{"id":1875,"date":"2019-12-19T14:31:56","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T14:31:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gotheremag.site\/?p=1875"},"modified":"2026-06-05T07:15:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T07:15:37","slug":"strawberries-kuche-kuche-and-a-ginger-cat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/strawberries-kuche-kuche-and-a-ginger-cat\/","title":{"rendered":"Strawberries, Kuche-Kuche And A Ginger Cat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Southern Africa | Malawi | Blantyre<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Strawberries, Kuche-Kuche And A Ginger Cat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cHow many days in Malawi?\u201d asked the immigration officer at the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c30 days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow much money are you taking in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c2000 kwacha.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The slam of the stamp in my passport sealed my visit and I finally relaxed. Almost there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The taxis transporting people to Blantyre stood outside the building, one after another in a long row waiting. \u201cGee, how many people are going to Blantyre then?\u201d I thought out loud. The seats filled up fast and I thought Malawi must be a great place to be then and the excitement tucked in my belly. It\u2019s the travel bug in there I smiled while looking at a ginger cat crossing the street right in front of a minibus taxi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I get into the front of the first taxi, right next to the Samaritan who gave me the exchange rates in the previous chapa<\/em> from Mozambique and beamed at him, thankful for the familiar face. I investigated the scenery through the window; dusk is throwing long shadows on the roads and landscapes, people and taxis rushing in all directions and I rested my head against the seat. Tonight I\u2019m going to sleep deep, I\u2019m exhausted. The taxi pulled into the road, my final stretch. I was amazed at the laughter, jokes and light spirits of the passengers inside and I could understand most of what was going on as they all spoke English fluently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We passed through Mwanza district and town in the southern region of Malawi, covering an area of 2259 km\u00b2 with a population of 138015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMwanza is a border town with an economy relying largely on transport practices between Mozambique and Malawi,\u201d said the Samaritan next to me. Hmmm, that explains all the waiting taxis at the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agricultural economy was previously dependent on citrus fruits (tangerine, lemon and grapefruit) as Mwanza is one of the few areas of Malawi where the climate is favourable for its growth. However the production has been falling and citrus industry has declined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People stormed the taxi as soon as it stopped to sell lemons, tomatoes, braai mielies, chicken pieces, bananas, pineapples and some other green stuff I\u2019ve never seen before with crickets on a stick being the delicacy here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2003 Mwanza was split into two districts Neno and Mwanza under the decentralisation program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I slapped the guide book closed, rather trying to take everything in by sight. The road to Blantyre didn\u2019t seem to end and exhaustion pinned me in the seat, my head to heavy for my neck and my mind not functioning. I felt like a zombie and closed my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the start of Blantyre\u201d, said the Samaritan and my eyes flew open. All along the road were taverns, restaurants, overnight stops and Kuche-Kuche<\/em> signs (a rising sun graphic behind the text) and I wondered what that was but too tired to ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally by 22h00 all the passengers were loaded off and the driver, now looking straight at me, asked: \u201cWhere you go, sissie?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I mean I know the name but I don\u2019t know where it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I gave him the list of backpackers where I could overnight, pointing at the one on top, just to make our lives easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAhhh\u2026 Doogles. It is the closest,\u201d he said and turned back into the road, stopping after a few short minutes in front a green gate in the middle of a bus station, hidden among dirt and foul smells, but I couldn\u2019t care. I gave the driver an extra 200k for his trouble and walked up the stairs, my eyes fixed in wonder at the people buzzing at the bar. It was also the reception and I booked in for two nights, while asking for a local brewed Malawian beer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh that would be Kuche-Kuche<\/em>:\u201d laughed the bartender and the penny dropped: the signs! \u201cIt\u2019s the pride of Malawi,\u201d he continued while passing it to me with a smile. \u201cOh and have a strawberry. It\u2019s to say welcome to our country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I shared the dorm room with three girls from Japan, two girls from Canada, and one from New York, all telling me how great Africa was, and I smiled. This was exactly my point to my friends in South Africa. Girls from all over the world travelled here for months on their own without any fear. But the smug thought was short lived, as just as I got into bed a friend of one of the girls came into our room, telling us about the attack on a guy from California at the bus station, \u201cHe couldn\u2019t get inside this premises at 03h00 this morning and was beaten up and robbed of his laptop and cell phone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I threw the blanket over my expensive Sony<\/em> DSLR<\/em> camera, glad I didn\u2019t flaunt what I had during most of my trip. A precaution borne from the dangers in South Africa, guarding against an attack or robbery that could occur at any stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had two days in Blantyre before meeting John, my travel partner, at the Blantyre airport. Since I was three days on the road, hitchhiking through Mozambique to get here, I thought I was entitled just to relax next to the pool in a comfy lounger with a book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wilbur Smith has always been one of my favourite authors and I embarked with Taita on his latest Quest to free Egypt from the pests that ravaged it, brought on by the evil queen magus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExcuse me, may I sit here next to you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked up from my book with a little annoyance crinkled on my forehead, gave a nod nevertheless, trying to smile and returned my attention to Taita\u2019s adventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five minutes of silence and then, \u201cWhere you from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The irritation plucked in my temples again but then remembered I\u2019m here to experience Malawi culture in all its forms and put the book down, turning my full attention at him and smiled. It\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve seen a Rasta with a cowboy hat and boots, and I chuckled at the colourful sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSouth Africa,\u201d I replied, \u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m from here. A real Rasta in Malawi. How do you like my hat? I got it in South America, just returned from a trip there with a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cQuite a mix I must say,\u201d I said while swinging my legs of the chair to sit up straight, stretching my back from the long reclining position and took another sip of the second Kuche Kuche<\/em> that morning. I popped another strawberry from the bowl on the floor next to my feet, letting the sweetness burst in my mouth. With the swallow I also took in his dreadlocks peeping out from underneath the cowboy hat, the wooden arrow on a leather string around his neck and the yellow, red and green stripes weaved in his shirt. I took another sip Kuche<\/em>, watching him settling down in the chair, shuffling his butt for a comfy position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy name is Mike Mechanic,\u201d said Rasta and I gushed the beer over my bare feet, my body jerking, laughing at the odd combination of his looks and identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh no, really?\u201d and another chuckle burst from my lips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, just like Mike Mechanic the singer, only I am no singer but really a mechanic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInteresting. Are you staying here in Blantyre?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo I\u2019m passing through on my way to Balaka where I work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then he asked a series of questions which is a signature chat from all black people in Africa, \u201cWhere\u2019s your mother? Where\u2019s your father? Do you have kids? Where are your kids?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the following question baffled me a bit, \u201cDo you have a special star shining on you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d I asked totally confused. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you have a boyfriend?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh okay. Yeah, I think so last time I checked, we don\u2019t see each other often because of the travelling. I guess that\u2019s a nice way of putting it then\u2026 he is a real star always shining on me. Hmmm I like that. This means he can be with me wherever I go. And you, do you have a special star?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike shook his head, \u201cNo, I wish. Can I smoke?\u201d he took out a hand-rolled Rizla stuffed with Malawian Gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhatever goes in Malawi,\u201d I said with a shrug of my shoulders while thinking, \u2018staying in a fancy hotel and you might as well be anywhere\u2026 staying in a local joint, you feel the pulsing heart of a country\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A ginger cat slicked passed us through to the bar area while the now familiar smell of weed filled my nostrils, and I can almost feel that calming effect instantly, even though I\u2019m not the one smoking it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan I buy you a beer?\u201d he asked after three drags, each time lighting it when the leaves muffled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought that to be my queue and I answered politely, \u201cSorry, maybe next time. I must actually find a shop to buy a starter pack for my mobile so I can phone my son, telling him I\u2019m okay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, you should do that, family is important. Tell him Mike says howzit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nodded with a smile, \u201cThanks for the chat, irie<\/em> \u2014 peaceful journey,\u201d I turned, picked up Wilbur Smith and walked up the stairs to my room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIrie\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the budget traveller like me there are basically three ways of getting around in Blantyre; by foot, bicycle or by minibus, but I walked like usual which is surprisingly quite safe by day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMake sure you don\u2019t look like a rich tourist, you may be tailed by street vendors and beggars,\u201d the barman\u2019s voice echoed in my head as I look at the vendors lining the streets. They sell everything from fried chips, chicken and hard boiled eggs, to bread (milkscone variety and yellow buns), biscuits (locally made from Universal Industries), plenty of ripe fruit and vegetables and then off course strawberries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wondered where it came from; it was fresh, red, plump and really sweet. I walked to the automatic teller machine at the Metro outlet to draw money, bought a starter pack from a street vendor and called home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When leaving the bank, a pretty girl pushed a wheelchair with a terribly crippled boy sitting in it down the street after me. \u201cMadam, he shouted,\u201d and tried to sell me a ginger cat. I just smiled and also shook my head at the next vendor begging to buy his carvings. \u201cPlease madam, I need money for medicine. My brother, he is dying of malaria.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blantyre is twinned with Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England and named after Dr Livingstone\u2019s birth town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the largest city in Malawi and also capital of the country\u2019s southern region as well as the Blantyre district, with an estimated population of 732 518. It has a modest but influential expatriate community of about 25 000 people, mainly from England, other European countries and South Africa. Blantyre, Malawi\u2019s oldest municipality is the country\u2019s main commercial, industrial and communications hub and is set in the Shire Highlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city is surrounded by some of the most beautiful hills and mountains in Malawi. Mount Soche and the Ndirande (sleeping man mountain), Chiradzulu and Michiru (rain Mountain) mountains overlook Blantyre, forming the Michiru Mountain Conservation Area. The area has been divided into three sections, a forestry reserve, farming area and nature reserve. These hills surrounding Blantyre are in fact the first layer of a repetition of hills, stretching to the Kirk Range, the Zomba Plateau and Mount Mulanje, dotted with evergreen forest, wild orchids, aloes and numerous birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Urban development began in the colonial era with the arrival of missionaries, traders, and administrators and was further stimulated by the construction of the railway. The centre of Blantyre is conveniently compact with most of the services and shops around its triangular central core with plenty of historical sights including the Blantyre Mission, the place where the city came into being. The original town hall (Old Boma) and Mandala House, built in 1882 is the oldest building in Malawi and the headquarters of the African Lakes Company and Malawi\u2019s first two-storey building. March 3 House was used by Dr Banda as a base from which to lead Malawian\u2019s to independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city also houses the College of Medicine, the Malawi Polytechnic and the Kamuzu College of nursing, constituent colleges of the University of Malawi, located along the Chipembere highway. But perhaps the most impressive is St Michael and All Angels church off Chileka Rd, built by men with no training or knowledge of architecture, construction or even brick-making back in 1891.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victoria avenue is the heart of the city. Along the street are several large shops, the tourist office, the map sales office, banks, foreign exchange bureaus and travel agents. Blantyre is also home to the Malawi Stock Exchange located in the same street. It opened its doors in November 1996 and operates under the Capital Market Development Act 1990 and the Companies Act 1984. Prior to the listing of the first company, the major activities that were being undertaken were the provision of a facility for secondary market trading in Government of Malawi bonds namely, Treasury Bills and Local Registered Stocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The largest urban area in Malawi \u2014 the aggregation of Blantyre-Limbe \u2014 formed in 1956 and is unquestionably the centre of Malawi\u2019s industry and commerce. Yet each retain their individualities and separate cores. Blantyre has the status and much of the administrative functions and Limbe being more industrial focussed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I decided to take a minibus to Limbe for 35k and dropped out at the National Museum, midway between Blantyre and Limbe in Kasungu Cresent which houses a collection of traditional weapons and artefacts with exhibits relating to traditional dance, European exploration and slavery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The visit to Carlsberg Brewery east of the centre took longer than I thought but with a free tasting session and complimentary bottle to quench my thirst, I set off to the tobacco auction floors on the edge of Limbe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With its more temperate climate, Limbe was favoured as a residential site for early settlers. The streets of Limbe are a continuous bustle of people and traffic and there can be no doubt that commerce is the lifeblood of the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area is full of Asian (Indian) run shops, a bustling market spot, popular with locals offering all kinds of fruits, veggies, used clothing, construction materials, anything you can think of, with hard-to-find food items, a good bakery, an ice-cream bar, a candy shop, and a ginger cat. Prices for the same thing can often vary from shop to shop and an abundance of counterfeited products flood the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I returned to Doogles with sore feet but a warm heart, just in time for the Tri-nations rugby match between South Africa and New Zealand. The wild roars and screams from the bar flies, supporters from all over the world, encouraging their favourite team made me smile, thinking of how my mates back at home usually celebrate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thought spawned a longing tuck in my heart for John to meet up with me and I quickly checkout the map for the roads leading to the Blantyre-Limbe international airport at Chileka to pick him up the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No African country is really experienced until you\u2019ve joined in the bustling nightlife and I thought \u2018while in Rome\u2026\u2019 However it is unsafe to walk around Blantyre during the night and I phoned a taxi to pick me up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe price depends on how far the driver has to come to pick you up, but this is much preferable to being mugged in a dark Blantyre street late at night. As a general rule all taxi drivers begin at the Mount Soche Hotel,\u201d said the hotel receptionist while I waited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I asked the taxi to drop me off at the Blue Elephant a short ride from where I was staying. The place already rocked with Mozambicans, Indians, foreigners and then off course the dreadlock-dandling-locals. Dreadlock smiles and bubbly gold, that\u2019s how I will refer to Blantyre from now on and turned to the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKuche Kuche please.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The barman smiled while popping the lid, handed it to me, raised his own into the air and saluted: \u201cSissie, let\u2019s drink until dawn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lake of Stars\u2026<\/a><\/blockquote>