On the slopes of Kilimanjaro
Trip Start
Aug 28, 2006
1
31
75
Trip End
Ongoing
I decended the hills and headed on a very long and crampy bus ride to Moshi to hopefully do a little wildlife viewing. The bus ride took forever, first with no seat , standing in the aisle with a very serious masai guy on one side and a box of chickens on the other. finally got a seat and arrived 9 hours later in Moshi. Luckily I had a guide to call, so I was whisked away to my hotel in Moshi. The next day I got picked up to do some walking around the Chagga villages on the slopes of Kili. The place was full of banana and coffee plantations with villages tucked away in the lushness. I saw a market and learned a few greetings in Chagga...Shimboni!!! Saying that to a really old lady got me a big sturdy handshake and warm welcome. That's what takes me back to West Africa, big firm handshakes and sincere smiles, just for saying hello...I love that. The next day we took off for Lake Manyara and then the next day to the famous Ngorongoro crater. A massive crater that is now plains full of wildlife, and really muddy roads...luckily we didn't get stuck, other people weren't so lucky. I saw tons of animals, rhinos, lions, buffalo, giraffes, warthogs, zebra, ostriches, pretty much everything. The most fascinating was to see all the masai on the sides of the road. It is really hard to get pictures of people, but they were everywhere and very cool looking. Always with their herding stick, like the Zebu guys in Madagascar.
