Malawi traffic jam (Dec. 14/08 - Chitimba, Malawi

Our "short" drive up the lake to Chitimba today turned into a seven hour ordeal when we whipped around a corner on the winding paved road through the lush hills to see a hill full of trucks spun out and jack-knifed all over the place. Somehow, the paved road was coated with a thick layer of red mud, and it had claimed at least half a dozen victims. A transport truck was spun out at the top, and it pretty much blocked everyone from even trying to pass around him. A couple vans full of people gave it a try and ended up in the ditch. Eventually, a grader appeared from the top of the hill and managed to scrape some of the mud off the road and straighten out the jack-knifed semi. I guess it couldn't tow it to the top though, as it left it stranded half way up the hill, but at least with enough room for vehicles to pass. About two hours went by before a path was clear enough to attempt the hill. Raymond gunned it and we crossed our fingers as the tires spun beneath us and had us crawling up the hill at walking speed. One slip to the side and we would have been sideways in the ditch. But we made it, and there were applause and cheering as we felt the tires grip the dry pavement at the top of the hill. Phew. That could've been nasty.

We stopped at a vista looking down onto Lake Malawi for lunch and then climbed down to the village of Chitimba to camp for the night. We had just enough time for a swim in the lake, and Elephant beer at the bar, and a quick check of our email to confirm our travel plans for the next chunk of our trip. Because of the violence and ongoing danger in India, we have decided to save India for later and instead spend the extra time in southeast Asia. So we will fly to Singapore via Abu Dhabi and explore for a few days before hopping over to Borneo, or such is the plan for now at least!