That happened the day after we’d been there. There was a device that exploded and shattered the glass of a tourist bus and as a result 25, South Africans I think, got really scared. There was a tiny, tiny bomb scare in Giza the following day after we went. I didn’t consider the heat that much.”īut what about the bad news? I asked her if she had any dicey experiences on her journey. I definitely went into it without analyzing things massively. It was my own fault as well, I didn’t have the appropriate clothing. You’re wearing a helmet and bike jacket and it’s very hot. By 5am the light would start to come up, by 6 the sun was over the horizon, and by 7 it was 38 degrees. We had to travel between 3 or 4 in the morning until 8 or 9 in the morning. By the end I was quite fed up of being on a motorbike! It was 47 degrees most of the time in Sudan. “From Southern Malawi where we started to the end in Alexandria, Egypt, was according to Google Maps, 7,962 km, close to 8,000 km. She would travel from Malawi to Egypt on a motorbike with her South African boyfriend for four months. This desire to find and share new narratives coincided with her decision to set off on a not so small overland adventure. That’s why I’m now trying to make travel writing work.” So I thought obviously my blog is all well and good, there’s probably 20 people reading it I don’t know, but let’s try to do something better than that. I guess in a way my little contribution, and this is something I am still working on, is trying to share these little stories as widely as possible. Whereas there are a million things happening in African countries that do not pertain to any of those categories. In the African context I think that’s even more important because most of what you see about the African narrative is poverty, dictatorships, terrorism, and immigration. Reports on real people living real lives. And I found that’s really what I wanted to do. I didn’t have a particular aim, I just wanted to share what I saw, what I experienced.

These quirky little stories, there are plenty of them out there. “I was going around finding stories to write on my blog. That’s the nickname the country has gotten.”Īfter basing herself in Malawi for 6 months, she began to look at what she really wanted to do longer term career-wise. Malawians themselves call Malawi ‘The Warm Heart of Africa’. There’s a real wanting to help out and making sure the guest has a good experience in Malawi. But it’s the first instance of widespread political violence since the end of the dictatorship in ‘94. Recently there have been a few bits of rioting and unrest around elections held in May and accusations of meddling with the results.

There is a lake, stunning mountains, loads of hikes, safari, and it is a lot cheaper than a lot of other African destinations because it is still very much off the radar. It helps that Malawi is an absolute gem of a place. It was the first place where I had that understanding. And so I think that’s why Malawi stayed in my heart so much. I knew it on a rational, intellectual level, but I learned it on an emotional level a lot more. To see that you were a tiny part of things. “I think actually stepping outside of Europe was massive. She had first visited Malawi in 2015 and it had changed her perspective entirely. She set herself up in a volunteer position for 6 months in Malawi with an organization she knew firsthand was doing impactful and legitimate work. “From an Italian perspective to say I’m going to give this up and do something else, they think it’s crazy!”Īrianna, however, had done her research and was prepared for this wild adventure. Then she held that same breath for the reaction of her Italian family. Recovering from heartbreak, stressed out with her job and life in London, she took a deep breath and booked a one-way ticket from England to Malawi. Arianna started her bold adventure in 2017.

A 8000 kilometre