Mount Kilimanjaro

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Hellohello! A quick blog update now before we have lunch plans with another wonderful Rotarian...

Monday and Tuesday we made an excursion to Moshi, TZ, which is a little market-town at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. The 6-hour bus ride was outrageous in every way but the price - only 11,000 Tsh, or about 8 USD - truly an African safari adventure! It was cloudy on the drive in and as we checked into our hostel (Kili is so huge that it literally creates its own weather for the surrounding area), so Tom and I were feeling a little frustrated that we couldn't see it. We stopped to have lunch for about a half hour, and on our way out we were debating whether or not this mountain really exists when a quick glance over my left shoulder revealed THE most breath-taking view I've ever seen...Kili in every ounce of its majesty towering over this modest little town. Tom and I stopped speaking (quite a feat for those of you who know both of us!) and our jaws literally dropped. This mountain is GIGANTIC!!! And everywhere you go in the city, there it is - kind of intimidating, actually! It's easy to imagine God himself hanging out up there on the peak just gazing across the Serengeti, making sure those lions are getting along...

Home yesterday afternoon and to orphanage again, we missed the girls after two days of not seeing them! We read a few books and then introduced them to Musical Chairs, which was a HUGE hit! They've been on holiday these past two weeks, and start classes today. And today we will leave the home of Ali :-( and move on to stay with a different host, the Immediate Past President of Tanga's Rotary Club :-D.

More adventures to come in our last week in Tanzania!

Love to all,
Tom and Leah

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