10th July 2024
We woke up early, our last morning in Blantyre, and last morning in Malawi on this trip. After making sure we had everything packed, we sat for a little while with Dan and Carol. Patrick came in to say goodbye briefly. Dekha was thankfully still asleep. Moments later Gracious arrived. His pickup has plenty of seats and a covered bed making it ideal for taking guests on adventures and to the airport. It was cold in the morning and Blantyre was filled with woodsmoke from morning fires as people kept warm and cooked their morning meals. Thankfully there was little traffic and we arrived at the airport in good time.
I never knew what to expect at any of the airports in Africa. Sometimes the lines are very long. Apparently sometimes you don’t need to arrive three hours early for a flight because the airport isn’t open yet. Sometimes the immigration officers want to know everything about where you’ve been and where you are going. Sometimes you wonder if you’ll make your flight or not. In this case we arrived at the perfect moment. There were others in line ahead of us, waiting to check in and hand over their bags. A larger group had already gone through before we arrived and plenty more arrived after us.
We met a group of about 20 young adults (maybe early 20s) who, accompanied by a couple older adults (late 50s maybe?), had just come from helping build a school somewhere in Malawi. They were headed off to Kenya, most likely to work on a similar project. They were from Utah (most of them) and that made me wonder if they were Mormons on a mission trip. They were on our flight to Lilongwe and as I got off the plane and passed them by, I noticed a Book of Mormon on someone’s lap.
After we had checked our bags and confirmed that they would be heading to Harare, immigration was a breeze even though they did search our backpacks. The small waiting area in the Blantyre airport has quite a lot for its size. Of course we’ve never been to the business class lounge but I did once drink coffee in the small bar/restaurant there. And there must be at least 5 small shops crammed into the space selling everything Malawi, including Nali sauce (which I bought), Dedza ceramics, wood carvings, and bags made from the colorful cloths that all the women wear.
As the room filled more and more, and as we noticed that time was getting close to our departure, we noticed there weren’t any planes on the runway. It’s a very small airport and you can’t miss the planes landing and taking off. Thankfully a larger pulled up and people got off. Then a smaller prop plane arrived and people exited that one as well. Eventually all the families with small children started boarding but no announcement was made. That always makes me nervous. Eventually we found out that the larger plane was headed to Johannesburg and the smaller one was for us. We walked across the tarmac and boarded the plane, sitting in different parts of the plane away from each other for the short 30 minute flight to Lilongwe. It’s there where we deplaned, leaving behind the Mormons, and boarded a larger plane bound for Lusaka and Harare. Since the flight was mostly empty we had our own row in the very back of the plane. The snacks were adequate but the service was great.
If I was able to I would have taken pictures of the Harare airport. On my last visit the smaller older side was still in use for passengers arriving and departing but the newer wing had opened for people checking in. I hardly recognized the place this time. Everything was new, although the older side of the airport was being renovated (not demolished) and the familiar tower still stood out front. We must have come at a good time because there were hardly any lines for immigration and we found our bags easily. Since we had nothing to declare we skipped the long lines, had our bags scanned one more time, and headed out. Mabasa found us right away and we walked together to his pickup past the construction. We were in and out of the airport in less than 30 minutes!
As we drove through Harare, it seemed that traffic was in full force. Everyone was on the move. Mabasa mentioned that there is some kind of Southern African summit happening soon and the city has been cleaned up for it. Police were everywhere helping direct traffic. We were only approached by one officer in the city. In Shona she asked Mabasa if he wanted her to arrest him and then tried to imply that his vehicle wasn’t properly insured. He calmly told her that she, “No,” and that she could arrest him tomorrow.
After the brief interaction with the somewhat desperate officer we were well on our way down the highway headed for Kadoma. Lena noted that there were plenty of trees in Zimbabwe and far fewer cyclists, pedestrians, chickens, goats, cattle, dogs, ect. along the main roads. Additionally, at least on the highways nearer to Harare, the roads have reflectors which helps immensely when driving at night.
We settled in and I pulled out some Ethiopian coffee I had picked up in Addis Ababa. Since I have brought the same coffee two other times, I knew Mabasa would again appreciate sharing a cup or two of this delicious brew. It was better than I had remembered!
Soon after Mabasa and I finished our coffee, Chisomo arrived home with Crystal and Layla. The girls have grown so much since last year. We all enjoyed a delicious meal together including ice cream with sprinkles for dessert. After the meal we sat in the living room and enjoyed an evening cup of coffee before bed. It was nice to catch up and anticipate the upcoming conference in South Africa.
– Lewis VanAusdle
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