My bones creaked and my body yelped in pain as I rolled over and reached for my phone, but instead of the ghostly display satisfying my desire to know the exact hour at all times of day and night, I found only an inanimate piece of plastic. I then remembered, with the aid of the scratchy grass mat under me, that I was in Champiti, a rural village in central Malawi with no electricity, running water, or internet. I struggled to my feet, shrugged on a t-shirt and wandered outside. For everyone else it didn’t matter what the time was, the sun was rising so the day was beginning.
I stretched out the unfamiliar aches of sleeping on the floor and breathed in the untainted morning air. Gone was the frenetic hustle and bustle of the capital, the thick flavour of exhaust fumes, rotten produce, body odour and dried fish; the discordant melody of car horns, tinny music and people shouting their wares. Looking out I saw only a beautiful sunrise with rays piercing a growing cloud of dust as a little boy swept the dry ground, and heard only birds and the crackle of fire as breakfast was made. Now I felt free!
Most people travelling to Malawi head for the capital city, the magnificent Lake or a National Park, moving round in a gaggle of tourists pursued ceaselessly by locals wanting to sell their goods, or be your ‘best friend’. But most Malawians live a rural existence and it is here you experience the peace of simple living.
After breakfast we head out on the orange dirt paths through the village and into the hills. Unaccustomed to walking barefoot the small stones pinch, but the opportunity to really feel the earth makes me smile on through the pain and try to act like I am the same as my local friends. As we head up the Dzonzi peak the vista opens out and we can see small villages encased in rolling hills. Velvet monkeys crash through the trees and the tall grass pulsates with insects. We stop next to a pile of sticks and my friend Chisale explains that by adding a stick to this cairn you ensure that you will be fed on your return to the village. Not wanting to go hungry I eagerly throw on three. As we climb higher the lush vegetation makes the air cooler and the act of breathing feels like a detox. An overhanging rock crests the peak providing the perfect viewing platform. From here, looking out, the world seems at rest. It is strange to think that by removing yourself from ground level and being elevated to look down, the hive of activity that is life for humans and nature alike is concealed and replaced by a pace of movement more akin to a wind through the trees.
For me this is real relaxation, cut off from phones and social media, watching monkeys and birds in the trees, and listlessly wandering barefoot through the bush, now I feel like I’ve seen the real Malawi.
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