Another year, sure why not?

So, for quite a while I had been contemplating whether to renew my contract for another year or not. If I'm to be honest, I've been thinking about this since last October but, as most of you know, I am the worst decision maker in the world. I'm indecisive to the point that I will ignore anything that involves the repercussions of said decision and hope that someone decides for me! I'm afraid that I will change my mine, I'm afraid that circumstances will change, I'm afraid that decision I make will change the path of the rest of my life. (Me? Dramatic? Never!) As such, even if I have made a decision, I keep it to myself in case things fall apart, or I change my mind (as has been known to happen) and as such I spend a lot of time thinking of the "What ifs".

At the same time there were things that were stopping me finally making my decision. Certain aspects of working here are unbelievably frustrating. We are the only all-female department. Add to that that we are all expats and quite young and it can be very difficult to get people to take us seriously. Then you have our bosses in South Africa who only seem to contact us when they have a problem with something we are doing (even when we ask for help). And then you add the whole being in Africa thing. I miss my friends and family, I miss cheese and wine and chats over coffee.

Where to?

And then certain things cross my mind. There are so many countries in the world I want to visit. I want to spend time travelling Asia, I want to go back and explore Argentina in depth, I want to visit New Zealand and I want to stand in front of Victoria falls. I want to visit Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, Rome and Munich. I want to watch the ball drop in Times Square for New Years and I want to see the Great Wall of China. I want to live in London and in Asia somewhere. The only problem is I have these grand plans but not the time to do everything.

 I know I am only 26 but at the back of my mind is that I want to get married at some point. How am I supposed to meet the love of my life if I'm moving around the world constantly. I have spoken to friends about this and "society" means we should settle down, get a permanent, sensible job, start a pension and get married. And obviously I want that (and in the case of the pension, NEED that) but there are so many other things that I want to do and see before I stay in one place. This was something that was at the back of my mind while I was debating what to do with my life! (Again, dramatic much).

After many evenings thinking of my options and making pros and cons lists, I kept coming back to one thing, I like my life here. I really like teaching, I have a good group of friends here and I get to spend at least half of my weekends at the lake. Sometimes life can be isolating and there is no doubt that, as a mzungu, you can't do as much as sneeze without the whole of Mzuzu knowing but at the end of the day, I'm settled here. As a very wise friend said to me "Those annoying things, can they be ignored easily?" and when I thought about it, they could and I concentrated on the positives.

I'm very lucky to have an unbelievably supportive family who don't think I'm (TOO) crazy and who now think nothing of me popping home and saying "I'm moving to Africa" or "I'm not coming home for another year" and for that I am grateful. I have fantastic friends scattered all around the world who I can keep in contact with through the wonders of facebook and the world is getting smaller everyday.

So all that's left to say is, who's coming to visit????

Quote for the day: "We are the choices we make, and we are the chances we take, no one else. We make our future with our actions, good or bad is all in our hands"- Unknown

Climbing to the roof of Africa

From the 1st of February I took a 3 week holiday and went to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro, go on safari and gorge on seafood on Zanzibar.

I've been asked why I decided to climb Kilimanjaro. My answer is generally "why not?" Africa is a continent that pushes you out of your comfort zone, a continent where you can challenge yourself, swim with great white sharks, bungee jump at Victoria Falls, white water raft on the Nile, stand 5 feet from mountain gorillas and climb the highest non-technical climb in the world. So after 7 months of working hard I decided to cross some items off my bucket list.

My first view of Kili

 Travelling independently in Africa is not the easiest of tasks, local transport is what you use and let me be honest, the buses have definitely seen better days.And so when I was getting on an 18 hour bus from Mbeya (near the Malawian border) to Moshi (in the  north of Tanzania), I knew at the very least it would take 20 hours, I knew my ass would be numb for most of the time and I knew I would have to carefully watch my water intake so as not to be caught short on a bus with no toilet. After an mini argument with the bus conductor (he wanted me to pay for my baggage), the bus left Mbeya at 5:40am! I finally arrive in Moshi at 10:30 pm and find that the hotel I wanted to stay in was full. So across the road I pop to Kilimanjaro Backpackers where I had to wake up a Maasai man to let me in!

Next morning I venture into Moshi town in the hope of organising a climb to Kilimanjaro. I spent the day traipsing around before deciding to climb with Kili climbers (a combination of free gear rental (normally runs to about $100) and them being one of the cheapest swung it for me). And so off I venture to Haria Hotel for a Kili (beer) and to watch the sunset over the mountain I would attempt to climb! So my preparation for my climb was a beer and an Indian dinner the night before.

Home for 5 nights!

And so, off I trot the next morning to meet the people who would be accompanying me on the most physically demanding thing I will ever likely attempt! So Chris, Yves, Raj and I started out to trek the Macheme Route to Uhuru peak, 5 days up, one day down. After a stop to collect all the gear we arrived at the Macheme gate where we had lunch while we waited for the guides to sort out our registration. Shortly after 2pm we set out.

Ready for off!

 Today was the longest day (distance wise), we covered 11km and rose 4,000ft in altitude but it was really enjoyable. We were walking through rain forest and spotted monkeys en route. The cover from the overhead canopy was a welcome break from the heat but as we rose in altitude you could feel the subtle change in temperature. As we arrived at our first camp, Macheme camp, the sun was setting and it was definitely time to don a jacket. Dinner, a briefing on the following day and some tea to warm the bones, we all fell into our tents to rest for the following day.

Sunset from Macheme Camp

Day two began at 8:00 when we started off from camp and started climbing. We exited the rainforest area pretty soon after setting off and entered the moorland area. Much colder, scrambling over rocks and wandering through clouds. I genuinely felt like we were the only people around as we left later than other groups to avoid the crowds. As the clouds rolled in and you could only see a few feet in front of you, I felt like I was an explorer discovering new territory with my hiking poles and my backpack.  After being told that we were "30 mins" from camp at least 4 times over the space of 2 hours we arrived, tired, cold and looking forward to some hot soup for lunch! Later that afternoon we went for an acclimatization walk. Basically a half an hour up high and then back down- the mantra for avoiding altitude sickness being climb high, sleep low. Over the course of the day we climbed another 1000m and a total of 9km over 4 hours.

View of the Peak from Shira camp

Ya, I'll just carry my shit on my head. 

Day three we had a lie in. We didn't leave until 8:30. At this point the peak was getting closer but still bloodyfar away! We entered the "alpine desert" area. The whole area looked like a space scene, very little olants but lots of rocks, BIG ones that you have to dodge. It was a gradual incline until the Macheme route joined with the Lemosho route to ascend towards the Lava Tower at 4,800m. It was en route to Lava Tower that the Irish climber was killed when struck by lightening (R.I.P). The ascent to Lava Tower was tiring and difficult. At this point the lack of oxygen was really taking effect and with every breath I constantly had to remind myself to slow down my breathing and take deep breaths. Combine this with a constant up hill climb and you can imagine how happy I was to make it to Lava Tower. It meant lunch and a rest! After lunch and a pee break(!) we set off again, downhill this time. As we descended more, we saw more vegetation including the senecio kilimanjari, a plant (kinda looks like a non spikey, very tall cactus) that is only found on Kilimanjaro. After 2 hours descending we arrived at the Barranco camp which is a whole 140m higher than where we had slept the previous night! A bit disheartening but as the guide explained, the ascent to Lava Tower was important to avoid altitude sickness. From the Barranco hut, the peak looked just a few short walks away. It felt like you could reach out and touch it. We also got our first glimpse of Barranco Wall, the infamous scramble up a pretty much vertical rock face.

Climbing up Barranco Wall

And so day 4 began with this scramble up. It was quite fun. Felt like proper rock climbing. At this point I developed a WHOLE new level of respect for the porters. They scramble up this wall with 20kg ON THEIR HEADS!  I mean really! Who does that. And they still managed to pass me by! After a brief rest at the top, we started to descend again. Up and down and up and down for about 2 hours until we got to the last fresh water source and started to ascend to our lunch at Karanga camp. At this point I would have eaten my own hand. After a lunch of chicken and chips and soup we set off to ascend the last 1,000m to base camp (Baru) at nearly 4,700m. This part of the climb was eerie. It was like a moonscape, ascending through dense fog for about an hour before a nice break of about 1km of flat and ascending once again to camp. At this point I just wanted to collapse into my tent and sleep. Dinner and bed asap for the midnight start.

Sunrise from (nearly) Stella Point

Up at midnight and after a snack of biscuits and slamming a cup of coffee, we trundled off into the pitch black. It was so surreal to see a line of head torches going up the side of the mountain. Freezing cold, finding it hard to take deep breaths and climbing, climbing constantly made for frequent breaks and a very cranky Fiona. As the sun started to come up we were nearly at Stella Point but we couldn't power on the last 200m to get there for sunrise. At this point I was really considering if I could make it all the way to Uhuru peak, I just could not keep walking for more than a minute without a break and while my mind just wanted to push on, my body was rejecting that idea! Making it to Stella point was an achievement at this stage and I'm not going to lie, I considered giving up. However Good Luck and Oscar convinced me otherwise and I'm so grateful for that.
 From Stella Point to Uhuru Peak is relatively flat but any little incline caused me to lose my breath, my body was screaming out for a reprise and I was so frustrated that things were so difficult. There were tears at times. The really nice thing is people on their descent say words of encouragement as they pass you "Not far now", "It'll be worth it when you get there" and with Oscar encouraging me every step of the way I eventually made it to the roof of Africa at 8:20am! The sense of achievement was phenomenal  I doubted myself so much in the previous 2 hours that to make it to the peak was overwhelming. Looking around at the glaciers and ice sheets it's hard to believe that you are in Africa, a mere 200 miles from the equator. After a short stay at the top we made our way back to Stella point to descend back to base camp for a nap and lunch before moving on down the mountain again. Unfortunately, as we ascended I got ill and had a pretty bad last day on the mountain but nothing could over shadow the sense of accomplishment.

This was without a doubt the most physically and mentally demanding thing I have ever done and am possibly ever likely to do. Without encouragement I would have turned back, my body was not doing what my mind wanted it to do but I took it one step at a time (sometimes literally one step, break, another step, break) and made it!

Making it back to Moshi and having a long over due shower was a little slice of heaven. I met up with Sara for a beer (which I promptly threw up, I'm telling you a bug) and went back to my hotel watched a movie and feel asleep at 8:30!

 Quote for the day: "Never set limits, go after your dreams, don't be afraid to push boundaries. And laugh a lot, it's good for you." Paula Radcliffe

Apologies

I have been neglecting my blog of late and for that I apologise! However I'm going to say not many people noticed.

Why did I disappear off the blogosphere, one might ask if one was bothered. Well to be honest I have no answer. I have LOADS to write about, the students are not back on campus yet, so I'm not even teaching and my evenings have been pretty free. So, the only logical conclusion is that I am ridiculously lazy. For that I apologise profusely.

So what have I been up to? Well, I took a 3 week holiday to Tanzania during which I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, spent 4 days on safari and lounged in the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean off the coast of Zanzibar.  (There will be blog posts to follow)

In work, we've been trying to get the pesky admin stuff done, including very annoyingly, trying to sort out my temporary employment permit (which I initially applied for 7 months ago) which has been lost by Immigration and also we have been gearing up to open our Academic Vision Centre, the first of it's kind in Africa. So despite the students not being around, we are being kept busy.

I have had time to have fun with good friends. I'm writing this after a mammoth weekend with my Mzuzu family watching movies, drinking beer and generally living in each others pockets for 3 days. I look at these times and remember how lucky I am.

However I do promise to get at least 2 blog posts about my Tanzania adventures up this week (going to be tough).

Quote for the day: "Get busy living, or get busy dying" Stephen King

Christmas in Malawi

So, is there snow in Africa this wintertime? What do people eat? Do they celebrate Christmas at all? For all these answers and more, continue reading*
*may or may not all be answered

So I decided to spend Christmas in Malawi. Many of you may have heard of my other possibilites which were Zanzibar/ Zambia but in the end I decided that since I couldn't leave Mzuzu until the 22nd of Dec going anywhere too far would result in undue stress in trying to arrive before Christmas Eve.


And so after postponing my departure from Mzuzu due to a Carlsberg induced decision until Sun the 23rd, I strapped on my backpack and Sanchia and I left on the Axa bus at 7am for Lilongwe. Now for those of you unfamiliar with Malawi, Lilongwe is the capital, appromiately 4 1/2 hours drive from Mzuzu. Once we arrived in Lilongwe we had a quick lunch before we parted ways- Sanchia to spend a night before flying home for Christmas, me to walk to the local bus station and catch a minibus to Monkey Bay. After about another 4 hours on a crowded minibus (transportation in Malawi is a whole other blog post), stopping so people can buy onions and mangoes, I arrived in Monkey Bay sweaty and craving a cold beer and a shower. Here I met up with Kat (who came armed with a cold, open beer) and we went to Mufasa's Monkey Bay. It's a "rustic" camp so no electricity and when I arrived the water had run out so thoughts of a shower were put to the back of my mind and setting up my tent became the priority before it got dark. 10mins and a beer later the tent was up but it turns out it had a bit of a battering in a previous life and now resembled a teepee! Kat and I gave up and headed to the bar to finish a box of wine! Next morning due to my tent resembling a sauna I was up at 5am! I lay on a hammock (I do love a hammock) and watched as baboons stole food from the kitchen. If only I hadn't left my camera in the tent.

The following day we all decided to go to Cape Maclear. Cape Mac is the southern version of Nkhata Bay. A backpacker's paradise with a long beach dotted with lodges and beach bars. Getting to Cape Mac can be a bit of an issue as no mini buses go there. Your options are a share taxi from Monkey Bay, a matola or a motorbike taxi. As Tennus, the owner of Mufasa's, and a few of us were going to Cape Mac we got a matola to come pick us, 10 crates, 5 tents and approx 15 people up. This did not stop the driver trying to pile more people into this rickty old pick up. So much so that it struggled to make it up the hills and we had to pile out!

Breakfast on Christmas day

Once we got set up and tents erected, to the bar. It was Christmas Eve after all. Now having spent a previous Christmas in Sydney, I have experienced hot weather at this time of year. This does not mean I will ever get used to it. To me Christmas is fires, wooly jumpers, scarfs, hot whiskeys, Baileys coffees, chats with the neighbors and a big roast dinner. This year I spent Christmas Eve barefoot at a beach bar,drinking cold beers and laughing with the local beach boys. It was also the first year I did not go to Mass at Christmas. Christmas morning broke and we celebrated with a full English and some Buck's fizz. Start as we mean to go on. Later that day we took a boat trip to a point in Lake Malawi National Park called Otter's point. It is basically a big area of rocks and deep water, cue lots of rock jumping. We had beers, music and snacks. A great afternoon. Christmas dinner was a tad different to what I've had before: Pizza, fish and chips and a roast pork dinner. Don't worry, not all for me. Kat, Justin and I shared.

Mufasa's beach bar.

Christmas dinner

Another day at Cape Mac and one final day at Monkey Bay before beginning my long journey north for New Year's.











Getting from Monkey Bay to Lilongwe was a chore. For future reference, the minibuses leave Monkey Bay for Lilongwe before 7am, so, if like me, you show up at 10:30am, it's a tad more difficult. The journey involved a private taxi, a matola and a minibus. Don't ask!

When I arrived at Mufasa in Lilongwe, craving a shower and a cold beer, I was greeted with a power outage. I nearly cried. However, the lovely receptionist informed me that there was still water and I had the nicest shower I've had since I got to Malawi! Then the next day after a bit of an issue with a possibile non availability of space on the bus, I made it back to Mzuzu and was never as happy to see my little house!

And so to answer the questions:
-There was no snow in Africa this Christmas time (well in Malawi at least)
-As Malawi is a mainly Christian country, Christmas is a big deal here. However, as the country is so poor, Christmas is not about presents and fancy dinners. According to any Malawian's I spoke to, it's about spending time with your family and being thankful for what you have. Sometimes we forget about that in the commercial aspect of Christmas and it was refreshing to be reminded of it.
-What do people eat? Why the same as always, nsima. Walking down the street in Cape Maclear, it seems that the dinner on Christmas is a community thing. Pots of food being cooked and lots of families sharing the food.

Quote for the season: "Christmas....... is not an external event at all, but a piece of one's home that one carries in one's heart." Freya Stark.

Happy Christmas

Yet  another Christmas away from home and I want to say a huge

-Merry Christmas
-Nollaig Shona (Irish)
-Christmas iweme (Tumbuka)
-Christmas yamampha (Tonga)
-Joyeux Noel (French)
-Maligayang Pasko (Phillipines)
- Feliz Navidad (Spanish)

Remember Christmas is not easy for everyone
- Smile at a stranger
-Say Happy Christmas to a shop assistant
-Think of those less fortunate
-Treasure your family and friends

but most of all have fun.

See you all in the New Year.

12 pubs of Mzuzu

Whenever I find myself away from home at Christmas, there are certain things that help me through the festive season. Certain traditions I bring from home. Surrounding myself with good people, eating way too much food, having a tree and listening to Christmas songs and of course, the ever traditional "12 pubs of Christmas".

Pub one!

Ah the 12 pubs. A tradition that involves groups of people dressing up in the tackiest Christmas jumpers they can find and having an alcoholic beverage at 12 different establishments over the course of the day. Few will make all 12 venues without faltering. With this in mind, the 12 pubs of Mzuzu was born. As Elaine's second last weekend in Malawi and the weekend after my birthday it was really a triple celebration. And so, the facebook event was set up, a route was drawn up, and our very own "12 days of Christmas" song was composed. And so the countdown began!

Pub2

We had Ciara and her friends travelling up from Lilongwe for the 12 pubs, Jay travelling down from Karonga, Ross and Cam coming from near Nkhata Bay, Melissa from Chinteche and Josh from Mzimba.

Malawians getting on board

I won't bore you with a blow-by-blow account of the day but some of the highlights include: an epic water fight with two French Canadian children, slap shots in the forecourt of a filling station, carol singing while walking the streets, people bedecked in tinsel, Malawians looking VERY confused and then wanting to be part of our group and dancing in the Zoo to Mmmmmbop at 3am. As Ross put it, "It was the best day I've ever had in this country", and he's been here for 16 months!

 Needless to say the following day involved very little: lounging on Elaine's lawn while Jay made breakfast, watching "The Dark Knight Rises" at Sara's and falling asleep to Skyfall! Monday also got off to a slow start with Sara, Elaine and I all showing up at least an hour late for work. A great weekend by all accounts and one that will become an annual event!





Quote of the  day: "The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends." Shirley MacLaine

Livingstonia trip

As one of her last weekends in Malawi Elaine wanted to visit Livingstonia. It was also somewhere I wanted to go and on Friday the 23^rd of November we headed off.

So what is Livingstonia and why did we want to visit? Livingstonia was the third site of Dr Robert Laws’ mission which was set up in memory of Dr Livingstone. The first two sites were on the lake shore and they were plagued by malaria so they decided to move to Livingstonia which is 900m higher than the lake. Some of the original stone buildings, built in 1894, are still in use. Why would we want to visit what seems, for all intents and purposes, to be a living museum. From what we had heard Livingstonia is set in possibly one of the most scenic areas of Malawi. There is also a trek from the lakeshore to Livingstonia, 15km, rising 900m in altitude, consisting of 20 bends in a very windy road and some very “interesting” shortcuts. Challenge accepted!

Add in a 100l drum and another 5 people
 and a goat and then we left!

Our trip started by getting a minibus to Chitimba (MK1,600). This in itself was an adventure. We sat in the minibus for an hour and a half in the bus station, being offered everything from questionable meat on a stick, incense, live mice, pots and toothpaste. After the bus was full to the brim we started to leave the bus station, but of course we packed on another 3 people who ran alongside the bus! Chitimba is about 3 hours north of Mzuzu on the lakeshore. En route we saw lots of wild baboons and the views are amazing. Once you reach the bottom of the escarpment, you can smell the lake in the air. The air is warmer but full of moisture. Unfortunately due to our delay at the bus station and the bus driver deciding to stop every 5km, we didn’t reach Chitimba until nearly 8pm. Chitimba beach camp was recommended, it lies 1km outside of Chitimba, 5mins walk down a dirt track. Similarly to Kande, it’s very popular with overlanders due to it’s huge shaded campsites. Elaine and I were famished and our first thought turned to food. You can imagine our disappointment when we were told that the cook had left for the night. Despite our pleadings for some bread and eggs (that we would cook ourselves) the owner was not in the helping mood. A helpful guy from one of the overlanders asked what we needed and we said “bread, eggs, anything”. 5mins later he returned with his friend and 2 plates of lasagne and salad. Needless to say he was our favourite person of the day. And so we had a few beers with them before retiring to our dorm for the night. Next morning was to be an early start.

Yup, we're going up there!

Sunrise over the lake

Everyone who has done the hike to Livingstonia has said “Start early to avoid the heat” and as such, alarm went off at 5:30 and out the door by 5:50. We walked the 1km to Chitimba road block where we bought some essentials for the trip (water and custard creams) and started up the dirt road to Livingstonia. I’m not going to lie to you, it’s not an easy hike. It’s quite steep but there are a lt of shortcuts. Lots of the guidebooks recommend avoiding the shortcuts, as they are steep, but to be honest there was only a couple of occasions that necessitated scrambling on hands and knees. The short cuts dramatically reduce the hike length. With multiple pauses to admire the view, one pause to buy some mangos from some kids and a biscuit pause, we stopped for a break after about an hour. Over the course of the hike we met numerous villagers en route to Chitimba to sell their produce (mangoes and tomatoes mostly). These people I have respect for. They were doing the hike downhill with HUGE baskets full of fruit on their heads. If that isn’t an incentive to sell all your produce, I don’t know what is.

FINALLY!

View from 3/4 of the way up

We continued on, thanking our lucky stars that it was overcast, while at the same time hoping that the sun would break through when we got to Lukwe so we could appreciate the famed view. Another hour and a half and another 6 or 7 shortcuts, we reached a relatively flat road and knew there was another 3-5km left. After about 1.5km we came across the sign for The Mushroom Farm. Approximately 1km later, including a mango stop, we reached Lukwe and started down the dirt road into the lodge. Here I apologised to Elaine for my constant bitching on the hike and we clapped ourselves on the back for completing this epic hike in just under 3 hours. At this stage there was no doubt in our minds that we deserved the “full English” breakfast. As we walked into Lukwe’s restaurant/bar are discussing this, the first thing we heard was “Dia dhuit”. We met Luke, a guy from Donegal, who had been cycling from Ethopia and was in Malawi for a month before returning to Ireland for Christmas. Us Irish really do get everywhere! As we were eating breakfast, the clouds rolled off and the true view revealed itself. I would not be exaggerating when I say we were speechless. No words or photos can do it justice. Luckwe is situated on the edge of a V-shaped valley covered in forest with a view all the way down to the lake. With Lake Malawi shimmering in the distance, we could really appreciate the distance we had come.

View from the top of the waterfall

Elaine and I admiring the view

Look at the size of the mushroom!

Boosted by our feed and several cups of Lukwe’s home grown coffee we (the Irish contingent) set off to explore the waterfalls. The Manteche waterfall falls for 125m into the valley below Livingstonia. The trail to the waterfalls is pretty easy to find, just continue walking towards Livingstonia and there is a booth that says “Waterfalls”. Convenient eh? So after a MK300 payment we were accosted by some local kids who offered to guide us. Along the way the picked up what is, to date, the largest mushroom I have ever seen which of course they proceeded to pose with. They took us to the top of the waterfall, behind the waterfall and to a ledge that looked over the valley all the way to the lake! Our last stop was a little pool where we could get in and swim. Bliss as the clouds has cleared and the temperature was rising!

Elaine looks happy, I look like I'm
being killed!

Church in Livingstonia

Not content with our hiking that morning we decided to continue on to the town of Livingstonia, further up the mountain. En route we stopped for a drink and proceeded to, all three of us, be beaten at bao by some locals! Another shortcut through some people's back yards and we were in Livingstonia town. First thing on our minds was food. We found a lovely little cafe in the main square near the University but the only food they could offer was scones. After scones and tea, and me buying the cutest earrings ever (proceeds of the cafe went to an orphanage so it was a good investment), and a discussion as to how there are no restaurants in town(!) we set off to see the sights. The buildings in the town are very pretty, It really reminded me of a British colonial town (which, essentially, it is). The Stone House was the only place in town where we "might" get food. It also hosts the museum and has accommodation. Here we had a mountain of beef stew, read a book about bee keeping and decided to climb the bell tower of the church. Views from the church are amazing. You can see up to Nyika plateau, down to the lake and all around the Valley. Highly recommended.

Stained glass depicting Dr Robert Laws' arrival

I mean really?

We set off back to Lukwe and ended up having a conversation with some local school teachers about how the women do all the hard work in Malawi. After Elaine saying "If you were in Ireland, you would carry the heavy baskets and work the fields", they laughed, a lot. The women here carry HUGE baskets full of food on their head, while carrying children. I see them working the fields AND they are responsible for the house. What do the men do we asked? "They make the money"- apparently! After arriving back at Lukwe, a beer was well earned, after all Elaine and I had been walking for the best part of 12 hours! By about 10pm we were WRECKED and retired to our little chalet. A lovely wooden chalet perched on the edge overlooking the valley. Surrounded by trees and we drifted off to sleep to the sound of birds and monkeys. We woke the next morning and found that an opportunistic monkey had eaten one of Elaine's mangos. However as we stepped outside to follow the trail of peel, the view took over. I could have sat there all day on the terrace.

I'm not really sure how
I thought pineapples grew
but this wasn't it!

Before we left we paid a visit to Lukwe's permaculture garden with the owner Ock. Listening to him talking about how he started and his plans for the future was refreshing. He has a real passion for his garden. The lodge is already run on solar power and he plans to introduce hydroelectricity to allow more power in the evenings. The gardens grow everything from coffee, to pineapples, to chillis. Their aim to be self sustainable is well underway. It really is an inspiration.

 It then became time to leave this haven. Luckily we got a life back to Mzuzu with some friends who drove up. Could not have faced the downhill hike and then hitching back to Mzuzu. Livingstonia, I will be back!

Quote of the day: "I think it's my adventure, my trip, my journey, and I guess my attitude is, let the chips fall where they may" Leonard Nimoy.