Arusha to Pangani

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Up at 6:30 am, tents down and everything packed and ready to load into the truck, breakfast at 7:30, departure at 8: we are getting into the routine of things. 

We are traveling with Geckos, one of many overland tour companies. By now we realize that our reasons for choosing them were the right ones: large tents that we can stand up in and a cook traveling with the group. We have come to appreciate both, although the heavy canvas tents weigh about 50 kg and erecting them rips bare hands to shreds. We are expected to help our cook prepare things, like 'choppy, choppy', but he plans everything and does the grocery shopping. The food is wonderful and there is plenty of it. And we all pitch in to do the dishes and air dry them by doing 'flappy, flappy'. What we do is definitely not onerous.

Our big orange truck is home during most days. In Ngorongoro and Serengeti, we were in Land Rovers, but for the most part the big orange monster is home. It's a big 24 seater, and seems to take even the worst African roads vey well.

So off we go leaving the Snake Park, drive through Arusha by back roads because there was a terrific traffic jam on the main route. Speaking of traffic jams, we are amazed at all the activity on the roads: people walking everywhere carrying, pushing, or dragging all manner of goods from here to there. 

Africa runs on human power. What would for us be transported by vehicle, or something motorized, is transported in Africa by human power. We admire the incredible strength it takes to carry five 25-litre water cans on one bicycle. That's a total of almost 300 pounds, not counting the rider! Sometimes the fully loaded bike would also have a second person balancing on a part of the bike we couldn't even see. Other times we viewed a bicycle so loaded that the cyclist couldn't even be seen underneath. Then there were the human horse carts. And the stuff that women and girls carry on their heads. Hopefully our street photos taken on the fly turn out. We were snapping left and right. 

So off we go out of Arusha towards Moshi at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro. It rained a bit, but stopped by the time we got to Moshi, but only the lowest shoulders of Kili were visible. In Africa there is a saying "if you can't climb Kili, drink it", referring to the popular local beer.

Moshi is a lush green area with lots of agriculture - banana plantations, coffee beans, and as the countryside got drier, sisal farms. Street markets and social gatherings at almost every bus stop. A Maasai market teeming with Maasai people from all around, all wearing the traditional colourful blankets. A cattle truck with about 100 head of cattle crammed into an unbelievably small open bed truck, with a Maasai almost riding on their backs, on their way to market. We can't take our eyes off the interesting sights for a second.

Now we are at Zebra Campsite on the Pangani River. Mozzy and croc heaven. What sights and sounds await us in Dar es Saalam tomorrow? 

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