You may have heard of african minibuses? The general transport for the masses, they stop frequently and fill up to far, far beyond capacity. Cramped, hot, cheap.

We took a "minibus" ferry. It was from the south end of Lake Malawi, up to about a third from the top. It started out not so terribly crowded, but oy it was PACKED by the time we got off. Not that there wasn't room for more; there is always room for more. Lake Malawi is gorgeous, blue like Lake Superior, and clear in places like it too. It's inhabited by the endemic ciclid (chiclid? sp?), which are lovely electric blue and black fish. We snorkeled around and watched them nibbling on algae off of rocks. Unfortunately, one of the cargo I saw on the boat was definitely fish headed for 1st World fish tanks. I hope but doubt they were harvested properly...

We camped out on the top deck, which was supposedly first class, but that's the lamest first class I've ever heard of. They charged us extra for mats, didn't provide bedding, food, tea, or even hot water. This after paying over 70 USD for the tickets. Rip off, if you look at it that way. Economy would have been the cheap way to go, and is by far the most popular with locals. In any event, it was nice to be up top, with enough room to lie down and strech your legs without worrying about theft too terribly much.

I had fun on the Ilala Ferry, especially in the winds and swells, but it turned out to be a minibus after all. :)