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Published: March 2nd 2012
During this trip, we were staying at The Honey Badger Lodge. Now, for those of you who don’t know what a Honey Badger is, I will explain… It is the nastiest, most foul, rodent-like animal that lives in the Moshi area of Tanzania. If that thing comes near you, get the hell out of its way! It is too tough, too stupid, and too ugly for you to hang around. For a better understanding of this creature, I suggest you type Honey Badger Video on YouTube and enjoy the mini-documentary. It is quite an amazing animal.
We never saw one while we were staying at the lodge, thank God!
We woke up to sunshine and warm weather. The humidity of Dar es Salaam was nowhere to be found. I wandered down the dirt road to try to get more pics of Mount Kilimanjaro. The weather gods were on my side once again, and I was able to get a few shots. While there, I also took some pictures of the “neighbourhood”. There is always a photo opportunity here; no shortage of things to photograph.
Following that, I went to the pool to meet up with the other volunteers.
Some were already swimming. Others were lounging about before we headed into town to register for the various runs we were taking part in… a few were running the full marathon (42KM), three were running the half marathon (21KM), and the rest of us were walking in the 5km Fun Run.
After registering, we headed further into town to have a look around. I have to say of all the cities/towns I have seen in Tanzania, Moshi is probably the nicest one of them all. With Kilimanjaro as a drawing card, this is a tourist town of sorts. It caters to the tourists in terms of food, amenities, etc. We stopped at “The Coffee Shop” and enjoyed a very nice “western” lunch.... Coffee cake, pizza, bacon & avocado and tomato & cheese sandwiches.
With full stomachs, we walked the main streets of Moshi. I picked up postcards... Who wants a postcard from Kilimanjaro?
On the way back to the truck, I littered in the street. Now, normally, I am not a litterer but ever since being in Dar es Salaam, the norm is to throw everything on the ground. I have been walking down the side of
the road and witnessed water and pop bottles flying out of the windows of the local buses (daladalas). I have seen people throw the meals they don’t want to finish out the windows of their vehicles. Littering is a way of life here... not good, I know, but add it to the list of things.
Anyway, so I threw something on the ground and within 20 seconds, I had an “official” stopping me, trying to fine me 50,000 Tsh ($35 Cdn) for littering. Apparently, Moshi wants to be known as the cleanest city in Tanzania. Who knew? No one told me about this. I would have totally respected their wishes. I offered to pick it up, but they told me someone from the city already had and I would either have to pay the fine on the spot or go to the police station. Everyone in our truck voted for the police station, must to the despair of the guy who was trying to shake us down for money on the spot. We went to the police station and explained the situation. The head guy at the station laughed when we explained who we were, why we were in
Moshi, and what happened. When I told him I lived in Dar, he laughed and said he understood why I did what I did. I guess he has been to Dar once or twice. He let me go with a very friendly warning.
We headed back to the Honey Badger Lodge and swam in the pool. Just as the sun was going down, word spread that the clouds on Kilimanjaro had cleared. I raced out to see what I could get in the way of pictures. I lucked out. In fact, the picture of me in front of the mountain looks like I stood in front of a poster of the mountain. I assure you, it is the real thing.
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Jeff
non-member comment
Postcards from the edge!
Let me be the first to say... I'd love a postcard Bob.