Landlocked but never land-tied, Malawi stretches long beside its lake – the shimmering inland sea that feeds, moves, and defines it.

Villages hug the shore, where fishermen cast nets from dugout canoes and children race along dusty paths. In the highlands, tea grows on rolling hills and waterfalls tumble through quiet forest. Markets burst with tomatoes, fish, and the rhythm of laughter.

Nicknamed the “Warm Heart of Africa,” Malawi earns it daily. Still recovering from storms and hardship, and as one of the poorest countries in the world, its beauty lies in simplicity: a fire by the lake, a cold Chibuku, the sound of drums far across the water.