Chitimba Camp

Well, today was a relaxer. Polepole, as we say in Swahili, slowly, slowly; where everything was slow and relaxed. I slept almost 9hrs solid, unusual for me, and woke up full of beans. I had breakfast and decided what to do for the day. There were lots of options organised by the local community and I decided to be equanimous in my decision making and do none of them equally. So, I practiced a skill I’m beginning to excel at; doing nothing.
Being full of beans can lead to lots of gas so I had my first day, so far, of a very mild version of the Tanzanian trots where I had a deeper relationship with the porcelain throne than usual. A few hours later and the beans had been has beens and I was grand.
Some local people came around to see if anyone wanted dresses or shirts made. They brought along a lot of different fabrics in the most gorgeous patterns and colours. I decided to get a shirt make and looked at the colours and designs. I really wasn’t sure what I wanted and fumbled through the fabrics. One of the women on the trip, a London woman who knows Africa, just plucked one out of the pile. That’ll work for you. How did she do that, I wondered. What magic powers does she possess. The one she picked, I would never have chosen but the more I looked at it, the more I liked it.
I was originally drawn to very bright busy designs but someone said that such bright colours really only work on black skin and look wrong on pasty European skin. I could see what they meant when someone draped a bright cloth around their shoulders.
The rest of the day, I did nothing and, even if I say so myself, I did so excellently.
The camp is really a little resort on the shore of Lake Malawi. There a lovely bar/cafe area with plenty of chill out areas with sofas and cushions.
Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
It is the fourth largest fresh water lake in the world by volume, the ninth largest lake in the world by area—and the third largest and second deepest lake in Africa. Lake Malawi is home to more species of fish than any other lake, including at least 700 species of cichlids.
The Mozambique portion of the lake was officially declared a reserve by the Government of Mozambique on June 10, 2011, while in Malawi a portion of the lake is included in Lake Malawi National Park.
Lake Malawi is a meromictic lake, meaning that its water layers do not mix. The permanent stratification of Lake Malawi’s water and the oxic-anoxic boundary (relating to oxygen in the water) are maintained by moderately small chemical and thermal gradients.
It is between 560 kilometres (350 mi) and 580 kilometres (360 mi) long, and about 75 kilometres (47 mi) wide at its widest point. The lake has a total surface area of about 29,600 square kilometres (11,400 sq mi). The lake is 706 m (2,316 ft) at its deepest point, located in a major city depression in the north-central part. Another smaller depression in the far north reaches a depth of 528 m (1,732 ft). The southern half of the lake is shallower; less than 400 m (1,300 ft) in the south-central part and less than 200 m (660 ft) in the far south. The lake has shorelines on western Mozambique, eastern Malawi, and southern Tanzania. The largest river flowing into it is the Ruhuhu River, and there is an outlet at its southern end, the Shire River, a tributary that flows into the very large Zambezi River in Mozambique.
So, enough of the factoids already, I hear you saying. We had dinner at 7ish, a very spicy veggie chilli. Sure cleared the sinuses. Then to cabin to read and chill.