This weekend, Kyle and I returned from five days spent in beautiful Chintheche, which is about a five hour drive north of Lilongwe. This was the first vacation we have had just us since our honeymoon over two years ago!  It also happened to land right after the one year mark of living in Malawi.  To be honest, we were really feeling the need to get away and rest, especially after these past three months that were busier and more chaotic than normal.  When we were in South Africa last year, we met a nice woman named Mariette; she lives in the Netherlands, but has a house on Lake Malawi and also owns Samson's grandma. She invited us to stay at her house whenever we'd like.  We felt there was no better time to take advantage of her offer, as all we really wanted  was a peaceful place without a lot of people around. Her home provided the perfect space to rest and enjoy the company of just each other. 

We spent a lot of time out on the back porch, which overlooked a huge garden (what Americans would call a yard).  We could also spot fish eagles from here.

To get to the private beach, we just had to walk through the garden.  I have to say, I think lakes definitely trump oceans, especially Lake Malawi.  The green jungle-y forest runs right up to the sand making plenty of shade, the waves are small and the water doesn't make you sticky with salt, and there are some awesome boulders to climb.  It was so nice to be the only ones enjoying this beautiful beach.

Since Mariette breeds and loves Ridgebacks, she had no problem with us bringing the dogs along.  As the photos show, the dogs were in heaven.  Ruby had never been to the beach and was out-of-her-mind happy.