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Rest Day in Lilongwe, Malawi

MALAWI

Day 79 - Apr 1 - Rest Day


Saturday: Rest Day in Lilongwe, and it's already the 1st of April!! 
Time is definitely starting to fly (especially when you are having fun).


We are currently here!

Judith's Permanent Bag is soaking wet, there is a leak in the roof of the Main Truck and a few of the riders also get their bags back...saturated! She spends most of her rest day time getting everything dry!

I change my slick tyres (both my old slicks have cuts in the tyres) for new ones, brought along a set of foldable slicks for both Judith and I and it seems as if it was the right decision to take them along. 

I spend the day watching Super Rugby on the TV in the Bar having decided to have a very low-key rest day, which suits both Judith and I. Between the New Zealanders, Australians and us South Africans, we have a festive time watching Super Rugby. Thankfully the Lions manage to beat the Sharks right at the end.

Three new sectional riders join us, Thomas & Roman from Germany and Chris from Canada. The two Germans will leave us again when we reach Livingstone (Victoria Falls) in Zambia.

In my endevour to change my tyres, I manage to pop my previously dormant umbilical hernia, causing a large protrusion of my navel. At first I thought the pain was just another bout of diarrhea, but soon realise it's a little bit more serious than that. 

Get hold of Dr Helen, who tries to arrange for me to see a Medical Specialist at a Private Hospital. Unfortunately it's a Saturday afternoon, and not a Specialist is to be found anywhere in Lilongwe (TIA). She decides to manipulate it back into place and voila, she is sucessful! After much telephonic consultation, she decides that she is better than any doctor in a Public Hospital, and takes the decision not to get futher medical help, a decision which proves to be the correct one.

I am then placed under Doctor's Orders - I am to monitor the hernia and to stop cycling immediately if it happens again, if it does, I have to seek medical help in Lusaka (Zambia). 

Early evening, Judith and I take a Tuk-Tuk with Andje to an Auto Bank to draw money and to collect some Korean Takeaways for supper. It pours with rain, and we have an interesting time navigating the dark streets of Lilongwe by Tuk-Tuk.


Tomorrow we cross out of Malawi and into Zambia, the land of my birth!  We have quite a tough five day section ahead of us, before we reach Lusaka for our next rest day.

Cheers, 
Mike T



Our A-Frame accommodation at Mabuya


The sign about sums up the conditions we experienced at the Backpackers

Mabuya Backpackers


One of the cut in one of my slick tyres
The next Stage 55 - Lilongwe to Chipata (in Zambia)


The upcoming Section from Lilongwe to Lusaka





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