did a bit of volunteering in was gardening and it was often my duty to water the nursery's garden! Along with watering though I also planted seeds and trees, dug holes, moved stones, spread compost and potted out new plants.

My last area of volunteer work involved helping build a kitchen at the nursery school, where it was planned the children would be made porridge from in the mornings. This was pretty hard work lugging bags of bricks and sand and buckets of water around in the boiling sun. Fortunately though I was only needed to help with this for one afternoon.

When I wasn't working I spent my time relaxing by the lake, playing Bao Game, and enjoying being around friendly people and animals. I also did a couple of dives in the lake. I'd never dived in fresh water before and one enjoyable difference was that you needed far fewer weights, so when you had all the gear on it was a lot more comfortable. The dives were really pretty with all sorts of rock formations including tunnels to swim through and big walls of rock. The fish were very colourful, many shiny stripy blue colours, and there were extremely cool Mouth Breeders - I was amazed as I saw hundreds of baby fish, which together looked like they'd fill a space far bigger than the entire size of their mum, all taken up inside their mother's mouth for protection. I did a night dive here, where although we didn't see a huge variety of fish we were followed around for the entire dive by about ten or more Dolphin Fish. These were pretty ugly looking things about a metre or so long who loved the torch light and weren't at all afraid of us. Fortunately though they also weren't at all tempted to bite us.