(Bill) Vacation: Part Deux

One of my New Year’s resolutions this year is to keep up with this blog a bit better since three people are actually reading it.  Well, okay, they look at it for any pictures we might post.  So, here’s a few more vacation pictures from the second part of our vacation spent at Senga Bay on Lake Malawi.

Lake Malawi is the 3^rd largest lake in Africa and makes up one-fifth of Malawi’s size.  The lake lies in a trough formed by the Rift Valley.  The western lakeshore is sandy in many places, with natural beaches, particularly in the south.  Lake Malawi has more fish species than any other inland body of water in the world, with a total of 600.  It’s a great place to retreat to. 

After our time at Mvuu camp, we pushed north and arrived at the Safari Beach Lodge that our guide books describe as “fantastic” and “our pick”.  Oops!  Those books apparently need an update and another printing.  

It was a bad sign that when we arrived, we were the only car in the parking lot.  We dumped bags in our room, changed into swimsuits and sprinted down the winding pathway to the “private” beach.  There were several youth just hanging around and a few annoying vendors wanting to sell their crafts.  So, because we didn’t feel that we could all go play in the lake together, we took turns.  While I was in the water with the boys, Elizabeth endured some sexually harassing comments from aforementioned cowardly youth and so we retreated to the lodge's pint-sized and dirty pool.  Smelly too.  The pool was a dud, so we retreated, instead, back to our room.  For some crazy reason, the floor joists had recently been given a creosote paint job and so the off-gassing made the story of Frodo and Sam REALLY come alive as we read through chapters of The Lord of the Rings.  When it got dark, we realized that we had no window coverings, etc. etc.    I’ll spare you all the sketchy details, but this place will now fall into family lore….."Remember, kids, the horrible Safari Beach Lodge?”  You all have those stories in your family, right?

We all decided being at home was better than vacationing at the SBL, so with one last desperate inquiry to the amazing hotel next door, The Sunbird Livingstonia, we got the last available room and vacation saved!  

Above--Elizabeth, Micah and Liam's feet in Lake Malawi.  That's Lizard Island that we could see from our hotel.  Below is an artsy picture I took of a storm rolling in on New Year's Eve.  Rainy season is here in Malawi and when it rains, it means business!

 
 The family cleans up nice for our dinner, beachside.  The boys look pretty snappy in their newly made Christmas shirts made from fabric they picked out.  Elizabeth always looks snappy, no matter what she wears.  (=

 We took a boat ride out to Lizard Island (no lizards) and went snorkeling.  Lots of colorful fish to swim with!

To the three people reading this, Happy New Year!  We pray 2015 brings you peace and joy.