August 10, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

Makuzi Beach Lodge, Malawi with Zeb the Duck

After one week of volunteering, I, Zeb the Duck, and four of the volunteering women have a mini vacation at Makuzi Beach Lodge. Makuzi Beach Lodge is also on the beautiful Lake Malawi, a 30 minute drive from or Ripple Africa location.

A beach lodge! Fantastic

Here we are. Let’s go to the Reception to check in and get our room keys.

Let’s get the keys

We are enjoying our time at Ripple Africa, but here we each have our own room with an en suite bathroom and plenty of hot water. True luxury. My first thought was to go to the beach. Here I am lounging on a beach chair.

Lounging on the beach

That is me, Zeb the Duck, on the chair on the right. We have a nice sandy beach and the rocks in the water give it character, without making the beach too rocky.

Interesting rocks

I really like this resort. We even have birds on a rock in the water.

Birds on a rock by our beach

There are almost always birds here. Of course, being a duck, I do like birds. Wow! This hammock is in front of my room.

Lounging in the hammock

This could be my favorite place to rest. Our cabin, or chalet, is so cute.

Our chalet for the weekend

Don’t you think it looks so tropical? I am sitting on the chair on the right, on my porch. This chair is really comfortable, too. A nice splash of color as Deborah walks on the beach.

Bright color on the beach

Love the color of your shirt, Deborah. On the right, is the bar and lounge.

Restaurant over kayaks. Bar and lounge to the right

The structure on the left is our restaurant. They really prepare excellent food here. Under the restaurant the brightly colored kayaks are available for our use. Unfortunately it is a little too windy to use them this weekend. There are a few of these platforms, or beach gazebos available.

Great place to watch the water

There is a canoe in the water.

Canoe on Lake Malawi

These are narrow dugout canoes. The person in the canoe must sit on the edge of the canoe and paddle. I am in the canoe and ready to go.

Dugout canoe. Rather narrow

Oh well, maybe they are not ready to go in the water yet. But I will be back soon. Hey, what is happening?

You forgot the duck!!

It looks like they are going to go without me. I will be staying on land with mom and the other women. This is a nice lodge with a beautiful location. For more information about Makuzi Beach Lodge, visit http://www.MakuziBeachLodge.com I enjoyed my weekend here. Maybe you will visit Makuzi Beach Lodge on Lake Malawi soon.

August 8, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

Building Stoves in Malawi with Zeb the Duck

I, Zeb the Duck and the human volunteers are going to a village to build stoves. In Malawi, the women gather wood to burn. There is usually no electricity, so the cooking is done on wood burning stoves. This is the three stone stove the women were using to cook.

Three stone stove, using much wood

The new stove, the changu changu moto, uses about one third the amount of wood.

Changu Changu Moto stove

Saving wood is important, and the time it takes women to gather wood is also reduced. This lady is getting the bricks ready to build the stove.

Selecting bricks for stove

The changu changu moto is three bricks tall with two burners. The last layer of mud, often called plaster, is being applied to a new stove.

Putting final mud, or plaster, on new stove

The stove must dry for about a week before it is ready to use. The women also put the pot rests on the stove. This enables the pots to cook more evenly as there is air between the fire and the pot. This lady is cooking on her new stove.

Cooking on new changu changu moto stove

The stoves and cooking area are usually in a separate structure, a short distance from the main house. We visited two different villages to help build the changu changu moto stoves. This is a typical back yard in the village.

In back yard

Some people have chickens.

Chicken in yard

The chickens are kept for their eggs; some to hatch and some to be eaten by humans. When the chicken is older and not producing many eggs, the chicken is also eaten. This lady, holding her baby, is very happy to have a new changu changu moto stove.

Mother with her child by her new stove

The five other human women all live near Washington D.C. and belong to a group called Dining for Women. Dining for Women raises money for projects that help women and girls around the world. It was through this organization that the other volunteers learned about the changu changu moto stoves. These women decided to volunteer with Ripple Africa in Malawi, Africa. Mom and I, Zeb the Duck, learned of their plans and we joined their volunteer group. For more information about Dining for Women, visit http://www.DiningForWomen.org We all agree that these stoves are a great help to the women of Malawi.

August 5, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

Zeb the Duck Visits a Fishing Village then Lunch at Ngala Beach Resort.

Ripple Africa is working with the local tribal chiefs and the local fisherman on Lake Malawi. People were given mosquito nets to reduce mosquito bites which can prevent malaria. The nets were given with good intentions, but now there is a problem. The fisherman, trying to support their families, need to catch as many fish as possible. Unfortunately they have been using mosquito nets as fish nets. This results in very small fish being caught. If the small fish are taken from the lake, there will be a shortage of fish very soon. Ripple Africa is trying to persuade the chiefs and fisherman to not use mosquito nets for fishing. This will cause a reduction in income now and for a few years, but then an increase in fish, and an increase in income. Many people understand and agree with this, but there are still a few that are worried about a reduction in current income. We were invited to a meeting with the tribal chiefs about this problem. The meeting was held near this school.

Children going to school

The children are so curious about the volunteer women. I love the bright colored uniforms. After the meeting, we visited a fishing village. These are the fishing boats used on Lake Malawi.

Fishing boats

You will notice the nets in the boats on the right and on the left. There was no decision that day; this will take time for all to agree. After the fishing village, the volunteer women, and I, Zeb the Duck,had a wonderful lunch here, at Ngala Beach Lodge on Lake Malawi.

Ngala Beach Lodge

Chris and Sandi, the owners of the Ngala Beach Lodge really made us feel welcome.

Chris and Sandi, the resort owners

Well humans, let’s go inside.

Let’s enter the resort

Isn’t this beautiful?

Lake Malawi from deck of resort

Lake Malawi from the deck the lodge is gorgeous. These bright flowers are so tropical.

Beautiful tropical flowers

I could stay here and feel like I was in paradise. An extra bonus.

Swimming pool

We always appreciate a great swimming pool. This is a wonderful place for me.

My friend, the hippo

This hippo is my new friend. And look.

Giraffe with long neck. I am sitting on a turtle table. His shell is comfortable.

Everyone loves a giraffe. These wooden carvings are fantastic.

Wooden carvings

With all these animal statues, we must be in Africa. For more information about this resort, visit http://www.NgalaBeach.com This is a really great day in Malawi.

August 3, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

Zeb the Duck Sees Daily Life on Lake Malawi

In Malawi, we walk to most places. While we are walking we often see friendly children, in school uniforms.

Friendly school children

The children always want to talk to us, asking our names and we ask their names. They want to know where we live. Many visitors here are from the United Kingdom, so the United States or America, also invites more questions. These children are very polite and kind. They seem to enjoy practicing their English with us. There are many cows here, also.

I like these cows

Usually there is a Malawian man nearby, watching the cows and directing their movements. I like these cows. This teacher is standing in front of his preschool classroom.

Preschool teacher in front of classroom

Aren’t these tropical plants so green?

Such beautiful tropical green plants

So pretty. We walked to Ripple Africa’s nursery. These tree seedlings are almost ready to plant.

Tree seedlings

Ripple Africa teaches about reforestation and is involved with the local community to plant trees. Also at the nursery, the human volunteers made bricks. First they removed their shoes, put water in the dirt, and walked barefoot, mixing the dirt and water to make mud. Then the mud was put into molds for bricks.

Barefoot in the mud. Filling brick molds with mud for bricks

The full molds were then dumped to dry.

Bricks will dry in tropical sun

Most people make bricks for making stoves and houses. Later we visited Angela. Angela had land and wanted to help her community. She is using her land as a farm.

Angela at her farm

She grows some potatoes and plants many trees. She plants a variety of fruit trees. This is a welcome and familiar sight in our village. Many children go to school, at least to primary school.

Children in uniforms entering school

We believe that education is very important for everyone. Remember that the human women are volunteering with Ripple Africa for 2 weeks. Ripple Africa has two locations on Lake Malawi. This sign shows the direction for each.

Lowani or Mwaya?

I am staying at Lowani Beach. Mwaya Beach is where the long term volunteers are staying. The two locations are very close. We walk between them, sometimes on the road and sometimes on the beach. Each location has housing and dining areas. Also, each location is on a beautiful beach. This is our friend, Pumpkin.

Pumpkin caught these fish

He had been fishing and is showing us his catch. Very nice fish, Pumpkin. Pumpkin is also an artist. We bought a couple paintings from him.

Painting by Pumpkin

We liked this typical Malawian activity.

Painting by Pumpkin

Lake Malawi is so pretty. We think these paintings are very nice, don’t you? Today I wanted to show you what we see every day and a little about how the people live in our closest village. These humans in Malawi have all been very friendly and very nice to all of us. We like Malawi and the Malawians.

August 1, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

Zeb the Duck and the Humans Visit Secondary Schools

On our first day with Ripple Africa the human women and I went to the secondary school campus. Since this is our first outing, I think this means that everyone believes education is very important. I, Zeb the Duck, believe so also. Here are some of the teachers in front of the administration building.

Secondary teachers by administration building. We did meet a lady teacher also.

Two classrooms are in each of these buildings. We visited the class on the other side of this building.

Classrooms here. We were in class on other side

These students loved to have their pictures taken.

Students love to have photos taken.

Really, they loved seeing their pictures. They were so friendly and nice. Walking on the campus, I met these girls.

I like these students

They are my new friends. Ripple Africa helps support this secondary campus. Ripple Africa pays some of the salaries for teachers. The government of Malawi pays some salaries also. Ripple Africa helps construct the buildings. Some of the teachers receive housing on campus. Here, another house for a new teacher is being built.

Building a new house for future secondary teacher

One of the teachers took us to see his house.

Secondary teacher’s house. Limited electricity is available here.

I like his house. This teacher has chickens. The chickens can climb this ladder and sleep in the chicken house.

Chicken house

Some of the female chickens are in this pen.

This chickens furnished eggs for our breakfast

These chickens furnished eggs for our breakfast

These ladies provided the eggs that Esther cooked for our breakfast. And the eggs were delicious and so fresh. Many students walk hours from home to school every day. This is very difficult as they also need time to study and have work to do at home. The school, with help from Ripple Africa, built this dormitory for female students.

Girl’s dormitory room for secondary school

Some girls can live here, eliminating the hours of walking. I, Zeb the Duck, think this is great. After our tour of the school and campus, we walked back to Lowani Beach. Along the way, we saw this cassava soaking.

Cassava, peeled and soaking

Cassava is a root vegetable and one of the main foods eaten in this area. Before soaking, the cassava is peeled. After peeling and soaking, the cassava is dried in the sun.

Drying cassava

I will tell you more about cassava another day. While walking home, we stopped to visit Patrick, the tailor.

Patrick the Tailor

Patrick was very nice and everyone seems to know and like Patrick. These are some other stores near Patrick.

Rural stores

I, Zeb the Duck, enjoyed my day visiting the secondary school and seeing things on the walk home.

July 30, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

To Ripple Africa on Lake Malawi

Today I, Zeb the Duck, and the 6 human women are going to our home for the next two weeks. The women are volunteering with the British organization, Ripple Africa. We are riding north in two cars for most of the day. Leaving Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, we will be a little south of Mzuzu, Malawi on the shore of Lake Malawi at Nkhata Bay. Here is the map of Malawi.

Malawi in Southern Africa

While stopping for fuel, we admire this lady and her bright dress.

Pretty lady with colorful dress

Isn’t she pretty? I think she is. While riding, we saw signs announcing that we were in a goat group area. So, we asked what this meant. Our driver told us that Heifer International gave some families a few goats. The families cannot kill and eat the goat. They use the milk, sell the extra and let the goats reproduce. The families then give extra goats to another family.

Many goats.

When the village has enough goats, the extra goats are given to another village. This is a great way to give people a start and let them help themselves and their neighbors. Now we know what a goat group is. We like it. We are now at our new home. This is our building.

Where we live

My room is the door on the left. Each of the rooms is for two women. Inside my room I notice the mosquito netting over the beds.

Our room, with mosquito netting over beds

This is necessary to help prevent malaria, from mosquito bites. There is always the chance of malaria, but this is not the main season for mosquitos. However, we are all taking daily pills to avoid malaria. We will eat our meals here.

This is where we eat

We have a great view of Lake Malawi from our dining area.

Lake Malawi

Of course we want to walk on the beach.

Canoe by our beach on Lake Malawi

I love this canoe. As you remember from yesterday’s map, we are in the tropics, between the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, so there are many wonderful green tropical plants.

Love tropical plants

There is no electricity here, so our meals are cooked on a wood burning stove. This is a 3 burner changu changu moto stove.

Three burner changu changu moto stove

We will tell you more about these stoves another day. Ripple Africa helps support this clinic.

The clinic or dispensary

The hospital is hours away from here, so the clinic is very important. Ripple Africa also supports and encourages reforestation. These little black bags of dirt will have tree seedlings inside and will be planted when they are big enough to grow outside.

Bags of dirt to plant tree seedlings

One of the main functions of Ripple Africa is to improve the education. Many schools receive help from Ripple Africa.

Children in uniforms entering school

We will show you more about the schools another day. Today this duck wants to give you a glimpse of what Ripple Africa does, and what we will be doing for the next two weeks. The slogan for Ripple Africa is “giving a hand up, not a hand out.” For more information about Ripple Africa, visit http://www.RippleAfrica.org There is no better way to end our first day on Lake Malawi.

Full moon rising over Lake Malawi

We love the full moon rising over the lake. Without electricity, the skies here are so beautiful.

July 29, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

Zeb the Duck Goes to Africa

Look at this!

Safari vehicle at Kiboko Town Hotel in Lilongwe, Malawi

I, Zeb the Duck, am in Africa with 6 human women. We are in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi in southern Africa. Where, you may ask, is Malawi? Many humans ask, so here is a map of Africa showing Malawi in southern Africa.

Map of Africa showing Malawi. From Bradt travel guide to Malawi

Three humans and I take this taxi.

Our taxi and our friendly taxi driver

We arrive at Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary.

Let's explore he Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary

Let’s explore the Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary

This is a beautiful, peaceful place in Lilongwe between Old Town and Capital City. These sofas look inviting, but they are made of cement.

May not be too comfortable. They are made of cement

Heading down a trail, I, Zeb the Duck, am fascinated with the twisted trunk on this tree.

Twisted tree trunk

What are these hanging from a tree, over the river?

Nests of Weaver birds

The humans say they are nests of the Weaver Birds. The male Weaver bird builds the nest, and if the female does not like it, she will knock it down. Then the male has to build a new and better nest for her. I love this river.

Love a river

It was so pretty and rivers always sound soothing. We wander around the Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary for awhile, enjoying every moment. We decide to walk to the adjoining Lilongwe Wildlife Center. Crossing the river on the road, these monkeys entertained us.

Monkeys are so playful

Here at the Lilongwe Wildlife Center, injured, abused and orphaned animals are cared for.

Lilongwe Wildlife Center is also a rehabilitation center

Some may later be released into the wild, and some will remain at the wildlife center for the remainder of their lives. Let’s follow this bridge, with our guide, and explore.

Let’s go see the Lilongwe Wildlife Center

The diuker resembles the deer we see in Colorado.

Diuker

This orange baboon could be my new friend.

Orange Baboon

Here is a big crocodile.

African crocodile

And it is no surprise that it is an African crocodile. This is Africa, of course. This was a great first day in Lilongwe, Malawi. But there is much more to show you, so check back here soon.

July 27, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

Colorado Traveling Ducks Cross the Potomac by Boat

We, Zeb and Soapy Smith Duck, and our humans love traveling by boat. We got on a boat at Georgetown Harbor and headed for Alexandria, Virginia.

Leaving Georgetown Harbor

Our first bridge honors Francis Scott Key, the man responsible for the lyrics to our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.

Frances Scott Key Bridge

After docking in Virginia, we left the boat, eager to wander the streets of Alexandria. We soon saw this cute little dog, with his humans. We, the Colorado Traveling Ducks, were invited to sit on the table with the cutie and pose for a photo.

We are with this really cute dog.

This was a new experience for us, but we enjoyed being with this dog. Market Square appears to be a very pleasant place to relax, have a snack and watch people.

Market Square in Alexandria, Virginia

At one time this building really was a torpedo factory. It is now an art center.

Former Torpedo Factory

I believe this is the first torpedo factory ever seen by the Colorado Traveling Ducks. We did a little shopping. We really like the store, Ten Thousand Villages. These stores are run by a non profit fair trade organization. They offer unique handmade gifts from disadvantaged artisans from more than 120 artisan groups in over 35 countries. Both moms bought items there. Too soon it was time to leave Alexandria, Virginia. Back on the boat, we will return to Georgetown Harbor.

Cherry Blossom Paddle Wheel Boat

This boat is the Cherry Blossom. It is a working paddle wheel boat on the Potomac River. We believe everyone has heard about the Watergate Scandal in the United States government during the early 1970s. This is where it all started.

Watergate

Riding boats and shopping always makes us hungry, so we enjoyed these great dinners.

This fish was so good. Yum

Our restaurant was right next to the river and we enjoyed seeing these ducks with a baby.

This duck family has a baby duck.

As it got dark, the lights on these fountains were beautiful.

Fountain at Georgetown Harbor

We had a great afternoon and evening visiting Alexandria, Virginia and dining at Georgetown Harbor. We hope you enjoy the sights, shopping and dining in and around Washington D.C. soon. There is so much to see and do here. We showed some of what we experienced, but there is so much more. If you have time, a Segway tour is a fun way to see a town.

Take a Segway tour of Washington D.C.

We love Segways. Our weather was beautiful so we stayed outside, but the museums of Washington D.C. are extraordinary also.

July 25, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

More from Washington DC with the Colorado Traveling Ducks

Today we are still writing about Washington D.C. Again, there is so much here. This memorial honors the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. He, like Gandhi, believed in peaceful protest.

Dr. Martin Luther King

Millions of people followed Dr. King in this peaceful protest. As a result, Congress passed the Civil Rights Laws. This says Out of the Mountain of Despair, A Stone of Hope.

Martin Luther King

Here is a view of the Jefferson Memorial from Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, across the Tidal Basin.

Jefferson Monument from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr monument

A statue of Jefferson is inside the memorial.

Statue of Thomas Jefferson

We bought tickets for the Big Bus Tours.

Big Bus Tours in Washington D.C.

Our driver didn’t seem to follow the advertised route and did not tell us where we were going, but we went to Arlington Cemetery.

Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington is the largest National Cemetery in the United States. This arch caught our attention.

At Arlington National Cemetery

Seeing so many neat, orderly tombstones is a very moving experience.

Arlington National Cemetery

It is true that we love all the monuments, but we Colorado Traveling Ducks want to know about everything. So, here we are at George Washington University.

We are learning at Georgetown University

We are learning at George Washington University

We stayed in this area so we visited the university often.

We visited Union Station train station. Such a beautiful, old building.

Inside Union Station

In front of the train station, this statue recognizes Christopher Columbus.

Statue recognizing Columbus’s arrival in the New World

The ball on the top represents Columbus realizing that the world is round, not flat. The old man represents the Old World and the young man represents the New World. The explorer, of course, is Christopher Columbus.

We then took a night tour of Washington DC.

Washington DC night tour. US Capitol Building

This was better as there was a narrative to tell us what we were seeing and give us a little history about the area. The bus tour we continued the following day was also very good. We liked the Washington Monument at night.

Washington Monument at night

And, no tour of Washington DC would be complete without a photo of the White House.

White House and south lawn

Of course, the White House is the home of the president of the United States of America. We did not take this photo, it was available, free, online. We did like this photo better than the ones we took, and we wanted to show you the best. Washington D.C. has so much to see. There just is not enough time to explore everywhere.

July 23, 2016 by coloradotravelingducks

Colorado Traveling Ducks Visit FDR Memorial

We really liked the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, so we want to dedicate an entire blog post to showing you what we found there. Most memorials dedicated to a person consist of one structure. But not this one. Let’s go.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

This is a famous statement made by President Franklin Roosevelt, or FDR as he was known. The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself.

Fear

That sounds right to these Colorado Traveling Ducks. We love water, waterfalls and fountains, so this was a great view for us.

Pretty waterfall

FDR is sitting in his chair.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his wheel chair

When he was 39 years old, in 1921, he contracted polio, losing the use of his legs. Franklin D. Roosevelt was President of the United States during the Great Depression and also during World War II. In the days before television, he talked to the American people on the radio. This man is listening to one of his “fireside chats.”

Listening to FDR’s Fireside Chat

This sign shows President Roosevelt’s definition of progress for the American people.

He said…

This statue illustrates his philosophy.

Progress?

During the Great Depression many Americans were out of work and could not feed themselves or their families.

In line for Soup Kitchen

These people are in line for a meal at what was called a “soup kitchen.” Here is another favorite fountain at this memorial.

Another waterfall

FDR was very fond of his dog, Fala, so here is Fala with President Franklin Roosevelt. Many people wonder if President Franklin Roosevelt was related to President Theodore Roosevelt. They were related, but just barely. They were 5th cousins. FDR was a popular president and guided our country through two very difficult times in our history. FDR was president during the Great Depression, and also during World War II. He was also the only president to run for office 4 times and to be elected 4 times. He was President of the United States from 1933-1945. After he died in office, our laws were changed to only allow a president to have two terms. After President Franklin D Roosevelt’s death, April 12,1945, Eleanor pushed for the US to join the United Nations. Eleanor Roosevelt, the widow of President Franklin Roosevelt, became the first United States delegate to the United Nations.

Eleanor Roosevelt

She also served as the first chairperson of the UN Commission on Human Rights. This is a great memorial with many areas and a gift shop with a small museum in the center of the memorial. We want to end today with another favorite fountain.

We still love water

We hope you visit the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial when you are in Washington DC. It is on the Tidal Basin. We think you will like it.

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