Photo: Anisha Shah
to be seen. Some house few straw huts; fishing communities who’ve pitched up on the shore. Each village or beach
has a name in Nyanja, the local language in this particular
area, based on the wildlife found there. I shudder as we pass
‘mountain of snakes.’
Livingstone, on his discovery, described Lake Malawi as the
Lake of Stars. Mozambique is one of 4 shorelines lapped by
the waters of Lake Malawi. In Mozambique, it’s referred to as
Lake Nyassa, its original name before independence. Arriving
at dusk, it becomes clear why Livingstone was enchanted.
Africa’s second deepest lake spans 365 kilometres in length
and 52 kilometres width, frequently referred to as ‘Calendar
Lake.’ Seemingly endless flat waters ensure enduring sunsets,
of progressively deepening richness and intensity, over a
slow-motioned hour.
A charter Cessna plane transfers visitors from Lilongwe,
capital and international entry point of Malawi, to Likoma
island on Lake Malawi. Here, it’s a quick check-out of Malawi
to proceed to the Mozambican shores. En route, we stop
at the most rural immigration I’ve ever encountered. The
boat stops in Cobue village. It’s a short trek up a sandy hill
to a mud shack with no electricity and fading natural light,
surrounded by village children who’ve come to see the
foreigner. Certainly the most informal customs I’ve ever
known, we knock on a tin-roofed shack. The friendly customs
officer runs across from his home to stamp my passport. This
is as removed as it gets. From the plane here, the dazzling,
infinite royal blue lake appears fringed by iridescent mythic
mountains to one side and remote sun-bleached coastline to
the other. Now, the sun is setting, villagers are washing off a
long day’s sweat and grind; a group of young women wash
topless lakeside, wrapped only in a sarong, whilst laughing
and teasing each other.
We zip speedily across placid waters whilst the sunset transcends luminous shades of gold, orange and indigo before
nightfall. The silence and stillness is dumbfounding. I’ve just
missed full moon, as tonight it’s the finest sliver of silver.
Livingstone named this the ‘Lake of Stars.’ Staggering starry
constellations literally illuminate the night sky, creating the
impression of a falsified dome. Entire clusters twinkle and
blink across a 180-degree aerial panorama. The later it gets,
the more the distant clusters appear, in their thousands. I
have never seen so many stars. Amongst them, an orange
star burns bright, Mars. My boat arrives at Nkwichi Lodge, on
the Mozambican shores of Lake Malawi.
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