Chichere Farm.

I started this entry before we left...and figured I should post it anyways even though we are already home! So here goes...

We have arrived at Chichere Farm. This is our last COTN Malawi site to see, and I must say it is probably one of my favorite places. We arrived here yesterday (last Monday) in the late afternoon, just before the sun was to set. Me, loving sunsets as I do, dragged Peter by the arm to venture out beyond the gate to witness the unobstructed view of the sunset as it set brilliantly upon the fields. As my husband was attempting to capture the beauty of this place in a single photo, I casually turned to him and asked “So…tell me where is this 350 acre farm exactly?” He kindly replied by saying, “Umm…you are looking at it!” I felt just a little silly after that question. However, my silliness was extremely short lived because I was simply overwhelmed by the vastness of this place. Chichere farm stretched for acre upon acre upon acre. I wasn’t too sure where the boundaries of the farm started nor where they stopped. As far as I was concerned, ALL this land was Chichere farm. To say I was overwhelmed by the majestic beauty of this land would simply be an understatement.

We stayed at Chichere Farm for 2 nights, 3 days in the cutest, most comfortable little guest house. The first full day, the Farm Manager took us to see the boundaries of the farm, the river, the fish ponds, the vegetables, the cassava, the banana plants, the equipment, the lambs, and the offices. We saw the majority of the farm in just one afternoon, so Peter and the Farm Manager were able to talk business for the remainder of our time, while I simply basked in the beauty of this place.

One morning I sat out on the veranda drinking my coffee, reading my book, with no agenda for the day, and I thought now THIS feels like vacation. The view was amazing, except Peter kept informing me that they needed to cut down some trees so the view would be clearer from the veranda.

Every night and each morning we would find new friends in the guesthouse, whether it was geckos, spiders, cockroaches, slugs, etc. But truly the beauty of this place overtook the little creatures we found.

The sunsets there were simply magnificent. The sun blanketed the fields with its rays, and the ground glistened and sparkled in the sun’s final light. It was all beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but if you looked close enough, certain parts were just a little bit lovelier than others. The sun showed its favor to these parts by reigning down its bright rays upon the scattered patches of earth.