7 quick takes about our week in civilisation

This picture serves to give you a better idea of the terrible circumstances I was in when I wrote this blog. 😝

1. There were COLD drinks, real Italian food, shops with trolleys and unlimited internet. We walked kilometers a day, saw a gazilion shops (that all sold the same things) and have a much better idea of what we can and cannot buy in Mzuzu, our shopping town. We met amazing people, slept in interesting and beautiful places and had too much food. And now the week is over. It's Saturday evening, the girls are sleeping, the bags are packed and we are ready to leave civilisation to go back to our house in the middle of nowhere. One more cold drink, one more sleep with the sounds of cars and radios in the background and we will go. The boat leaves tomorrow at 7 and we better be there because it will not wait.

2. Last week I wrote that we would go to Usisya to get to know 'the German lady' but plans are never set in stone and they always change. Danni (that German lady) was also in Mzuzu and we decided that it would be better if we would go to her place in a few weeks. The plan is to take the boat to Usisya and to hike back. It is about 20 kilometers which sounds very doable but the terrain is very rough so we will most probably do it in two days. We will take loads of notes and pictures on the way so that we can design a nice downloadable guide to make it easier for people to do the hike. The plan is to do the same a few weeks later for a place more up north. That hike is 3 to 4 days so we need to plan a bit better but we are ready for the adventure.

3. 'Whoa, so many cars!' Kids are resilient and adapt quickly to new circumstances but with this comment Doris proved just how quickly she adepted to her new world. A world without roads and cars. It had only been a few weeks but when we stepped of the ferry in Nkatha Bay and Doris saw about 5 cars that were parked in the harbor she was amazed and she even found the hooting and noises a bit scary. Fortunately it did not take long for her to get used to it again. I definitely did not expect her to forget about cars that quickly.

4. Spelling of things and especially names are not something that comes very precise here. I have seen people give different spelling variations of their own name. It makes it easy because you cannot really make mistakes but it is also a cause for confusion. One of the things that I wanted to buy in Mzuzu were spices and I had heard that I could get them at 'Tutras', but when I was looking for it I could not find a shop with that name. I did however find a shop called 'Tutla's' and that was indeed the one I was looking for. The 'r' and the 'l' are completely interchangeable here and it does not really matter which letter you use in most cases. It is even so bad that I have started to introduce Doris as 'Dolis' in the village because that way most of the people pronounce it right.

5. One thing that I will remember from Mzuzu is the rain. It rained most of the day, every day that we were there. The red dirt roads changed into sticky, seas of umbrellas and muddy streams and everywhere were new 'rivers' that we had to dodge. We became expert cloud watchers to see when the rain would stop. We do not have a car so we had to walk everywhere and walking is just a little nicer when it is kind of dry.

6. Sophie likes games a lot. One of the favourite games when we are traveling is 'I spy', but it is not easy to win from her. Sophie: 'I spy, I spy with my little eye something that starts with a b'. I: 'A ball? A bus? A building?' Sophie: 'No, a banana'. I: 'but there are no bananas here'. Sophie: 'No, it was an imaginary fake banana in my head.'

7. It's time to go to bed. I have become a real granny and anything after 9 is way too late for me. We always joke that 9pm is Zulunkhuni Midnight and we rarely make it until after 'midnight'. I am looking forward to go home tomorrow, to unpack our bags, to wash our clothes (that are all muddy and damp from the Mzuzu rain) and to cook some good dishes with all the ingredients I bought. Have a great Sunday! Xx

We love the big avos at the market.

The market in Nkatha Bay.

This is not our boat and I am very happy about that! This boat comes from Likoma Island, an Island in the middle of lake Malawi and it is filled with people and fish.