08.20 It's raining in London; rain on this day when the Olympic games will be opened. Now we were told that the feathers in a badminton ball are from the left wings of geese. The hot water in the shower is cold as a spring creek. I hardly dared to try the cold water. Now Christer announces we have hot water, but in small amounts. I continue to listen to the BBC radio broadcast from the Olympics. We are at the Hostellerie de France in Blantyre, Malawi. Today we also get new money on our accounts. The 27th is pay day for us municipal workers.

08.40 It's time to go out of room E and lock the door behind us. We'll go and have breakfast. Will it be served in the restaurant or? The night's sleeps under mosquito nets have been good. Later today we're off to see more of our new home city.

Hostellerie de France is a pleasant place to spend a few nights.

09.03 We returned to the restaurant where we had dinner yesterday. There the doors to the large garden were open. We sat down by a lovely (but due to the season ice cold) pool. The view from here is fantastic. Our breakfast will be eaten outdoors in the sun.

09.33 This has been this journey’s most amazing breakfast. We had a splendid view towards the town in the valley and a mountain range in the background. The actual breakfast was amazing in itself with corn flakes and milk, eggs and bacon, toast and rolls, two kinds of marmalade, apples and bananas, banana cake and coffee. Now we ordered dinner for tonight and checked about the buses that go to Zimbabwe. We have also talked with the waiter about our trip, what we have seen and done so far.

10.07 We listen to the radio again, an important contact with the outside world, BBC reports about upcoming heavy fighting, possibly a massacre, in Aleppo, Syria. We visited that city seven years ago and met several nice and colourful personalities. Now there was a knock on the door, it was our French host who was going into town and offered us a ride. I said thanks but no thanks. We need to stretch out, move, walk. We look forward to a pleasant walk later.

We will spend a few days at this French oasis of tranquility.

The restaurant at Hostellerie de France.

We started this day with a wonderful breakfast.

Walking to our room.

10.35 We have left Hostellerie de France behind us and will now walk to the center of Blantyre. To stroll and discover a new city somewhere in the world; it is one of the holiday highlights, especially when you have nothing special planned.

11.06 We have followed Glyn Jones Road and have finally taken us to the center of Blantyre. We passed the tiny St. Paul's Cathedral. Here at the center we have a little to find and do.

12.07 After checking the internet at a place that was a combined internet cafe and betting shop, we´ve started to walk towards a cafe to do what you do in cafes, drink coffee. On the way we met a street vendor. He has offered us a wooden statue, notebooks with drawings from the front pages and hand-painted postcards. When we asked about the "common" cards he promised to fix some. Now we are guarding his stuff as he is away and arrange these postcards. Blantyre is a really nice city, the first in Malawi with a real town feeling and urban pulse. Here is order and logic.

12.27 The vendor came back and wanted 750 kwacha for the postcards. That makes almost US$3 per postcard. Christer managed to haggle the price down to 275 kwacha and we bought two postcards each. Now we are at Café Livingstone, a simple place inside a nice building with several offices. Here we will have coffee, muffins and future plans. The first two will be bought here at the café. The last thing we´ll organize ourselves.

Peter at the Hostellerie de France sign.

Saint Paul´s Cathedral, Blantyre.

Dusty in Blantyre city centre.

Christer is waiting for a postcard vendor.

13.44 During our city walk we found a Western Union office. A sign said that they sold AXA tickets. Since AXA is one of the bus companies that run to the next destination, Harare in Zimbabwe, so we went inside. However, it turned out that they had no tickets. They referred us to another office. It is at Chichiri Shopping Mall. Tickets may also be available at a site farther away on the street, at a petrol station. However, we have not been able to find it. We have instead found a tourist office and as tourists we have been given information that may help us when it comes to tickets. They also mentioned Chichiri and that AXA probably run to Zimbabwe. Nearby the tourist office, we have seen Victoria Hall, the old town hall.

14.13 We have made a decision to buy our bus tickets tomorrow instead. We have, after taking out more money for our remaining time in this country, walked to Steers and ordered a hamburger lunch.

15.30 It was really good burgers with just the right size and quantity. Now we have bought sodas and walked the long way home to Hostellerie de France and are on our way down to the pool area here.

Malawi has a lot of religions. Here is the hindu temple in Blantyre.

Victoria Avenue, Blantyre.

All you need on a trip.

We are walking into Namiwawa, the suburb where we are staying.

17.01 The pool area has been visited. It was in the shade so the visit was brief. Now I have had a shower and washed my clothes. A month ago we were in our cold rooms in Johannesburg. A month flies quickly when you are travelling in the summer.

19.46 Today we had mutton for dinner. It was delicious. The cuisine is of a high French class here but the amount of dishes to choose from is not so great. Our host Michel has an impressive collection of small flags. Most countries of the world and a lot of regions and provinces in French-speaking countries are included. They are fixed to small toothpicks. Now we're going back to the room and prepare for the coming days and events.

21.00 We just turned off the radio. We have listened to the broadcast from the BBC and listened to talk before the Olympic opening ceremony. The broadcast was from the pub "The hare and hound" in London. People there and listeners around the world were talking about who they wanted to light the Olympic fire. There were various proposals The Queen, Roger Bannister, Steven Redgrave and Daley Thompson. For almost every proposal a lady said that it should be an unknown youngster from the East End. In the case of what would be included in the dedication, the typical British arrived, the royal family, the music from the 60 - and 70's as well as firefighters, paramedics and others who do a good job in healthcare.

22.27 The opening ceremony is underway in London. Right now James Bond/Daniel Craig and the Queen/Elizabeth II took off in a helicopter. They started from the lawn outside Buckingham Palace. BBC varies the live reports with interviews with different people. Right now the reporter is talking to an elderly lady who recalls the London Olympics of 1948.

23.04 The opening ceremony focuses on events in British history. Those who commented on the whole thing did not seem quite so well informed about what it all represented. Now it is the time for us to crawl under the nets and sleep.

We are relaxing in our room, listening to the olympic opening ceremony on shortwave radio.

Saturday 28th of July

07.57 It's morning again. The BBC continues to analyze the opening ceremony. It sure had things that Beijing lacked, was one of the things that were discussed. We wonder if that’s not the idea. Isn’t that as it uses to be? Shouldn’t you bring forth your own kind? We seem to have made a huge mistake as it comes to money. We need to withdraw more money.

08.41 On the radio, people say what they think of the Olympics. Most have been mesmerized, but one lady said in a lovely cockney, I do not like the Olympics, they tared down my house. Her house had been demolished to make way for the stadium. Now let's go and have breakfast. Will it be as great breakfast yesterday?

09.26 It was actually possible to surpass yesterday's breakfast. We got the same kind of dishes and also pancakes and fresh strawberries. Amazing! Now we ordered a taxi to 10.00, arranged with dinner tonight and accepted the offer to get the room cleaned. Now we prepare ourselves before we go to the Chichiri Shopping Centre which is located in the city's eastern outskirts on the way to the twin town of Limbe. Our waiter who arranged the taxi promised us that the driver was "a very nice and good man." That sounds good.

This Saturday had a great start.

This is where we are staying.

09.43 We are ready for a new day. In the Chichiri Shopping Mall we will look for bus tickets, find out when the bus departs, if we have pre ordered seats, arrange with breakfast, food for the journey and something when we get there. We will have coffee, lunch, make budget, withdraw money and find a vehicle that can take us back here.

10.05 The nice good man came, our taxi driver Michael. Now it's off to Chichiri Shopping Mall.

10.28 0111614906 is the number we'll call when we want to be picked up by Michael. Along the way we met a couple of newly weds. There was talk with Michael on a lot of different topics, including marriage and relationships in Malawi and Sweden. Now we will go and buy our tickets.

Christer is saying hello to a local dog.

The guard dogs at Hostellerie de France are shy and friendly.

10.45 Unfortunately there are no bus tickets for us. We visited the small office and were told that AXA don’t have any buses to Harare. The company that makes it has its office up at the bus station. It is a bit away from here. Things are sometimes complicated! The service doesn’t exist although two independent persons and a page on the internet claimed that it was so.

11.09 Two brains are working feverishly here at Café Rouge. We sit and have a coffee each inside the Chichiri Shopping Mall. How do we wrap this up in the best way? Do we get hold of a bus ticket? What will it cost? Do we have enough money? If not, how do we get it? Now I don’t have any more questions. I want the exclamation mark. I can get it, can’t I?

12.11 Slowly things have begun to happen. We have bought groceries at Shoprite. We have arranged with what we will need tomorrow. Now we will have lunch at Kips Burgers and Pizza. When it is swallowed we will call Michael. He'll take us from Chichiri to the bus station. We shall buy a bus ticket. A ticket to Harare would be fine and preferably one that is for tomorrow.

12.43 After some problems I managed to call Michael. I had to dial a country code first. Now we will go and get picked up. It was hard to hear everything that Michael said. In the background was the Chichiri Shopping Mall's own radio channel with music and several offerings.

12.55 We were waiting by a car (a Toyota Corolla) which we thought was Michael´s. It was not his but an identical one. He came driving in his own Toyota. Now we are going to the bus station. We are hoping that we can get a bus ticket. It's a match going on at the football stadium at the mall. It is, according to Michael, a local match. We have seen football fans with painted faces and vuvuzelas. Soon we will be at the bus station.

Peter is drinking coffee at Café Rouge.

Chichiri Shopping Mall.

13.01 We arrived at the bus station Wenela and the taxi took us to a gate behind the station area. There, Michael talked to a man and was told that the company Munorurama drives to Harare but unfortunately not on Sundays. We will now look for other companies to see if they can help us.

13.24 None of the other companies are going to Harare on Sunday. Once again, we have false information about the "daily buses" from Blantyre to Harare. Now we will have to stay another night here in Malawi. However, we will stay at another place tomorrow. We want to move to a place closer to the bus station. On Monday, we will be in time to buy a ticket from Zupco. It is impossible to pre-book tickets. We sincerely thank the fantastic Michael. He acted as interpreter, negotiator and coordinator of everything. Now we consider how the rest of our trip will be. Where do we cut the day which will be extra here? Revenue and expenses, plus and minus, everything must be in balance. It is time to head home.

15.26 I have read from my book and solved some Sudokus here at Hostellerie de France. I have dipped the feet in the pool and the legs are now starting and landing paths for flies. We have come to a decision. On Monday we are sitting on a bus. We are going to Harare and that’s it.

16.48 We'll take it slowly and listen to the BBC radio broadcast of the Olympics. In the men's road race of cycling the victory went to a Kazakh rider ahead of a Colombian and as we understood the reporter, a Norwegian in third place. Now they talk about a Brazilian lady who can take the first female individual gold medal for Brazil.

17.28 Brazil got the gold. Sarah Menezes won gold in the women's 48 kg class in judo. The first individual Brazilian female gold, if you do not count the athletics. The Swedish soccer ladies also played 0-0 against the Japanese ladies today.

18.12 Malawi radio has reported a football result. Bullets FC - Mighty Wanderers, 1-0. Was that the game that was going on here in Blantyre today? Another game in the league will be played at Mzuzu Stadium. We didn’t saw that arena during our stay in Mzuzu.

18.40 It was our game. Apparently it was a derby. Now we're going to head off for our last dinner here at the accommodation. We had thought that it would be the last dinner in the country.

Yes, Blantyre was nice.

19.36 Today we were not alone in the dining room. A group of four Asians sat in a corner. An African couple are sitting and cuddling in a sofa. We sit at the table and are waiting for dessert.

19.58 The dessert was delicious. We were served tasty vanilla-strawberry and chocolate ice cream. The flavors felt genuine, natural. Now we prepare ourselves for tomorrow.

20.41 It is not the reigning champions’ day in the Olympics. The triple gold medalist in fencing, foil, Valentina Vezzali, had to settle for a bronze medal, Michael Phelps, two-time gold medalist in the 400 medley finished four and South Korea's men's team in archery became third. The first and second place in ladies foil went to Italy and Italy won the archery.

22.06 The news announces about fierce fighting in Aleppo, Syria, and an attempt to smuggle over a thousand tortoises and turtles from India to Bangladesh. Not much happens on a regular day.

Sunday 29th of July

08.02 The light from the bulb has chased away the darkness in our room. This is the day of the shortest regrouping on this trip. We change accommodation but not location. This is because there isn’t any bus going to where we are supposed to go.

09.49 We have, a little sad, enjoyed the fabulous breakfast here for last time. We are, full and happy, ready to make the leap to the next bed.

10.52 We have paid for our time here and said Au revoir to Michel, our host. We gave him a card about our website and he put it up on a wall together with many others. Now we are sitting on a small wall and wait for Michael, the taxi driver from yesterday. He has promised to drive us today as well. It has been a wonderful accommodation here. It has been so relaxing, so disconnected from the world outside. Now we will gradually take us back to reality.

Peter is waiting for our taxi.

11.22 Michael came, slightly delayed. Today he was really dressed up, dressed in a suit. He came straight from church. He has informed us that that it isn't one bus to Harare tomorrow, there are two. There must be room in one of them for us. Now we are in room 2 at Blantyre Lodge. We live opposite the bus station. Here we count the money we have left. In addition, a budget will be done and more kwacha with drawn. We need to enter the city centre to take care of this. It is what happens next.

12.39 I have withdrawn money. The ATM malfunctioned but with the help of a female guard from G4S everything went well. It didn’t go well to find an internet cafe. It´s Sunday so most places were closed. When things looked dark we found Biltel Busniess Centre. We have informed about our delay to future lodgings in Zimbabwe. We will as usual also give signs of life from us on Facebook and update our current news and sports results.

New room but the same city.

Clock tower in a Blantyre roundabout.

13.23 We have surfed on the internet. E-mails have been sent. Christer has come to a decision on the lost glasses. He makes contact with the Jollyboys Backpackers as he gets home. As for the buses tomorrow, it will either be with Malasha or Zupco. We'll see what we do. Now we have coffee and muffins at Temptation Coffee Shop, a small place that we found during the walk home. It is a small but nice place.

14.28 After coffee, we went to shop at Cash'n'Carry. It was not so good. They closed just as we arrived. We went back a bit and bought our stuff at People's Supermarket instead. We got home to the hotel and had plans to pay for our stay here. At the reception desk there were plenty of people. One of them was Michael Jackson, he said so. Behind the counter were some hissing and it blinked blue. Someone was about to weld. We got the key and have distributed the withdrawn money between us. The channels that the TV had this morning are not there. Maybe they will come back.

15.33 Now we paid for what we hope is our last night in Malawi for this trip. We also asked if the hotel is open early in the morning, for towels, restaurant and breakfast. The answer to all four questions was, yes. The only downside is that breakfast is served from "half six", ie half seven. The African habit of skipping the word "past" confuses us Swedes. A TV channel MBC (Malawi Broadcasting Corporation), works. It offers quality, scenery and people of Malawi. Right now, we watch four music-making guys, young men.

Empty streets on Sunday.

A short light lunch at Temptation Coffeeshop.

15.53 There are more groups in front of their music on homemade instruments. Tundu Boys Band has just been immortalized on film by Christer. Our hopes of being able to see anything from the olympics on television have been dashed. MBC has probably not enough money for such broadcasts.

16.29 BBC reports on the radio about empty seats at olympic grandstands and a scandal at the opening cermony. A woman of unknown origin had joined the Indian squad. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney gives Israel its support when it comes to military strike against Iran.

18.25 China's archery ladies have just, by one point to spare, made it to the olympic finals. We plan to go out and have dinner. The weather is +5º in Lilongwe, +11º here in Blantyre right now. Tomorrow is expected to +31º in southern Malawi and high pressure in Zimbabwe. It can be an interesting bus trip.

18.45 We have walked to the lobby, went downstairs, crossed over the courtyard and walked to the restaurant. Here we ordered beef with rice and fries. The cost is 850 kwacha each. Christer paid with the exact amount and I with two five hundred pieces. I got back 100 kwacha. The girl at the counter nodded at Christer and said, Share, Pay. Why didn´t I get a 50-kwacha note from her?

Blantyre Lodge

Instead of the olympics we were offered this TV entertainment.

19.20 It was asked at reception about what we would do with the key at the early check-out tomorrow. "So, you want a room" was the answer from the reception lady. No, we said, and took everything a little clearer, a little slower, no success. I showed her the key; put my head to one side to show sleep. It may have worked. Anyway, we leave the key tomorrow whether it is manned or not. Most important is that we come out of the hotel.

20.33 BBC cranks on the news we heard that one before, Syria, Romney and Israel and the empty chairs in the olympics. They also talked about a referendum in Romania. It applies to the president to be or not to be. We want live olympics. On my worn towel, it says "Helsevesen" isn´t that the Norwegian health care? What is it doing in a hotel in Malawi?

21.00 BBC has analyzed the past week. A new feature for us is that the Ghanaian President has died. Then they promised the Olympics broadcasts, after the news that is. Now we get to hear all the news again.

21.17 Another double defending champion has had to give up. This time it was the Japanese Kitajima at 100 m breaststroke. It was instead the gold to South African, Van der Burgh who also broke the world record in the distance. Sarah Sjostrom missed the medal and lost his world record.

22.06 There will be an early morning so it's time to sleep.

It was a simple dinner at Blantyre Lodge this evening.

A Norwegian hospital towel in Malawi, how did it end up there?

Monday 30th of July

04.59 We sit, with the mosquito nets pushed sideways, awake on the edges of our beds and eat a simple breakfast. It consists of white bread and beverage. I sincerely hope to get to Zimbabwe today. Outside it is dark and cold. We don’t want to go outside.

05.55 We have checked out from Blantyre Lodge, crossed the road and went to the bus station. Here things are moving on. Lots of early-bird travelers on the move. Here we went quickly to the right and the yellow and blue Zupco bus. It doesn’t depart at 07.00 as we the information said. Instead, it departs at 08.00. Right now it will be emptied and cleaned. I've been in a small house here and asked for coffee. There was no coffee there. A short cleaning woman who called herself "sister" and something else heard about my coffee thirst and have went on the hunt for coffee. Her first attempt did not go well.

06.12 The bus windows are being cleaned. We were allowed inside although the vehicle is not completely clean. It's nice. It's pretty cold out there. We mostly sit down inside the bus and wait. This day consists of sitting and waiting. But, we are after all on board. Sooner or later, we should surely get where we want as well.

07.06 Christer has been away and bought tickets from a woman at the front of the bus. I have helped a lady to load her large and heavy shopping bags into the back of the bus. Heavy was just the beginning, is she carrying lead?

The bus to Zimbabwe receives more and more passengers.

Early morning at Wenela bus station in Blantyre.

08.08 The bus finally left the bus station. The long journey has begun. This is the day trip we dreaded most for on this trip, partly because of the length, partly because of the unknown travelling time and partly because we are going over various borders which can sometimes drag on. We'll see how it goes. The bus departed in time, which is a bit unusual to be in Africa.

08.33 The journey has come to a stop. We are in Lunzu, at a store, Cash and Carry. There are vendors onboard. Now go bus departs again.

09.39 We travel north as so many times before on this journey through a dry and hilly landscape. The road is full of bumps.

09.56 We have come to Zalewa. Two Malawian police have stepped aboard. They have looked at the luggage and become interested in a bag that contained large spools of thread. One of the officers spoke to the owner of the bag, the lady I helped. She showed some papers and everything was OK. We have also taken the opportunity to rush off to a primitive toilet as a preventive measure. The price was to say the least modest.

10.23 We are in Zobue. Today's first border station is completed. We have exited from Malawi. I tried exchanging my remaining kwacha to U.S. dollar. This wasn’t advised to me by a lady, one of the fellow passengers. They just take the money, she said.

10.42 All had to get out of the bus again. Some, most likely the customs, checked through the luggage. Once again the thread rolls caused attention. At boarding we stood in the queue divided by gender, men in a queue, and women in a queue. It's happened before on trips in Africa.

MOZAMBIQUE

11.32 Passage two is complete. Our visa we got in Stockholm in March now came in use. Hopefully we will soon be rolling into Mozambique. Here at the border post, we have seen a young man in a Canadian hockey jersey, money changers, vendors of snacks and drinks as well as a notice indicating that any exchange of goods and money are prohibited here. The man, Thomas, in front of me and beside of Christer is on his way to Harare for a later change to a bus to South Africa. He talked a long time with Christer about Sweden, about the recent football season in England and how nice he thought it was that we travel around in the world. It's very beautiful scenery with amazing views and mountain formations here.

11.55 We are heading west on a miserable road. There are large holes here and there. The bus has to take it slowly and this will take time. Thomas has been informing and warned Christer that people speak Portuguese here. You can not understand them, and no one understands English, either, he claims.

12.18 We just passed a small village with simple houses. It is a completely different Mozambique here than what we saw around Maputo in 2009.

Landscape in northwestern Mozambique.

An unknown village, one of many.

Village life in Mozambique.

The bus has made a short stop somewhere between the Malawi border and Tete.

12.32 It's a new stop and new village. Here, goats went looking for something to eat. Someone is walking around on the roof of the bus. They are unloading something. It is easier to write when the bus does not bounce around and up on the bad road.

14.06 We have reached northwestern Mozambique's largest city. This is a poor region, but the fact is that the economy is on the rise here and there are a lot of investments going on. This is an important area for trade in Southern Africa. We have just driven over the Zambezi Bridge spanning the river of the same name. We are in the city of Tete, capital of the province of the same name.

14.25 A short break and bladder emptying have been made by the side of the road. It feels good to make a small contribution to the dry ground. Now we continue towards the border. My stay at the Mozambican soil was short this time, one or two minutes.

15.18 We turned at Changara and now travels due west towards Zimbabwe. We go through sparsely populated areas with beautiful rock formations. Here and there we pass small villages and sometimes we encounter any car. Right now we work out when we might be there tonight. We should at least take us into Zimbabwe during daylight.

15.42 We see lots of the typical African baobab trees here. The trees are easily recognizable by their thick trunks.

The Tete bridge was born the same year as Christer.

Once again we had the opportunity to see Zambezi river.

16.20 We are in Nyamapanda. A new border passing is complete. We have now officially left Mozambique after this very short stay. My passport police was skeptical of the place where the visa is issued, Estocolmo, what was it? Sweden, Suede, I said, no reaction. The police asked a colleague who shook his head. No one had heard of the city or country. I showed my nationality in the passport and they returned the passport. However, they forgot to stamp me out of the country. Can I get into Zimbabwe without having come out of Mozambique? Christer got a stamp in his passport though.

17.16 Border station four is passed. It took time to get a visa. We were standing outside the police hut and waited while the paperwork was done. It took some time but finally they put the pasted visas in their passports. The police here as on previous borders got a large bottle of soda from the staff in the bus. Is it a bribe or just a nice gesture? We also got to show our vaccination cards for yellow fever to a nice police officer who welcomed us to the country. We are now ready to enter Zimbabwe and Harare.

ZIMBABWE

17.33 The moon is watching us and the mountains here in eastern Zimbabwe through a thick veil of clouds. It starts to get dark.

18.05 In the dusk outside the bus, we have seen an older man in a suit and hat to be out on a walk with his walking stick. He looked to be harmonious and generally happy with life in her small village.

18.57 We travel further into the darkness and thinking about exactly what it busies itself with in villages without electricity when it's pitch black outside. The few fires that burn can not give much light.

20.05 It is now light in the bus. It is a road toll outside. People are starting to get the luggage back of the bus. I'm shit tired of taking the bus. Additionally, I am craving coffee.

20.38 I think I've rarely been so pleased and happy on this trip as I am now. We finally arrived at Harare. The bus arrived at the modern Road Port Bus Terminal and we got inside a new pink small taxi. It was a bit surprising that the first impression of this country was a trip in a new car with the latest equipment, where the driver was in contact with other cars in the city. Media have been good at talking about how terrible everything is in Zimbabwe, and the country more or less collapsed. So far, however, it seems to be good here.

21.03 We are now arrived at our booked accommodation; It's a Small World Lodge (http://smallworldlodge.com) in northern Harare. They had received our message to advancing our stay here one day ahead of time and it seems to work. We live in the room Mbabane. Three years ago we had a room in the city of Mbabane. We have now been in all independent countries in the world starting with Z. Which is the next filled letter?

21.36 Happiness is perfect. I've had my two cups of coffee after dinner we have just eaten dinner. Now we munch on white bread and drink the juice remaining from the bus trip.

22.53 Away from 06.12 to around 20.30, we sat on the bus. The journey itself took "only" 12 ½ hours. We were up before 5.00. Now it will be nice to pull out the mosquito net and get to sleep. Wait, we've got no mosquito nets. Yes, it is probably good to sleep anyway. We have now left the malaria-affected zone, hence the lack of mosquito nets.

We can´t believe it´s true, we finally made it to Harare.

The name of our room reminds us of our last trip in Africa 2009.