Day 7 | Nkhata Bay to Ekwendeni Distance: 67.6 km | Elevation gain: ~1,300 m | Terrain: Tar climb, rolling to Mzuzu, flat to Ekwendeni Hit the road early and immediately climbed out of Nkhata Bay on one of the best tar sections of the trip: smooth, shaded, scenic, and relentless. Proper climbing that wakes up the legs. Around 20 km in, back in the thick of mango season. Pips everywhere, sticky-faced kids, the country feeling like one long Mango Street. Stopped at Soul Food restaurant in Mzuzu for nsima with chicken and veg (8,500 kwacha) and a plunger coffee. Mzuzu has a proper shopping mall, the most developed building I'd seen in Malawi so far. Grabbed supplies including a tin of tuna, only to realise afterwards that I don't have a tin opener. YouTube confirmed you can open a can with a nail clipper. It works. Just outside the mall, a roadside stall flying a huge South African flag. Met Isaac, the proprietor, a chef trained in South Africa. He handed me two of the freshest doughnuts I'd had in Malawi. A hot, hilly, scenic day. Tough, but full of small highlights and unexpected encounters.