Our first week in Zomba was largely devoted to figuring out the area's general landscape. Now that we've identified the main roads and how to get where we need to be, I've made it a personal mission to identify all of the njira za chidule, or short cuts.
One potential short cut turned out to be a bust. I thought that, perhaps, I could cross the golf course (yes, there's a golf course in Zomba) to get to town rather than walk all the way around the golf course. Although a river separates town and the golf course, I had noticed other people walking through the course and so I decided there must be a bridge somewhere. I discovered a little too late in my adventure that there is no bridge. Luckily, I was walking behind a nice teenager who noticed my struggles and waited to make sure I was all right as I hopped across rocks in the river and climbed a small boulder to get to the main road.
Later in the week, a path caught my eye while I was on a morning run. I was near the base of Zomba mountain when I noticed a delightful trail through the woods. As I started jogging on the trail, I turned off my music so I could listen to the birds chirping and the wind in the trees. Instead of these peaceful sounds, I heard the bark of baboons! A gang of baboons was approaching me as I accidentally encroached on their turf. I turned around and got out of there as quickly as I could. The baboons didn't seem intent on catching up to me (thank goodness!); they just wanted to let me know I didn't belong in that space.
Apart from these misadventures, I have actually discovered a few legitimate njira za chidule that don't require crossing a river and, for now, are devoid of baboons.
One potential short cut turned out to be a bust. I thought that, perhaps, I could cross the golf course (yes, there's a golf course in Zomba) to get to town rather than walk all the way around the golf course. Although a river separates town and the golf course, I had noticed other people walking through the course and so I decided there must be a bridge somewhere. I discovered a little too late in my adventure that there is no bridge. Luckily, I was walking behind a nice teenager who noticed my struggles and waited to make sure I was all right as I hopped across rocks in the river and climbed a small boulder to get to the main road.
Later in the week, a path caught my eye while I was on a morning run. I was near the base of Zomba mountain when I noticed a delightful trail through the woods. As I started jogging on the trail, I turned off my music so I could listen to the birds chirping and the wind in the trees. Instead of these peaceful sounds, I heard the bark of baboons! A gang of baboons was approaching me as I accidentally encroached on their turf. I turned around and got out of there as quickly as I could. The baboons didn't seem intent on catching up to me (thank goodness!); they just wanted to let me know I didn't belong in that space.
Apart from these misadventures, I have actually discovered a few legitimate njira za chidule that don't require crossing a river and, for now, are devoid of baboons.
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