December was lived-in Salima
Written by Nez, Posted in Travel, Comments: leave another one
Yes, it is now Feb and I am still thinking of December. For me the joys of being a blogger is being able to re-live the past by writing.
December month started with Zee turning 5 months. Then big sister Muli finished school term and was gearing for summer holidays. As for me, I was dying to take a break from work and spend time with my cubs, family and friends.
We wanted to spend all our summer holidays with Cullo’s family in Malawi. We have not seen them in a while. Grand parents have not met Zee, so it was one BIG holiday to look forward to. We had 17days planned for a vacation.
We flied from Cape Town to Lilongwe international Airport in Malawi. A good old friend to Cullo came to pick us at the airport and we spent a night at his place in Lilongwe. Our first stop was a destination to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. The destination was Salima, we stayed at Sunbird Livingstonia Beach hotel. Tranquillity!
We arrived in the evening. The welcoming was amazing. That was not a surprise though because Malawi people are warm and very friendly.
We ate our dinner in our room because we cant risk mosquito bites. The food was great. What I liked was the use of natural herbs to enhance food taste. No creams and sources. I enjoyed the meal.
Our room was great. The room was air-conditioned, there were mosquito net in our bed, baby cot and Muli’s bed. My fears were put to rest when we arrived and were told our room is prepared and was sprayed for mosquitoes. In that moment I so much wanted to hear ‘spray’ and ‘mosquito’ in one sentence. We slept well and woke up well rested.
I wanted to wake up as early as 4:30am to soak up the sunrise. The idea was not that good as the mosquitoes that transmit malaria were up and wanted some preys to feed on at that time. I was determined that none of my family will be that prey. We left our room at about 6am. I was never prepared for the beauty I saw .
Malawi Lake.
OMG!. I was not ready for that beauty. The lake was a stone throw away from our room-. The water in the lake was clear-clear.
We spend the last part of the sunrise walking and playing in the lake. We made one huge mistake. We did not bring our shoes. Boy!. I underestimated the heat from the sun. As we step out of the water on to the sand, it was HOT. We even made a huge mistake running forward towards our room. We should have remained in the water and ask people to bring our shoes. For 3minutes we screamed hysterically. If you could have felt that heat and somebody told you that God is going to end the world with fire, you could have repented from all your sins there and there. Our feet were burning. I had burns on my feet for few days but Muli and Cullo were fine.
We went for a buffet breakfast. I wish I had taken more pics but its always the case when you enjoying the moment. You are present and nothing matters.
We went to a pool after breakfast. Zee and Muli swam a bit with Cullo . I was sitting there reading while Muli was meeting new friends every minute. Every time she meet someone she will come to introduce her to me. She is the sweetest child.
Family selfie.
The other day we hired a boat to see Malawi lake shoes and a nearby island. The bird Island is a small island opposite The Sunbird Hotel. The guys giving the service were very welcoming. I just could not believe that I had to take off my shoes and walk in the water to get on to the boat. They said this is Malawi my sister, were you expecting a jet to get you to the boat?. They said it so kindly that we all laughed and joked about it.
We had an amazing five nights stay. The gardens at the hotel is taken good care of. I wouldn’t have asked for a better place to spend our anniversary.
Take care,
Nez