Harare to Lilongwe, Malawi

Well, our passports came back from England with our Ethiopian Visas and we left Harare around lunchtime. We arrived at the border at 6.00pm and were turned back because the border crossing process lasts 5 hours. We found a field and bush camped yet again.Tthe following morning we were at the border for 6.30am and managed to complete the process in about 4 frustrating hours. We paid $85 for a visa to make a 5 hour drive and enter Malawi. We arrived at the campsite at 8.30 pm-- dirty, hungry, and thirsty. It was 11.00 pm before we had anything to eat. A few of us have decided to get off the truck for 10 days and head for Zanzibar on our own and meet the truck in Dar Es Sallam.Tonght, we take a local us to the border of Tanzania and tomorrow another one to Dar Es Salam. The following day we take the ferry to Zanzibar where hopefully we can find a nice place to relax for a week. Africa is as frustrating as it was 30 years ago and poverty is everywhere. It makes me very thankful for the life I have been given. The weather has warmed up a bit as we are at sea level again. It is nice not to be cold all the time. I am upgrading from camping at every oppurtunity I get. It costs about $20 per day but the rooms have no toilet or bathroom and are very basic to say the least. More from Zanzibar...