Niall and I headed out to Bunda College with Sieglinde today to see her workplace and the gardens there. Here Niall and Sieglinde are checking out some soybeans growing in a greenhouse that are part of an experiment.
Niall and I wandered through the gardens while Sieglinde had some meetings. Niall was delighted with the impressive cacti!
Later in the day, we went to a nearby market and Sieglinde bartered with the merchants there for a chess set for Niall. He was over the moon. :-)
Niall's little bed at Sieglinde's - neatly made up for him by Aggie every day.
Aggie washes clothes nearly every day next to the house in this outdoor sink. She was good enough to come today (on her weekend) to help us since we had so much laundry after being gone on vacation.
Niall really liked the pottery village scenes and the chess set. I thought a pottery chess set would be a major undertaking to bring home - yikes. Luckily Sieglinde mentioned that there are some really nice carved wooden sets that we could check out when we're back in Lilongwe and Niall thought that sounded like a great idea. Whew.
This is Niall and me at breakfast - self-portrait, as you can tell. :D
The sunsets over Lake Malawi are to die for.
We left the Lujeri Tea Estates this morning (after one last swim!) to head to Club Mak on Lake Malawi. We stopped for lunch at a place Sieglinde had been before called Tasty Bites.
We arrived at beautiful Club Mak in the late afternoon, in plenty of time for a swim in the pool after settling in to our spacious cabanas right on the beach. Gorgeous!
Arrived at the Lujeri Tea Estates lodge a little later than expected yesterday evening, and found that although we opted to bring our own food, the place comes with a chef and staff! 
This is a beautiful spot, up on a hill with the Mulanje Mountains around us, a beautiful garden full of exotic plants, refreshing swimming pool, and a lodge brimming with old-world elegance. The kids are practically living in the pool, while Sieglinde and I chat and catch up on writings on our laptop while we watch them.
These pink booths are sprinkled along the roadside. People can buy cards with minutes for their cell phones or charge their phones for a fee.
Most women carry a baby wrapped on their backs and something on top of their heads as they walk along the road. I was surprised at the thick, warm blankets many babies were wrapped up with. Sieglinde reminded me that it's moving into winter here. But still feels very warm to me.
We drove through some driving rain along the way. Some people carry umbrellas which provide shelter from the sun and are also handy when a squall comes up suddenly.
