So, blog entry number one…

The week leading up to our departure was definitely not what I (Nic) expected after Rich asked me to marry him on Saturday morning. It is such a happy event and I was so pleased we were able to share it with our families and friends before we left. I would be lying if I said it was out of the blue as we purchased a ring earlier in the year, but I was led to believe the proposal would happen whilst we were away, so it definitely took me by surprise. A picture of the ring has been uploaded (following a request), but sensibly we have left it at home and I have a very nice £10 substitute.

The rest of the week went by very quickly, with lots more wedding chat than Rich (naïvely) envisaged. Before we knew it, we were at Heathrow saying a tearful goodbye to our parents.

Unfortunately our flight was delayed for almost 3 hours. The latter two of these were spent sat on the plane, with the flight attendants telling us every so often that it would be just another ten minutes (don't fly Egyptair). The delay meant we had to sprint across Cairo airport to make our connecting flight to Dar Es Salaam. Of course, this flight was then delayed for another hour, making our sprint a bit pointless.

We eventually arrived in Dar Es Salaam airport for an 8 hour wait for the connecting flight to Mbeya. Due to the wait, we were not allowed into the departure lounge for the first 5 hours, so this was spent on some metal seats where we took turns to nap whilst the other watched our bags. Although I have only been a 'traveller' for a couple of days, I can definitely see the advantage of being in a group.

We eventually arrived at the Utengule Coffee Lodge in Mbeya. After a much needed shower and some food, we slept for 13 lovely long hours. Our first proper day in Africa was spent chilling out by the pool and exploring the coffee plantation the lodge was situated on. Neither of us knew how coffee was grown so it was interesting to see the relatively short trees with fruit that looked like a combination of grapes and olives (see uploaded pictures). We sneakily picked one of the 'fruits' and there were two white coffee bean shaped seeds inside.

We are planning to cross the border into Malawi tomorrow and hopefully travel as far as Chitimba. It will be our first time on African public buses so it will definitely be an experience!

I hope the above is interesting. As we go, we'll probably learn what is good to blog about and what isn't! Feedback and questions from you (not work related) will be helpful.

Nic (& Rich)