I woke up that morning with excitement in my heart- kayak adventure day with my friend Cadence! The day before I rented a kayak for the whole adventure day to come. The anticipation of fun hung joyfully in the air. That morning I initiated my amazingly ingenious plans- I rented snorkels & goggles for 1,000 Malawi Kwacha each, and got some of the local artists to get me some bread to feed the fish and some small fish to feed the eagles. Cadence was thrilled and super surprised! YAY! We set out with our sights set on “the gap”. The gap is a space between the main land mountain and an island on Lake Malawi.
After paddling for what seemed like forever, while getting to know each other by asking fun questions, we arrived at the gap. We maneuvered the kayak into the gap and snorkeled for a while and then did the same on the other side of the gap. We swam to the rock in the middle of the gap- only to feel the strength of the waves around it. Then- the real adventure began. We got back in the kayak- ready to voyage thru the gap. These waves were huge! White capped and all, we paddled straight thru to the other side! We made it! We turned around carefully and started the seemingly easy trip back- riding waves, little did we know the kayak had been filling with water. We began to sink in the middle of the gap! We quickly scrambled towards shore where I fell/jumped onto a rock trying to land. We worked together tirelessly and frustratingly to tip and empty the boat in the midst of rough, strong waves. We tried lifting the boat and tipping it side to side- but it was heavy and clumsy and awkward. Eventually we conquered the waves and water logged kayak and managed to continue our adventure, much to the surprise of passing native fishermen in their large, wooden canoes.
As we exited the gap, facing back towards our lodge, we decided to do some more snorkeling along the island in uncharted territory. We found paddling easier without the weight of the water in the kayak. While paddling down the side of the island I saw it- an amazing, so it appeared, hiking trail to the top of the mountain. Adventure beckoned. We slid the kayak onto the shore and prepared to summit. Very quickly I realized the impossibility of climbing a rough, rocky, water path with wet feet and flip flops. Barefoot it was. Ouch. I made it halfway before pain and pride hit me. I encouraged the Keen footed Cadence to continue to the top while I sat in the shade and then began my slow decent. I did a partial softball slide down at one point, leaving some nice strawberries on my palms, shin and hip. At the bottom we reunited and I heard of her journey to the top- the view, her fall on the way down, and being close to some baboons. She even took some time to pee in front of her baboon audience. Brave, crazy or silly- I’ll never fully know. We finished our trip with one more snorkeling spot where Cadence found her favorite view while basking on a rock, gazing out across the water. The paddle back to Thumbi View Lodge was difficult and infuriating for my muscles, but the adventure day was worth it. We beached the kayak in our battered, exhausted, yet jubilant state and discussed wearily hopeful plans for the rest of the evening. With showers and dry clothes and snacks and cold drinks and naps in our starry eyes we trudged up the sand, each towards our own quarters. I returned the snorkels to the wood carver and thought of what could have been had we not lost the soggy bread and fish to the torrent waves of the gap. That circling eagle may have found the treat by now, I grinned. Resigning to my over-packed room, I showered with what energy I had left and then walked into the lodge to grab a cold drink of soda from the bar. Chisomo (Malawian lodge employee) asked how the day was and I shared the adventure story with him.
I sat on the steps, over looking Lake Malawi, while constantly smiling about the events of the day. I only had one plan left in order to complete the day: return to the artists whom I had acquired the loaves and fish from and buy one of their paintings in return. On my way there I stopped to pick up my custom made necklace of a small, wooden Afrika- with a heart in Malawi. At the artists’ spot, I looked over many beautiful paintings and chose two- a green and gold one of my mom and a blue one to remind me of the gorgeous shades of blue there. Across the street I saw the most striking orange painting. I had run out of money, so I began the trading process- from the free table inside, to the artist. Eventually he was appeased with a rain fly, men’s boxers, a make-up case, and 200 Mozambican Meticai. While walking back thru the gate, a girl with a basket of avocados was there, I excitedly traded a pair of pants and 100 Kwacha for a grapefruit sized avocado! I ran to Cadence, who had made her way to the beach lounge chairs, to show her my dinner find. What fun and excitement! Leaving the avocado with her, I fetched a knife, two spoons and some salt. So to end our amazing, crazy, memorable adventure day, we sat, each with our own avocado half. As we spooned out each lightly salted scoop of avocado perfection, we beamed with joy from that day the Lord had made. What a loving Creator we have. He’s quite the adventurer! I stayed in my lounge chair, watching friends swim, viewing my favorite hues of dark blues- water, mountain, sky and clouds. They soon swam over to the pier, followed closely by a small group of curious local boys. What joy filled my soul to see them climb and jump and swim together. Love and laughter each moment. I sketched an outline of my vista as I thanked my Good Father for such an incredible day.
He surely loves me.
