:: Carnet de Voyage ::David

// Nikon D7200   |-14.031 : 34.83053 | alt. 494 m

First impression is not always the best, and can be misleading.
This is what happened when we arrived in Cape Maclear.
We made it 2 hours before sunset, crossing the back of the village, which looks like a slum… and then, once on the beach, we could not even see the water, well the horizon, simply because the whole place was too smokey (like in Mulanje). This was a depressing sight, and as soon as we sat on the beach to enjoy a cold beer after this long drive, dozens of people came to offer their service or ask for money….. alright, we’re leaving this place tomorrow. The cherry on the top was sunset, with the sun disappearing in the smoke……one hour before actual sunset time……..
This place was on my list, but I also came here to see again my friend Pascal after his adventure near luangwa national park in Zambia. We had to see each other again !
Which we did next day, and while explaining to him how much we hate this place, I started to realize the smoke was gone and we could now see the blue lake below a cloudless sky…. quiet a change !
Pascal already fell in love for this place and after a few minutes I realize we just had a very bad impression, so we decided to stay a bit more, at the funky cyclids (the place to be for fun, but not for the kitchen). This is where I met, in order of appearance : Kayla, Karen, Ralph and Kelly, wonderful people, and I really hope we’ll have a chance to meet again. This obviously changed the whole atmosphere of the place, and we extended our stay everyday, and it went so well with Ralph we decided to meet again around the lake, in Nkhata bay.
This place is also very famous for the crystal clear water and the amount of beautiful fishes in the water. You need kayaks to reach the best spot for snorkeling, maybe too far for Eiji and Chizu, so Pascal joined us and we went there with 2 double canoes so everyone could enjoy it and snorkel. Quiet a nice aquarium indeed ! I’m so glad we decided to stay to see this !
No crazy parties, just lovely discussion with beers every night with amazing people, and Pascal joined us for the last one (he’s “working” here :p). I cannot say it was about time to leave……. I really wanted to stay more…… for various reasons, but it was still the best timing.
Farewell my friends ! And thank you cape Maclear for those beautiful moments.