AS we entered Misuku people looked pretty surprised to see us. We stopped by the school to ask directions from the teacher, and bumped into 2 young Peace Corps volunteers, one of them actually based in Misuku. We found our way to Mwalingo Guesthouse at the coffee co-operative, more or less causing a sensation on the way. The friendly watchman let us in and then Mr Levi Siame the supervisor appeared to show us around. We camped but used the bathroom and electricity at the guesthouse. After settling in we set off for a stroll, hoping to find the road to the nearby forest reserve. We were stopped by the forest guardian, Mr Khayira, because a permit is needed. We couldn't get one that day because the committee were all at a local dance, so we returned to the guesthouse and asked to speak to the boss. Levi Siame reappeared, along with Mr H B K Zimba, a man of some substance and with very good English. They went off to discuss with Mr Khayira and later returned having sorted it for the morning. We had a nice chat with lots of laughing, and we showed them their entry in the Bradt Guide. The watchman made a huge fire in the donkey: the water was scalding and the cold tap not working so a plan would be needed for the next day.
Sunday 6th October. At 7am we set off to find Mr Khayira. He was there outside the gate and informed us that the committee was waiting for us. We were expecting the Spanish Inquisition, but met two nice men outside Mr K's house, who really just wanted to make sure that we weren't there to remove anything from the forest, and for us to pay a small visitor's fee and sign the register of visitors - the only others in the register were two forest inspectors. All a bit bureaucratic, but very good that the forest is being protected. While Mr K was eating his breakfast I managed to persuade him that we didn't need a guide and would be OK on our own because we would stick to the main track. We didn't really want a guide because everyone we had met was obviously so much fitter and more used to the hills and would probably exhaust us within half an hour. Also we like to stop and gaze around at where we are. Mr K just told us how to avoid going into the other half of the forest, looked after by a second committee.
A very steep path led up past a few homes and through coffee fields, with absolutely stunning mountain views everywhere. After a while we came to a forest road and we turned left onto it. This followed a much kinder gradient. We enjoyed the fresh smells of pine and eucalyptus, and we walked for another hour or so in a beautiful mixed forest. We heard lots of birds, but they were mainly high in the canopy and the only ones visible were the huge silvery-cheeked hornbills, advertising their whereabouts with nasal calls and noisy wings. We also saw some blue monkeys - very shy. Where we stopped to eat some nuts and raisins we also saw a bar-tailed trogon!!!!! The way down seemed shorter and also gave us the chance to see the forest from another angle, plus the views across the cultivated mountain slopes as we came out into the open. WE also caught glimpses of the monkeys again. The whole morning we were walking with a variety of lovely butterflies around us, some of them really big ones. A very lovely area altogether. The few people we met along the way were mostly very shy, but polite. It was nice to visit a place where so few tourists come. Mr K was waiting for us outside the church and we gave him something for assisting us. One of the committee men also came out for a brief word.
At dusk we had a visit from Christopher Jokye, whose role is something like "protector of intangible culture". He wanted to speak to us confidentially. It was all a bit confusing, especially as he recorded our conversation, but we had an interesting chat and he showed us his register of visitors, begun in 2010. When we saw that we were the first tourists in Misuku at least in that time, we realised why everyone seemed to be wondering what we were there for.
Monday 7th October. Megan, the Peace Corps volunteer, came to visit us as arranged. We made a veg curry and sat about talking for ages. It was good for all of us to compare experiences and have a laugh. As we were staying another day I put lots of white T-shirts etc in to soak, but didn't get the chance to finish the laundry as the water at the guest-house ran out. Much later we discovered that they had been cleaning the water source up the hill and had forgotten to put the water on again (or something). Meanwhile our cleaner had run the whole of the guest-house tank down the hill for someone doing some building work. Africa wins again! We felt OK because of our own water, but then, with impeccable timing, our water pump packed up. It was the pressure switch. We filled various bottles for drinking and started saving every drop of grey water for flushing the loo in the guest-house. Mr Zimba kindly sent us a couple of buckets of water from his tank to keep us going. Then poor old Barney had to get to work to fit our spare pump, which was done before dark. Just a shame that a relaxing day was turned into a worrying one again. A good job we had already had our meal. By dark water was also restored to the guest-house and the 18 homes in the locality, so we had visits from various families fetching water from the tap.
In the evening we had a few more visitors. Mr HBK Zimba came to say goodbye, as he would be off early the next morning, and we had a good long discussion with him. Christopher Jokye also came to wish us well, and brought us a nice papaya, about 10 rather knobbly citrus fruits and another fruit we didn't recognise. We tried it - like a softer, more watery apple, very nice. We are taking the seeds home to see if we can propagate them. At 5.50pm exactly we sat down to watch the bats flying out from the roof for the last time. First you hear them scuttling, then there's a pause, and then about fifteen all seem to zoom out at once. After another pause this happens again, several times, and we found it highly entertaining, as the bats first swoop low and then do a sort of Red-Devils last minute recovery from almost bumping into you.
Tuesday 8th October. We were up at first light to get ready for the (dreaded by me) journey back to the lake. I had my first issue-free normal shower at Mwalingo, with both hot and cold running water. I also managed to tip both watchmen, but not the guy who tried to sell us firewood that was included in the price and also ran all the water away. Driving through the village was a bit embarrassing as we were treated like film stars, with many people stopping to wave and smile at us. We stopped at the school and went to Megan's house during her break to have a last chat. She gave us some real Misuku ground coffee. The journey downhill was much less scary, thank goodness. On the way we bought tomatoes, sweet potatoes and onions beside the road, and bread from "Oats Bakery" in Karonga, where B had another chat with the tyre guy next door. We had a bit of a mood blip here, probably both shattered from the journey, but eventually made it together back to Mikoma Beach Lodge, where Weizi gave us a second warm welcome. There was even time to rinse out yesterday's soapy laundry and hang it to dry in the breeze.