Trip to Malawi

Details from the actual trip are in several posts at:

http://bartons-malawi-trip.blogspot.com/2010/01/ps.html

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I always need context, so here's what I learned before the trip:

Itinerary
Day 1:
- leave Dulles at 9:30 a.m. on Ethiopian airlines, arrive in Rome at 12:01 a.m. local time (6 p.m. EST)
Day 2:
- leave Rome at 12:45 a.m., arrive in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at 8:30 a.m. local time (12:30 a.m. EST)
- leave Addis Ababa at 9:45 a.m., arrive in Lubumbashi, Congo, at 12:30 p.m. local time (6:20 a.m. EST)
- leave Lubumbashi, Congo, at 1:05 p.m., arrive in Lilongwe, Malawi, at 2:20 p.m. local time (7:20 a.m. EST)
- meet the Hellers and drive 5 hours north to Mzuzu, arriving (with luck and no delays) 28 or 29 hours after leaving Dulles!

Heller contact information:

Paul & Darlene Heller
P.O. Box 395

Mzuzu, Malawi

Phone: 011 265 888 428 1134

Time zone difference: +7 hours

Language spoken: Timbuka, which is of Bantu origin.
Language map

Exchange Rate:
1000 Kwacha = $7.00 U.S.
1433 Kwacha = $10.00 U.S.

Weather prediction for the day we arrive: high of 76F, low of 61F, and rainy.
Weather Underground
TuTiempo.net

Note to self: Save back $30 per person for the departure tax!

What do we know before we go? Not much!
Peace Corps information on Malawi
Africa Guide.com
and, of course, Wikipedia

Who to call in case of emergency:
International SOS alarm center in South Africa

Johannesburg, open 24 hours a day

Tel: 27 (11) 541 1300

Fax: 27 (0) 865 290 777

Ethiopian Airlines restrictions:

one carry-on that can't exceed 45" H+W+L, or 15 pounds

2 checked items that can't exceed 23kg each (50 pounds)