Calypso and the Purple People Eater set sail

It's official I've been approved for a third year extension. I signed the contract for my third year yesterday. I'm really excited to see how I can build on the foundation I have laid over these past two years. But first I'm going on vacation! That's right I have two months of saved up vacation that I'm going to lose if I don't use it by May. So I'm blowing it all in one shot, and joining my friend WIz on his COS trip (close of service).

Our plans are vauge and the road ahead looks long, but we are determined to ride bikes all the way to South Africa. We both bought new bikes; he has a trek 3900 that has been dubbed calypso after the Caribbean goddess of the sea, and mine is a big purple GT hybrid that I bought off a German ex-pat. Wiz rode from his sight to Lilongwe, while I replaced the shifter on my bike, and made some fun modifications with Mike Fong in Mzuzu(now its the frankenbike).

I rode down the Vipya escapment to Nkhata Bay last week to get my Scuba certification. Malawi is the cheapest place in the world to learn to scuba dive, but it is also a fascinating place to dive. during our eight dives we saw all sorts of siclids; like mouth breeders which swim around with there babies in there mouth, only spitting out the school of tiny fish when they want to eat, then when a predator comes they swoop in sucking up all the little fellas...pretty awesome to see in real life. A lot of the things featured on the Lake Malawi section of BBC's Planet Earth, we got to see throughout the course. And now I have my open water padi card, so we can both go diving in Mozambique.

From Nkhata Bay I rode to Dwambwazi to stay with Alex Coburn a health volunteer who hosted me graciously. The highlight of the that ride was flying down the hills in the rubber tree plantations. there wasn't a sole for most of it, and all I could here was the wisping of the wind through trees...hauntingly beautiful. I got stuck in the rain a lot, so the next morning I took an early morning Axa bus from Dwambwazi to Salima, where I started riding again. It was a 100km ride, but the hills made it seem endless. I got to Lilongwe at dusk and took a much needed bath.

We've been here the last couple days, preparing for the journey, but now we are setting out for the big trip south to the coast of Mozambique. I'll make posts when ever I have access, but I'm sure my writing will be rushed and difficult to decipher. So bear with me, I look forward to sharing this adventure, so please check in on my blog every now and then... and enjoy!