We arrived to Mozambique in style, as we were lucky enough to catch a ride on a speed boat, which was leaving Likoma island for Cobue our first port of call in Moz. We had to sit back and relax in African time as we waited in Cobue for a lift on a truck (the only means of transport out of there). Luckily we were staying in a beach hut on the Lake so we made the most of the good weather and mingled with the locals. Due to the fact the immigration officer in Cobue was on holiday, we had to pay the local policeman a vist at his house and get a letter from him as confirmation we had arrived in Moz! After two nights of waiting for the truck we finally left and headed down to Metangula where we managed to get our offical entry stamp in to the country. From there we continued on the dirt road down to a town called Lichinga. This was the part of our jounrey which was long and uncomfortable as we slowly made our away across the country towards the coast.One of our most memorable and uncomfotable jouneys so far has been from Lichinga to Cuamba. After waiting 2 hours for the minibus to leave we eventually headed off on a supposedly main road, which was actually a dirt road with potholes and lots of other obstacles. The driver flew over the bumps and holes and unfortunately over a goat which he killed and sped off quickly much to the dismay of the herdsman. We arrived in Cuamba with very sore bums and covered from head to toe in red dust! 
After 2 nights of stopping in this small town we got a 12 hour train ride at 5am to Nampula. This was a more enjoyable and comfortable journey as we looked out the windows watching the locals go about their day to day life. Every time the train stopped we were mobbed by people trying to sell their local produce which ranged from garlic to bananas. People would exchange the produce and money through the window and as the train would soon depart the seller would be running alongside the train trying to catch their money in time.
After 2 nights of stopping in this small town we got a 12 hour train ride at 5am to Nampula. This was a more enjoyable and comfortable journey as we looked out the windows watching the locals go about their day to day life. Every time the train stopped we were mobbed by people trying to sell their local produce which ranged from garlic to bananas. People would exchange the produce and money through the window and as the train would soon depart the seller would be running alongside the train trying to catch their money in time. 
After a night in Nampula we headed straight to Ilha de Mozambique where we knew we had a relaxing and travel free 4 days ahead of us (plus Nats Birthday to celebrate). Known as Ilha to the locals this tiny island is very historic as it used to be the gateway and capital city to Mozambique. Due to the Portuguese colonialism since the 15th century the island has lots of fascinating architecture, which has now unfortunately been neglected. Although in the area of stone town, large colonial buildings still line the small quaint streets. We are staying in a sea view room, so we wake up to the smell of the sea air and the waves crashing against the rocks. We have walked around and explored the island, greeting the friendly locals with our very poor attempt at portuguese. 
We have met two swiss girls and a guy who have been fun to hang out with and spend the evening eating good food and chatting. I was lucky enough to celebrate my 26th Birthday in this idylic setting on Wednesday 14th. In the morning we went for a long, lazy breakfast and spent the day wandering around the small streets of the Island. In the evening we went out for dinner with our new Swiss friends to a rooftop restaurant and they even got me a small gift as they knew I was away from all my friends and family.So here we are sitting in front of the computer whilst being on this beautiful island, so its time for us to say goodbye until next time.
Love Nat and Kim xx
After bidding everyone at Open Arms farewell and wiping away the tears our first stop was in Liliongwe where we stayed with Julie and her family whom we met during our first stint in Malawi. After a weekend of relaxing and great hospitality, Julie and Hugh gave us the use of their car in return for taking some building materials up to Luwawa where there having a cottage built at the Lodge. It was fantastic to see all the staff at Luwawa whom we'd made friends with, but soon found out there were lots of departures, including our feathered friends, Kim and Natalie the chickens, who were taken by one of the staff members who left under dubious circumstances!
The next part of our journey is where our travel adventure truely began. We made our way to a small town along Lake Malawi called Nkhotakota where we waited until 3am for the Ilala Ferry to arrive. Along with lots of other Malawians and half of their worldly belongings, we waited onthe beach in the middle of the night. In the distance we saw the ferry lights and due to there not being a jetty we waited for smaller boats to collect us and take us to the ferry. With our backpacks on we waded in to the Lake and leaped on to the boat and finally got on the ferry by 4am. Our tickets were for 'deck class' which enabled us to sleep on the top deck of the boat under the stars.
After watching the beautiful mozambique scenary we arrived at Likoma Island 12 hours later, and although the island is nearer to Mozambique it is still considered part of Malawi. This is probably the most beautiful part of the lake we'd seen with the typical postcard image of paradise. We stayed in a beach chalet with a view overlooking the lake and spent our time relaxing on the beach, went snorkelling and saw the various types of local fish. On one of the days we decided to head over to the local town and ended up losing our way and by accident exploring half the island in the midday heat (only we could get lost on an island!!). It was soon time to tear ourselves away from this gorgeous, tranquil place and leave Malawian soil as our visas were about to expire.