The Colours of Malawi

The colours of Malawi have changed subtly during the five weeks I have been here. I suppose that basically they are the same: the strongest are shades of green and brown. The countryside seems very dry to me but there must be some water about somewhere as there are many shades of green. The grass at Mitsidi is bright because it is watered, but there are many shades also in the leaves and fruits of the trees, from the bluish eucalyptus to the dark skins of ripening papaya, gradually turning to yellow in the sun. When I arrived the most striking shade was the purple of the Jacaranda blossom which manages to be both bright and misty at the same time. How can that be? Over the weeks they have gradually faded as the leaves have sneaked in after the blossoms, and the blossoms fallen, transferring the purple from the canopy to carpet the ground in a widening circle beneath each tree. Just before the purple finally paled away the flame trees began to glow, at first softly in the distance and gradually more and more vividly until now they are astonishing splashes of a colour that is too deep for orange to be an adequate descriptor, but red is not right either. I suspect that when one day soon I actually stop the car and get the camera out to record the blooms in close up, I may find that in reality the individual blossoms are part yellow and part red, and that is why from a distance I really cannot feel sure what colour they are. Anyway they speak to me in a way that I cannot recall a plant doing before and make me feel warm and excited and absolutely satisfy that thirst for colour and vibrancy that I sometimes feel when surrounded by tasteful monochrome beige or grey! The intensity is surprising and because it is a tree the patches of colour are significant in size and cannot be missed. Other things are also redder than they were. The view from our table on the khonde across the valley to the hill the other side of the stream is gradually blushing, not as you might expect from leaves turning in colour before they drop off for the winter, but for completely the opposite reason; new leaves are growing and the young leaves are tinged with red which gradually is taken over by fresh spring green as they stretch out their fingers and turn themselves towards the sun.

The sun is getting almost, but not quite, imperceptibly hotter every day. After the two consecutive days when it rained a couple of weeks ago, there has been no more, although it has clouded over threateningly on many occasions. I have begun to learn what it is like to sweat copiously which is not something I am really familiar with, being almost the most unsporty person on the face of the earth. I am sorry Dave but I am going to talk bodily functions, so skip this bit if you cannot handle it! I am drinking far more water than I have ever done in my life but I am peeing far less. I have to put a lot more salt on my food than I normally do and am indulging my liking for crisps, as I have woken several times in the night with horrible cramp in my legs which leaves a dull nagging ache lasting all day. The salt and crisp regime seems to be working which is good news indeed! I could talk for ages about the state of everyone's bowels and the effect of drinking unboiled water, but out of deference to the sensibilities of my dear brother suffice it to say that I have decided that it is prudent to buy bottled water or boil everything that passes my lips. Also that the advent of a perfectly formed poo is gradually moving from being a rarity towards being an everyday occurrence!