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Published: July 24th 2006
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View From Mtae
The name of this mountain range escapes me now, but we certainly had a wonderful view once we made it to the top. It's been awhile since my last update! After spending the last couple days in Zanzibar basically just waiting to leave and coming up with an excuse to celebrate (and drink) we then boarded our ferry back to Dar Es Salaam. The ferry left at 9 pm at night, but when we got there an hour before departure it was sold out. Thankfully there was another ferry, and even cheaper that left at 10pm. We initially dreaded that boat ride, but for no good reason -since it turns out the tourist price buys you access to the first class lounge. Hence, we spent the night fearing for our lives and hoping the boat wouldn't sink, yet also in bliss with couches and televisions everywhere. It turns out I slept quite well and when we woke up in Dar I even managed to get my bearings back even though the boat docked in a different place from where we departed from in Dar 10 days previous.
We then walked up a few blocks to a shady office where we purchased bus tickets (but probably shouldn't have) and even though we were ripped off we did get on a bus to Lushoto not
Pots, Pots and more Pots
It's too bad there isn't some way they could export these.... long after jumping off the ferry. The bus to Lushoto was a long one, about 8 hours if I remember correctly. The ride went from the unsightly Dar bus station, out through the "suburbs" (wood shacks and huts) before the scenery slowly transformed into small mountains with gorgeous greenery and finally we wound our way up one of those very mountains to the small town of Lushoto. Because of all the touts trying to hassle you (or "help" you depending on how you look at it) we basically did a B-Line to the tourist information center in an attempt to get reputable advice. We did find our way to the Adventure Hotel (thanks for the heads up Lucy) and paid a whopping $1.20 a night for a basic room. We found a restaurant, and hired a guide to take us into the nearby mountains for a few days.
For the first time on my trip so far we had the company of a female guide, and her name was Meisha. She was excellent company and really just awesome. We took a pleasant journey up to the neighbouring villages where Malaria hit Ryan pretty hard, and even after his medication
Hiking Crew
The usual suspects, left to right: Me, Ry, Jord and Kris. Somewhere between 50% to 100% of the team is currently infected with malaria. he was still feeling the ill-effects of his battle and was not the hiker he normally is. Thankfully the pace didn't need to be overly grueling and we just slowed down a bit until consequently I think the hike was even better and we enjoyed it even more. It was great to stop in at all the villages and farms to see the local kids who are unbelievably numerous. You would think upon visiting these areas that 50% of the population was likely born this century. Kids everywhere yelling "Mazungu" and "Wazungu" (if I actually spelt those words correctly they translate to "Whitey" and "White People") and hoping around shouting, cheering and waving in excitement. At one point Jord started to dole out the goods left behind by Georgina and Maurice (pens, whistles, pencils etc.) and within moments a crowd of some 25 farm kids were swarming him for gifts. As we left that town, and even as far as the mountain peak above it, you could hear whistles, shouts and cheers of all sorts as what appeared to be some kind of marching band came to be and decided to wander around the valley in celebration. "Tweeeet!" "Tweeeet!" "Yeaaaaaaahhhh!",
Future Mr. T
Good thing he couldn't reach me. "Tweeeet!" "Tweeeet!" "Yeaaaaaaahhhh!".
We had all the local foods, which really don't amount to much -some tomatoes and beans, rice and peas. Our accommodations were really basic as expected, rooms with no power, holes in the ground for toilette's and noise that never seemed to go away no matter what hour it was. You would think that in these small rural villages they would be quiet at night, but apparently not. Ryan stayed in bed that first night to try and sleep off his malaria while Kris, Jord and I went for a beer. Meisha made us dinner before we hit the sack early.
The next day was quite exciting as we made our way out to a convent. I've never visited, let alone stayed at a convent before but the nuns were extremely welcoming, giving us really comfortable accommodation, tea and food galore. While we didn't manage to learn the basics of some handy magic spells like holy bolt and lay on hands heal, we did managed to relax quite a bit there with the peaceful sounds of their choir singing us asleep. While I was having probably the best sleep of my life, Jord was fighting
Onward Trek
Just one of the many vistas encountered on the expedition. for his life against the overwhelming forces of malaria, being infected himself and waking us up with his inconsiderate vomiting and crawling around dizzily outside my room. The next day the nuns whisked him away to their laboratory where he was tested, and subsequently diagnosed with two malarial parasites. We left him there at the convent in good hands and some three dozen nuns, probably all "should be" mothers excited to have someone to nurse and wait on.
Ryan, Kris and I then marched onward to the magical village of Mtae where on the way we visited some people skilled in the arts of pottery. After purchasing some pots (strictly out of guilt and not craftmanship mind you) we continued on our way. We were accosted by a group of teenage girls on their way to the same village where we managed to learn a few new Swahili words, and them the English equivalents. Mtae was by far the most picturesque destination of the hike. The village was perched overlooking nearby mountains and quite high up at 2500m (or what seemed very high for the area) yet only a stump compared to closeby Kilimanjaro. We spent the night in
Would be whistle owner
Moments after the whistle was revealed from Jords pack, its lucky new owner escapes the mob in an attempt to try out his new prize. We don't know how the gifts were divided up later, only because it seemed many of the items changed hands. Mtae and after a beautiful sunset and meal we slept somewhat soundly before enduring the 4 hour nauseating ride back to the convent to pick up Jord and return to Lushoto.
Once in Lushoto there were more lab tests for Jord and Ry while Penner and I ate like kings and checked into the most luxurious Hotel in town (a steap $6.50 USD) and sprawled out in good beds. It seems that we simply cannot break the habits instilled in us by Michael and will always require spoiling of many sorts after multi-day hikes.
After our day of lab tests and relaxation we decided to head onward to Arusha... which conveniently is where we are now. Before I go, I just want to make a comment to my concerned readers about Middle East plans since I've received so many emails lately. Initially I could hardly hold back my excitement because Jord brought a Middle East book in Australia and from the moment we met up in Zanzibar we began planning. As of July 11th we had planned to go from Cairo to Jordan, then to Lebanon before crossing into Syria and taking the train through Turkey to Iran.
Mobbed
Jord attempting to divy out pens and pencils to the everforming crowd of children. For obvious reasons we can't do that anymore, and our disappointment is constantly visible. What we plan to do now at least is to instead spend the time visiting just Libya, Egypt and Jordan before flying further East. I will keep everyone posted on our plans though!
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