Blogs from Moshi, North, Tanzania, Africa - page 5

Now as promised follows detailed description of a long walk uphill, followed by a very short walk up high and a shorter one downhill. I will also, and only for your benefit, throw in a relatively fast one at the very end, enjoy! To begin our story we arrived in Moshi, the town at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro who lives and breathes because of the mountain. To summarize it short, if you ever feel like going on safari in the Serengeti/Ngorongoro area of Tanzania or climb Kilimanjaro, and if you don’t mind haggling, simply travel to Moshi and walk around because you’ll get offers thrown your way at every street corner. There is absolutely no need to make reservations in advance even if you want to start the next day. Machame route (2012-02-15 to ... read more

Hello everyone! I have settled nicely in to a routine as a Teacher. It continues to be a hugely satisfying experience and these people continue to be the most fantastic and welcoming people I have ever had the pleasure of spending time with. But, while these people never have even a sniff of self pity about them, they are far too positive, I can’t help feel that they are let down terribly by their Government, I often find myself asking quite what DOES the Government actually DO? In the West, we moan about our Governments but you must believe me when I say that for all our Governments faults, they fundamentally serve the people with high standards and a high level of accountability. There will no doubt be folks who disagree, but when you have spent ... read more

Geo: -3.3346, 37.3473After a week in Kenya during which we made the needed time zone and dietary adjustments, we started our climb in the rain forest at the base of the mountain, one of five eco-zones that you pass through on the way to the top (the others being Moorland, Heath, Alpine Desert, and Glacier). Joined by Sandy, a friend of DH, we started out as a somewhat compact group of 3 along with the required guides and porters but we quickly hooked up with Annie and Carol, a pair of Scottish lassies who, according to Carol, were "born ready" and eager to tackle Kili. Now a less-than-menacing gang of 5, we ran across, and adopted, Ori and Sam. Both are currently living on a kibbutz in Israel and climbing Kili was clearly going to be ... read more

So........finally arrived in Africa. Thought I’d write a bit about it as I’ve been here in Tanzania for about 10 days now. To be honest, I didn’t have much time to think about the trip before I left, I was kind of distracted with my mum’s 50th birthday celebration and also, was getting no answers from the hospital or anyone, so I just kind of thought it’d sort itself out when I got there. When I saw an Africa elephant poster at the airport that was the first twinge of excitement - and reminded me of how much I love this whole thing, just going somewhere completely new, where anything could happen! I arrived last week, acutely aware that they were not exactly aware of my arrival. Adey had said it’d be ok, we’d sort it ... read more

This, the first blog on the road, is dedicated to community visionaries the world over and to those who are humble enough to respect their visions. Special thanks to Greg Higgins and Mark Lindow for your work and the unabashed way in which you share your passions with us all. Asalam Alekhum, na safari njema...... It was really just a big trip, nothing besides. That is what we were naive enough to believe when we planned and executed last summer's journey. But lifestyles have momentum and, following a year of dreaming and doing, we found ourselves creatures of a new habit. Winter leaves no doubt about where we should go and what we should do, but the loathsome days of summer require planning for emotional survival in a reality without the nucleus of snowy simplicity. This ... read more