It's easy to take holidays. All you need to do is pack your bags and jump on a bus. Catching up to the group again is a different story though!
After 4 full days relaxing and chilling out in Nkhata Bay I decide it's time to move, time to start slowly making my way towards Lilongwe, with the plan to take the road via the Lake (not the way we go with the bikes) and spend a couple of nights first at Senga Bay.
On the map and from talking to the locals it sounds easy enough. If I want to get up early, there's a bus that stops in Salima (near Senga Bay) which goes usually around 6am. The problem with this is that I would have to get up before the sun which kind of makes me feel like I'm not on holidays anymore, so I decide to take option B - Minibus from Nkhata Bay to Dwangwa, minibus Dwangwa to Nkhotakhota, minibus from Nkhotakhota to Salima, then minibus from Salima to Senga Bay.
I'm at the Nkhata Bay bus stop by 8am, and find the right bus to Dwangwa pretty easily. The driver is in no particular hurry even after the bus has enough people onboard for it to start moving. Then the minibus starts beeping and carrying on... eventually we make it to Chincheche, a town not really very far from Nkhata Bay and I get told to jump on a different bus because the one I was on is having problems!!! So I sit and wait at the bus stop and eventually another bus rocks up. A guy comes up and introduces himself to me. He tells me his name is John Howard even before I tell him where I come from. He's of course yet another Artist wanting to sell me some paintings. Because I don't want to be rude I look at his paintings - some of them are quite good but I don't need paintings. So then he tries to sell me some small wooden elephants instead. I also don't need elephants so I don't buy them either.
Another bus pulls up and I jump on board and eventually we're on the road again This one gets halfway to Dwangwa before it runs out of fuel. Time to jump on the next bus that comes by...
Eventually there's another bus, and we're back on the move... this time moving at a good pace and we make it to Dwangwa by 2pm and I begin to think that perhaps Senga Bay is too far for a day and perhaps Nkhotakhota is far enough.
The bus from Dwangwa to Nkhotakhota goes pretty smoothly and I get to Nkhotakhota by 4pm. I think I can make it to Salima before the sun goes down...
I also meet back up with a guy called Issa who I first met earlier that day in Chincheche. He managed to get a lift with someone else from Chincheche to Nkhotakhota and he's surprised that I've caught back up to him!!! He's a friendly guy, well educated and with a good sense of humour.
I get to sit right up the front of the minibus next to another young Malawian man. This guy asks me if I can help to get him sponsorship so that he can go to university to study social studies. He tells me that he's very keen to get a good education because he wants to be the next prime minister of Malawi because he doesn't think much of the current one and he thinks he could do a better job. He knows it will be easier for him to become prime minister if he has a good education. I apologise for not being able to help.
The bus is moving very slowly and I glance at the fuel gauge and notice that it is nearly empty... (that's actually an understatement - I'm wondering if the fuel gauge is working becuase it looks like it's completely empty and the light is on!).
I really prefer when I'm going somewhere I've never been before to get there while it's still light if it's at all possible and I begin to regret not calling it quits for the day back at Nkhotakhota...
Sure enough, the bus coughs and the engine stops. No fuel left. The driver sends the guy that collects the money on a bicycle down the road with a jerry can to get some fuel. It's starting to get dark.
We hang out in the bus for quite some time wondering how long it will take for the guy to come back with the petrol. Meanwhile the driver periodically tries to start the bus up again and move it forward 5 metres or so...
Then the driver gets out and goes walking down the road. Eventually another minibus pulls up behind us and we all pile on. This time I am sitting back next to my friend Issa. Issa comes from Salima and he was just in Chincheche for business. I ask him if he knows a cheapish place for me to spend the night in Salima when we get there because I have had enough for the day!
At 9pm just 200m from the bus station, the bus runs out of fuel (again!). Thankfully we're as good as there.
Issa tells me that all the hotels near the Salima bus station are quite expensive and he tells me he knows a cheaper one just up the road. He finds some bicycle taxis for us and someone else pedals me up the road. I feel bad because it must be heavy with me and my big bag on the back of the bike! I hoped that the guy pedalling me knows where he is going becuase it's dark and I am tired, alone and if he doesn't then I know this could get really dodgy! Issa doesn't strike me as a dodgy guy though (and I think I am getting pretty good at picking them!). Anyhow, I get to this really nice little basic hotel. 500 kwacha per night (about $2.50) and I get my own clean room, bed, mosquito net. Shared bathroom with no running water but that's no big deal. The people are friendly and they make me some goat and nsima (maize meal) for dinner. Yum yum.
Today I was going to make it the rest of the way to Senga Bay but it was raining like crazy outside and I decided that I quite like Salima. It's not a tourist town which means that no one hastles me like I would expect once I got to Senga Bay!!!
I am enjoying my last day of holidays today. Feet up, read some book, bit of internet... Tomorrow morning I will get another minibus to Lilongwe. Fingers crossed it will only take one and it won't run out of fuel!!! I'm feeling really excited about going back to work and seeing everyone again!!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
The Lake
Lake Malawi is a special place. Itś home to the biggest variety of tropical fish in the world which means when you go swimming itś like being inside a giant aquarium!
Yesterday I did two dives - a deep dive and a deep night dive. The first down to 22.6m and the second to 18m... we saw lots and lots of pretty fish and some big cat fish, some cool mouth breeding fish which catch their babies in their mouths and then spit them out again (pretty cool to watch under the water!)... business is a bit slow for the dive centre in Nkhata Bay which meant it was only me diving with both the dive masters.
Back at the bar at the place I am staying I meet Ima - A british nurse currently nursing locally in Malawi. The truth about the lack of ECG machines is uncovered. Ima has an ECG machine in her office but it´s the only one in the hospital and she says she has only used it twice since she has been there. The person who had her job before she did didn´t even know how to read ECGs or to use the machine so it never got used.
Ima thought she would be using the machine every day as she has a background in ED and knows about ECG interpretation but the problem is that knowing that a person has a left bundle branch block doesn´t change much - with no cardiologist to refer people on to, very basic availability of drugs, no cardiac catheter lab, there seems little point.
Ima has also offered to teach some of the staff trauma skills... she believes a bit of basic c-spine immobilisation would go a long way. Nkhata Bay is not a trauma centre but traumatic accidents still do happen frequently (most common is drunk people getting hit by cars). If these people are lucky they get bundled into a taxi and taken straight to Mzuzu which is a bigger centre. Most just go to Nkhata Bay and sit and wait in the waiting room for hours waiting to be seen... then perhaps if they are bad they get bundled into the ambulance or private vehicle and taken to Mzuzu... more often than not these people die during transit. But getting the hospital staff to stay behind for education is a difficult mission...
I think I have discovered why the life expectancy of the average Malawian sits at a low 43 years old and I think it goes much much further than just the HIV problem.
Yesterday I did two dives - a deep dive and a deep night dive. The first down to 22.6m and the second to 18m... we saw lots and lots of pretty fish and some big cat fish, some cool mouth breeding fish which catch their babies in their mouths and then spit them out again (pretty cool to watch under the water!)... business is a bit slow for the dive centre in Nkhata Bay which meant it was only me diving with both the dive masters.
Back at the bar at the place I am staying I meet Ima - A british nurse currently nursing locally in Malawi. The truth about the lack of ECG machines is uncovered. Ima has an ECG machine in her office but it´s the only one in the hospital and she says she has only used it twice since she has been there. The person who had her job before she did didn´t even know how to read ECGs or to use the machine so it never got used.
Ima thought she would be using the machine every day as she has a background in ED and knows about ECG interpretation but the problem is that knowing that a person has a left bundle branch block doesn´t change much - with no cardiologist to refer people on to, very basic availability of drugs, no cardiac catheter lab, there seems little point.
Ima has also offered to teach some of the staff trauma skills... she believes a bit of basic c-spine immobilisation would go a long way. Nkhata Bay is not a trauma centre but traumatic accidents still do happen frequently (most common is drunk people getting hit by cars). If these people are lucky they get bundled into a taxi and taken straight to Mzuzu which is a bigger centre. Most just go to Nkhata Bay and sit and wait in the waiting room for hours waiting to be seen... then perhaps if they are bad they get bundled into the ambulance or private vehicle and taken to Mzuzu... more often than not these people die during transit. But getting the hospital staff to stay behind for education is a difficult mission...
I think I have discovered why the life expectancy of the average Malawian sits at a low 43 years old and I think it goes much much further than just the HIV problem.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Holidays - Nkhata Bay
Every time I visit Africa my eyes are opened more to the fact that there is such a huge cross cultural gap that both us Westerners and the African People struggle to understand each other. Yesterday while escaping Chitimba Beach and heading to Nkhata Bay on mission vacation, I see things which although do not surprise me, they still make me look twice!
I was sitting in a local minibus on my way from Chitimba to Mzuzu when an older woman gets on and sits next to me. She is holding a big bundle of thick blanket. When I look more closely I see a tiny infant is wrapped inside. The lady sees me looking and she smiles at me. ¨She was born just last night¨ I am told.
Back home I am sure the child would still be in the hospital, not crammed like sardines in a minibus.
The minibus stops every 5 minutes and every 5 minutes thereś some people tapping my shoulder through the open window wanting me to buy their bananás and sweet potatoes. One lady has another tiny infant sucking madly while she´s wanting me to buy her bananas. Another baby that was born yesterday I am told. These women seem to pop them out almost like itś something they do everyday!!!
So I´m here on holidays here in Nkhata Bay for a week just taking a break from everyone and everything on TDA... Itś a cool little spot right on the water with plenty to do. Thereś free snorkelling, canoeing and boat rides from the place Iḿ staying at, and most importantly thereś DIVING!!!
Todays plan is just to relax and explore town. I already started the day off with a nice long soak in the bath tub. I washed my hair 3 times while I was in there and I am not proud of the colour of the water when I made my exit! Needed a shower afterwards!!! I have a cheap little chalet with my own chalet for the price of a chalet with a shared bathroom.
I have made lots of friends with a heap of the local guys already... My friend Benson might give me a hair appointment - these dreads are needing a bit of attention. I met a guy while I stopped at the bank in Mzuzu called Pumpkin - he remembers Miles from when he was in Malawi in 2007! And my friends in Nkhata Bay have cool names too - their names are Happiness, Gift, and my favourite name so far - Happy Coconut! Thereś also some people with normal names here too.
I was sitting in a local minibus on my way from Chitimba to Mzuzu when an older woman gets on and sits next to me. She is holding a big bundle of thick blanket. When I look more closely I see a tiny infant is wrapped inside. The lady sees me looking and she smiles at me. ¨She was born just last night¨ I am told.
Back home I am sure the child would still be in the hospital, not crammed like sardines in a minibus.
The minibus stops every 5 minutes and every 5 minutes thereś some people tapping my shoulder through the open window wanting me to buy their bananás and sweet potatoes. One lady has another tiny infant sucking madly while she´s wanting me to buy her bananas. Another baby that was born yesterday I am told. These women seem to pop them out almost like itś something they do everyday!!!
So I´m here on holidays here in Nkhata Bay for a week just taking a break from everyone and everything on TDA... Itś a cool little spot right on the water with plenty to do. Thereś free snorkelling, canoeing and boat rides from the place Iḿ staying at, and most importantly thereś DIVING!!!
Todays plan is just to relax and explore town. I already started the day off with a nice long soak in the bath tub. I washed my hair 3 times while I was in there and I am not proud of the colour of the water when I made my exit! Needed a shower afterwards!!! I have a cheap little chalet with my own chalet for the price of a chalet with a shared bathroom.
I have made lots of friends with a heap of the local guys already... My friend Benson might give me a hair appointment - these dreads are needing a bit of attention. I met a guy while I stopped at the bank in Mzuzu called Pumpkin - he remembers Miles from when he was in Malawi in 2007! And my friends in Nkhata Bay have cool names too - their names are Happiness, Gift, and my favourite name so far - Happy Coconut! Thereś also some people with normal names here too.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Nairobi-Arusha
I managed to get the stuff I needed to get sorted at the embassy with no dramas once I was through security and they'd taken both my mobile phones, my camera, and my charging cords. (They let me take in my leatherman though!).
I have discovered that security guards always know cab drivers though and cab drivers know where to get the bus to Arusha so getting from the Embassy to the bus stop was not a drama. Now I'm just filling in time waiting until 2pm when the bus goes!
While I was wandering around I meet Teacher Joseph. Teacher Joseph is a primary school teacher from South Sudan. He is a very well educated man and asks me where I am from. He knows who the last 3 prime ministers are in Australia, and even recalls the flooding in Brisbane which happened over a year ago now. Teacher Joseph was taken by missionary workers to Kenya as the South of Sudan became more unstable. The missionary workers have since gone further south to Tanzania and told Joseph that he should be able to find work in Nairobi. He is looking but it has been 2 weeks and it is difficult. He is a friendly man and he says he is not asking for money, just for food - rice and sugar. Because he is so well educated, underweight, and dark skinned (like Sudanese people who are darker than Kenyan people) and because I still have Kenyan shillings in my pocket and I'm about to leave Kenya, we go to the supermarket and I buy him some rice and some sugar. I can tell it has made his day.
I have discovered that security guards always know cab drivers though and cab drivers know where to get the bus to Arusha so getting from the Embassy to the bus stop was not a drama. Now I'm just filling in time waiting until 2pm when the bus goes!
While I was wandering around I meet Teacher Joseph. Teacher Joseph is a primary school teacher from South Sudan. He is a very well educated man and asks me where I am from. He knows who the last 3 prime ministers are in Australia, and even recalls the flooding in Brisbane which happened over a year ago now. Teacher Joseph was taken by missionary workers to Kenya as the South of Sudan became more unstable. The missionary workers have since gone further south to Tanzania and told Joseph that he should be able to find work in Nairobi. He is looking but it has been 2 weeks and it is difficult. He is a friendly man and he says he is not asking for money, just for food - rice and sugar. Because he is so well educated, underweight, and dark skinned (like Sudanese people who are darker than Kenyan people) and because I still have Kenyan shillings in my pocket and I'm about to leave Kenya, we go to the supermarket and I buy him some rice and some sugar. I can tell it has made his day.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Chilling time in Nairobi
It's been 2 months of hard work. Today I am frustrated though because I stayed back a day in Nairobi to get some paperwork sorted for my next job which involves getting certified copies of specific documents and a stat dec which means a trip to the embassy. Apparently it's labor day in Victoria though so that means that the embassy is closed. There's nowhere else along our route that I can get these documents sorted though.
After I finish being frustrated I decide I am actually somewhat thankful because I am feeling a little ready for holidays!! It's the first time in 2 months I have had a bit of time to myself and I lie on the bed and sleep for 4 hours!
After I finish being frustrated I decide I am actually somewhat thankful because I am feeling a little ready for holidays!! It's the first time in 2 months I have had a bit of time to myself and I lie on the bed and sleep for 4 hours!
Monday, March 5, 2012
The African Health Care System
I am learning the hard way why the life expectancy across Africa is so much lower than it is back home.
The problem isn't simple. These people and hospitals would really benefit from many things including but not limited to:
- Better education for doctors so that they can diagnose accurately!
- Even better education for nurses so they know how to nurse
- Better plumbing so that the water always works
- Better diagnostic equipment to help with more accurate diagnoses
This is not an exhaustive list.
Today it's a rest day and there's no medical dramas. I go and check out Marsabit hospital anyway because I've never been there before and I don't know what is there. It's as I expected - basic. Not a good place to be sick in.
Facilities include:
x-ray
laboratory services
basic surgery (not entirely sure what)
maternity unit
physio
No ultrasound. No ECG machine. This is Africa.
The problem isn't simple. These people and hospitals would really benefit from many things including but not limited to:
- Better education for doctors so that they can diagnose accurately!
- Even better education for nurses so they know how to nurse
- Better plumbing so that the water always works
- Better diagnostic equipment to help with more accurate diagnoses
This is not an exhaustive list.
Today it's a rest day and there's no medical dramas. I go and check out Marsabit hospital anyway because I've never been there before and I don't know what is there. It's as I expected - basic. Not a good place to be sick in.
Facilities include:
x-ray
laboratory services
basic surgery (not entirely sure what)
maternity unit
physio
No ultrasound. No ECG machine. This is Africa.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Khartoum
Well surely you have all noticed that the air around you is smelling a little nicer because I just took my first shower in 11 days! That is a new record because I forgot to have one when I had the chance in Aswan! Babywipes are awesome things but really don't beat a proper shower.
Life here continues to be busy. My next task for the day is to get a rider briefing sorted out for the new sectionals who are joining us.
Logistical dilemmas are never ending - the main one at the moment is what to do with all the tour equipment we had in the new 5 clients lockers?! Somehow we'll make it work.
Got to check out the Resus bays at the Royal Care International Hospital Khartoum yesterday - not for anything serious though. They've got some nice facilities there so I'll have to make a note in the tour bible.
I think I really must write the TDA Medics Handbook this year to put in all the tips of the trade I have learnt... I'm sure it would make life a lot easier for medics to come in future tours!!!
Life here continues to be busy. My next task for the day is to get a rider briefing sorted out for the new sectionals who are joining us.
Logistical dilemmas are never ending - the main one at the moment is what to do with all the tour equipment we had in the new 5 clients lockers?! Somehow we'll make it work.
Got to check out the Resus bays at the Royal Care International Hospital Khartoum yesterday - not for anything serious though. They've got some nice facilities there so I'll have to make a note in the tour bible.
I think I really must write the TDA Medics Handbook this year to put in all the tips of the trade I have learnt... I'm sure it would make life a lot easier for medics to come in future tours!!!
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