This morning we woke up and were all moving a little slow. While this trip has already been the most incredible trip, we are all a bit exhausted from the constant running. However, with this being our only free weekend in Moshi, we wanted to see as much as we could. Yesterday when Festo dropped us off from going to the waterfall, we had already arranged for him to pick us back up this morning at 8:00. Thinking he was going to be late, Nat and I were in serious slow motion. Britt tried to scurry us out the door and was having none of our turtle pace.
We hopped in Festo's car and drove a little over an hour to get to Mount Kilimanjaro National Park. These car rides are some of our favorite times. This is the time where Nat and Festo attempt to teach myself, Kari, and Brittany to speak in Kiswahili, and it involves many bouts of laughter from both parties.
The running joke this weekend is that Festo would like me to be his wife. So Mom, Dad...I am engaged. But do not worry, because Nat negotiated my dowry. Nat claimed that I was worth a big dowry, and my parents could probably be paid money, a chicken, a cow, and a goat. Festo quickly told Nat that she was too greedy and we all had a good laugh. I wonder if that means the engagement is still on??
Another thing we noticed that is extremely different than in America is the driving culture. We would be crazy to try to drive here. For starters, they drive on the wrong side of the road and on the wrong side of the car. There are also no stop lights, no rules on when you can pass someone, and they use a lot of hand gestures to communicate to oncoming traffic. We saw an oncoming truck flash their lights a few times to which Festo did a hand gesture. We asked him what that meant and he said that the truck was asking if there was a lot of traffic where we came from, so he responded that they could come/no traffic. We then also went through a police stop where they had a few trucks pulled over. A motorcycle passed us, drove in front of us, and the passenger on the motorcycle motioned to the ground for about a mile to the oncoming traffic to tell them to slow down because there were askari (police) ahead. While there is not a lot of structure to their driving, it is a very effective and smooth system, and we have not once felt unsafe.
When we got to Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, we were greeted by our guide and let through the gates. After making a quick pit stop in the bathroom which consisted of another hole in the ground (see pic), we started our tour. Our tour guide's name was "Living" and he was extremely knowledgeable. He brought us through a few different areas where he described the different routes up the mountain based upon a climber's abilities. Coca Cola is the "easy" route and takes 4 days to get up and then another 2 days to get back down. We all agreed that when we come back another time, we would love to climb the mountain. Living (we doubt that this is his real name as a lot of people go by nicknames here) shared information and stories about some of the first climbers who made it up the mountain as well as some of the fastest climbers. The fastest time was when someone climbed the entire mountain in 5 hours, 38 minutes, and 40 seconds. This is unfathomable as the easy route normally takes the average person FOUR DAYS!!!!! We also learned about the first man that began as a porter (someone who carries your bags and equipment up the mountain) at the age of 18. He lived to be 125 years old and only died 20 years ago. Apparently the key to a long life is to hike up and down Mount Kilimanjaro. We then walked to the gate where the climbers begin their trek up the mountain. Unfortunately, we were unable to walk any part of it, but even seeing it was great.
After walking around the National Park, we took another 10 minute drive to the Chagga Museum. While there, Living's grandfather educated us on some of their past rituals, some of the tools and equipment they used for everyday life, and we were able to see and sit in one of the huts.
After our tour finished we drove back down the mountain hoping that Festo's brakes weren't going to go out. At one point they were making a horrible noise and we wondered if we were going to make it back down safely. Festo thought he would comfort us by telling us a story about how a car full of wazungus drove off of the edge one day and none of them made it out alive. Thank you for that enlightening story...please continue driving us down the mountain!!!
After more souvenier shopping in Moshi, Festo dropped us back off at our cozy little home so we could start preparing the food for our dinner guests. Jane (one of the nurses from the cancer clinic), brought her two sons over for dinner. Patrick and Inosent were absolutely adorable and spent the majority of the night playing with our markers. We enjoyed a couple Serengeti (a type of beer), had a wonderful dinner, and a great visit. Patrick even killed a spider for us as we all freaked out. Now Nat and I plan to map out our 6 hours of presenting tomorrow and then all pack it in for the evening. All in all, I would say that this was definitely a weekend for the books!!
Here are some pictures from our day...
The gated entrance into the park -
Other random thoughts for the day...
1) When buying souvenirs, not only will you have to barter, but you will also have to walk away and pretend that you will not pay the amount they ask for....they will always change their mind and agree to your bartered price. Being a mzungu (white person) can have the downfall of some merchants trying to take advantage of you by charging you more
2) The McDonald's McKroket from Amsterdam comes up in conversation at least 3 times per day. Kari literally just said as I am typing this..."you guys, I can't stop reading about the McKroket". I am guessing that she is going to save some room in her carry on to bring a dozen or so home. For those wondering - "the McKrocket is a deep fried breaded snack made of something that resembles cheese and beef, sandwiched between a typical hamburger bun".
3) Tanzanians are not familiar with "Chub rub". Yesterday Festo and Flavian wanted us to swim in the waterfall. We explained that we did not have our swimsuits, so they said "no problem, you go in clothes", even though we still had quite the hike back to the car. Clearly Tanzanians do not have much for thighs because they about died laughing as Nat explained to them what "chub rub" was. I'm not sure if they were laughing at the general idea of it, but I'm thinking it was due to the rubbing motion that Nat was doing between her thighs!!
Hope you all are having a great weekend! We miss you all!
- Cari
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