So it began with a stressful journey and ended with a warm shower, a cosy dorm, a friendly barman (Paul) and a tasty beer. It was the beginning of what would keep me here for the next two weeks or so. This place had such a good vibe that saw people from all walks of life and age groups, socialising and making travel plans together. The cosy hostel, once just a home, had that homely feeling with it's big fireplace, it's comforting food and the clientele they drew in every night and day.

The first night was the beginning of a trend! I hadn't mingled with this many travellers since Zanzibar and this was much needed after such a crazy last few days travelling. I met Christian that night, an older German man travelling by motorbike, due to meet his wife soon to continue his trip. The next day I met Renny, an older Welsh man who had the soul of a teenager and was always up for a few drinks at the bar, which even

led us to taste every kind of drink at the bar one of the nights I was here. Renny was like me and seemed to go with the flow, even missing his flight home from Capetown. There was a group of Germans volunteering with some local projects in the countryside, who occasionally came to stay here and gave me some great travel ideas and advice. Then there was Tijs and Elise from Holland, who were here researching for their Uni course and came to Mzoozoozoo occasionally on their time off to explore and do research work. We would end up going to Nkhata Bay together on a short trip.

At the heart of the hostel were two ginger kitty's, Luma(meaning bite) the puppy, Thoro the old soul doggy and John the doctor of metaphysics who ended up in Malawi somehow and is now the backbone of the hostel and is the funniest guy ever with his variety of tropical shirts. Paul and John work in sync to keep the hostel going and the more I stayed, the more everyone became like a little Mzuzu family. Most nights the locals came to drink at the bar and have food, so it wasn't long before I knew everyone by name. There was Ellen who lived down the street with her cute 6 month old baby Wanga (meaning mine in Chichewa) who warmed to me almost immediately. Every night someone new would come and it encouraged me not to leave and the more I got to know the 'family' here, the more I couldn't leave. It was one of these places that of I left, I would regret it, so I thought, why not stay and enjoy it. Enjoy the food, the laughs, the chats on the porch, sleeping in the caravan, playing with baby Wanga, having funny bar chats with Paul most evenings, and with Renny next to me on the bar stools.

Travelling is all about finding places like this, places that you will remember forever and finding souls that you were almost drawn to. It's inevitable that I will leave at some stage, possibly to go to Lilongwe and then to Zambia with Elise, but until then, I am loving every minute of my life and I love that at this very moment we couldn't be more like a family, playing scrabble around the fire, inside from the rain and drinking tea. I will never forget the comforting feeling that this place has given me.

I arrived in Mzuzu after a very stressful journey from Mbeya! I had originally booked a bus that would take me straight to Mzuzu and cost me around $20. I was told that I would leave from Mbeya to Karonga (the border of Malawi and Tanzania) and then there would be a bus there to pick me up to take me all the way to Mzuzu! Well from how the morning started, I should have known that this wouldn't go to plan. That morning I was escorted on a random bus going in the opposite direction, accompanied by the ticket seller who would take me to the other bus station. When we got there he put me on a medium sized bus which he said would take me to Karonga and then I would take the larger bus to Mzuzu! Well when I was told to get off the bus, a motorbike picked me up which I thought was a part of the deal, but in the end wasn't, and ended with a the driver demanding money which I didn't pay of course. Frustrated I went and changed money and headed through the border which was easy enough. When I got to the other side I showed my bus ticket and was told by everyone that this didn't exist in Malawi at all and that it was a scam. After all of this, I just wanted to get to Mzuzu, so I was taken to a place that had all the local Malawi mini buses. I guessed I was overcharged when I paid the mini bus towards the end of the journey, considering everyone laughed and paid less than me. I didn't care at this stage, for the sake of $7 I wanted to get to Mzuzu and eventually to a cool hostel Mzoozoozoo which id read about.

The bus journey there was rocky as expected but the lake views along the way were incredible. The tiny bus filled with at least 16 people each time and they would push us forward in the seats to make room for huge packages that seemed to be way to large for the small vehicle. But somehow in Malawian style, they fit, and even if they didn't, they tied the door shut. My backpack held on in the trunk, and saved itself from falling out many times. A little boy on his own, became my best friend on the journey as we gave each other thumbs up, hid from each other, pointed at the wild monkeys and ate some sweets.

When I finally got to Mzuzu I hopped straight in a taxi and headed for the countryside hostel Mzoozoozoo dubbed for being the kind of place that will change your plans maybe for a night or two...And that's how it began!