As if the journey to Malawi wasn’t long enough, from the border I had to take the bus to the junction of chitimba and livingstonia to get a pick up ride up the hill to my accommodation, the mushroom farm!

I had read that the matutu was going to be 2,500-3,500 kwachas so I was ready for it. The guys started asking me for 5,000 so I said no, I said 3,000 but gave the guy 4,000 since I didn't  have 3,000 and he didn't want to give me any change. After a lot of back and forth I got back 500... decided to just leave it at that although it was super annoying!

I started my journey and noticed that around 80% of the people on the streets were riding bikes and that almost all women were carrying babies on their back! The more we drove the more I saw how many babies there were in Malawi! It's insane! At times I saw kids carrying babies in their back and I hoped the babies were siblings and not their own.

The mini bus ride took FOREVER! First of all there were at least 10 police stops on the road just checking for God knows what. I was sitting in the front so most of them asked me where I was from, where I was going, and where I was coming from. The first police man even said to me: "money" to give him a bribe... who do they think they are?!? Ahhh, I hate corruption!

The bus stopped not only on the street but in Karonga where it went into a village to pick up people. This was Pole pole to another level!

So pole pole that we waited for more than an hour in karonga to fill the bus. It was a horrible competition between all the matutus to get people in. They would ride around in circles, 20 bus guys harassed customers, grabbed their bags, and talked over each other to get the customer, it was madness! Way too many minibuses and too little people going to mzuzu!

One thing that I noticed was that transportation was so expensive in Malawi compared to Tanzania. A 2hr bus ride in Malawi is around $3.50 and in Tanzania it was $1.30, a big difference when you are watching your money!

Finally at 12:50pm I arrived at the Livingstonia intersection and had to wait for a pick up truck to come and give me a ride up the dirt road to the mushroom farm. Two friends I know had gone to the mushroom farm; one took a pick up truck and another one walked up, but she said she almost died... I prayed for a truck!

As soon as I arrived a local guy told me that in the evening it was hard to get a pick up truck going up, I looked at him and said "it's only 1pm" he still said that that was the evening but I told him I was hopeful. Plus, I had read in the lodge's website that it could take between 5 mins and up to 3+hours to get a truck. I started praying and within 40 minutes a pick up truck showed up. Maybe the truck would have come if I didn't pray but I like to believe that God hears my prayers! Haha

The local who I had been talking to ran to the pick up truck to see if I could get a spot, I grabbed my bag and jumped in the back.

The pick up owner made me pay 2,500 kwachas although the locals paid only 1,500. Most of the time I think it's unfair travelers get to pay more but this time I felt it was ok, I was taking the spot of a local who now didn't fit in the truck and wasn't bringing goods to his village.

The way up to the mushroom farm was hands down my worst ride yet! I was in the back of the truck, it was so bumpy! I jumped up and down, I screamed a lot out of reflex and entertained the locals with the many faces I made. The ride was entertaining, all the locals talked to me and asked if I was studying or married... notice my only two options! I lied about my age because I didn't want to hear their judgement about me not being married or having kids.

The view going up was amazing, we could see lake Malawi and the beautiful landscape but with all the jumping around it was hard to actually enjoy the view. Now I understand why Africans have more padding in the behind, it's definitely to cushion all these bumpy roads!

During the ride up petrol spilled all over, people stepped on each other's feet, the back of the truck opened and a lady almost fell off the truck, it was really quite the ride! After an hour in the truck jumping up and down I finally made it to the mushroom farm but I could barely walk! 

I said goodbye to my friends in the truck and walked down the drive way to the beautiful lodge!!! I had finally arrived at the mushroom farm and in all honesty I was so pleased with what I saw! 

I have arrived!

The mushroom farm (not an actual farm but the name was given by locals because during rainy season a lot of mushrooms grow on the property) is an eco lodge running on solar power and feeding its guests from their permaculture garden on site.

I waked down to the lodge and was greeted by very nice staff who showed me around and took me to my dorm with an amazing view of lake Malawi from the door.

The reception/ Bar

My dorm

The view!

I was exhausted from the travels and especially the pick up ride up the hill. I smelled like petrol from the bottles in the back of the truck spilling all over and when I got out my camera it turned out the lens broke on the way up from all the bumpiness and the petrol got into my bag ruining some of my clothes... not a good start but I had to just let go and believe that it would work itself out.

I was so pleased to see that even with no power up in the lodge the showers had hot water and good pressure 24/7. My favorite part of the lodge (apart from the view) was the compost toilet! 

Compost Toilet!

The showers!

During my four days at the mushroom having no wifi other than 2 hours per day (and it was so bad I only could send a couple of whatsapp messages) I had no choice other to relax and it was exactly what I needed!

The amazing lounge area!

Every day I walked up to the laundry area and hand washed my clothes with the staff. It was nice to talk to them and get to know a little bit about their culture. In Malawi most people speak english so its nice that I could actually communicate with them.

Maybe the food was better than the compost toilet! The kitchen staff simply rocked!

On saturday some locals came and play lived music with their home made instruments, we had a great time listening to them and especially watching them dance!

The farm is up on a mountain with literally nothing but villages around so I went on a walk to check out the Malawian lifestyle.

I walked by myself through the dirt roads and was greeted by many many locals. Children are especially happy to see you and come to say "hello, how are you? I am fine, what's your name?" and try to walk with you. People don't harass tourists, if you say goodbye they actually leave you alone, they were very welcoming and made my walk pleasurable.

As I walked along the main road I was able to catch a glimpse of the lifestyle of the people in the villages and noticed that most of the houses are made of bricks and have a good foundation compared to the ones in Tanzania. I later found out that it's because the soil in Malawi is good for making bricks therefore people in villages can make them themselves.





I noticed that mostly the ladies do the hard work...  look at this picture... three woman carrying wood, one man carrying NOTHING!

Two kids playing Bao, the traditional board game of Malawi!

During my walk I especially loved seeing the children playing around in nature. 

Four days at the mushroom farm was exactly what I needed to relax and re charge my batteries. Plus the food was amazing!!!!