After two days, four long plane rides, more movies than any person should ever watch in a few days, and a lovely curried lamb supper thanks to Kenyan Airways, our Rafiki group of 19 has arrived safe and sound in Moshe, Tanzania.
After two days, four long plane rides, more movies than any person should ever watch in a few days, and a lovely curried lamb supper thanks to Kenyan Airways, our Rafiki group of 19 has arrived safe and sound in Moshe, Tanzania.
How comforting it was to be met at the Kilimanjaro International Airport by the capable staff of Pristine Trails, the local guide company that will help us reach the summit of the mighty Kilimanjaro. Guide Yussa Kijiwu and our driver Thade easily packed 19 of us into a waiting bus and we were off.
Tying our mountain of luggage, donations and trekking equipment to the roof of our bus was as easy to these two capable, friendly young men as shoveling snow is to us.
During the 45 minute drive from Kia to Moshe we learned that Yussa has trekked up Kilimanjaro at least 100 times. He told us that trekking Kilimanjaro is not just about your physical fitness but about your respect for the mountain, which he referred to as a beautiful, shy, strong woman who hides in the clouds.
Arrangements were made for a briefing and equipment check for the next day. Thank you Pristine Trails for suggesting we have more than a partial day to shake off the jet lag and deal with the culture shock.
Driving into Moshe provided us with a snapshot of life in this part of the world. School aged children in matching uniforms mixed in with women in bright dresses carrying impossibly heavy loads on their braided heads. Masaii men herding goats and lean cattle intermingled with people selling anything you could imagine – all of this on the sides of the road to Moshe.
Our home base in Moshe is the lovely Leopard Hotel. With our mountain of stuff safely tucked into our rooms, enough time to shower off the last few days of travel we were ready to take on the town. Imagine if you will a group of 19 Muzungus (Swahili for white person), with pasty white skin and matching T-shirts looking for a place to have a local lunch.
Our adventure begins.
