In Malawi, I've found that everything takes a little longer than I expect, and also that a lot of time is spent waiting. For people, transport, or nothing much in particular. So really, I shouldn't have been surprised that the 10 hour bus trip from Mzuzu to Blantyre took very nearly 12 hours. To add to the experience, the coach had no toilet, seats narrower than any normal human adult, and loud gospel music piped on an endless loop. All night. Amazingly, I did manage to get some sleep and in a way was grateful to arrive at 7am rather than 5. Goodness knows how I would have spent the time before the city woke up. Waiting, I suppose.
Fortunately, I was able to get straight into the room in my accommodation before 8 o'clock, freshen up and be ready to hit the streets of Blantyre for my whistlestop tour by 9. I started with Mandala House (pictured). Built in 1882, this is the oldest building in Malawi, and was originally the African headquarters of the African Lakes Company. Now it houses a craft shop, art gallery and cafe downstairs, and upstairs is the premises of The Society of Malawi. As the banner proclaims, the society has a library open to visitors, and this proved to be a treasure trove of resources on Malawian history, missionaries included. I spent several hours desperately skimming through books, and wishing I had a few days to pore over their contents. Still, I think some useful material has come out of it. And the cafe does a good pot of tea, too!
A late afternoon foray to find the impressive St Michael and All Angel's Church was less successful, as I completely failed to find it. In my defence, the street it is supposedly on was awash with soldiers and armed police, which was slightly off-putting. This was presumably in connection with student protests at the University of Malawi's recent huge fee hikes, but I didn't witness any protestors at all. Maybe they were put off too. Nonetheless, I'm pleased to have made the trek to Blantyre, and to add to my to-do list for the next visit!