(Post from June 8)
As we speak, Sam is having her baptismal bucket shower! Today’s amenities are charming from the outside, but pretty back to the basics on the inside (I think Sam would say that’s a generous description… George and Reguli are in the same boat — the last picture below is our shower 😬).
Apart from our accommodation, though, today was an amazing day of hiking!!
We’ve spent the day wandering along red clay footpaths, up some very steep hills, and through farmlands and forests. We walked past little villages tucked in among banana trees and giggling children yelling, “Jambo nzungu!” (Hello white people!). We met countless women in the road wearing the most beautiful bright colors carrying all manner of things perfectly balanced on their heads — giant baskets, a jug filled with probably 3-4 gallons of water, a golf umbrella, a purse, a 10 foot log—tall, strong, and steady over every kind of terrain, and often in flip flops. They greeted us kindly with “Karibu!” (Welcome!) and some broke into explosive laughter and chatter at the sight of us huffing and puffing up these hills carrying nothing but water bottles: (Reguli translated) “You guys aren’t used to this, are you?” Total crack ups — I loved it!
Our guide Ki also amazed us with his ability to spot wildlife at a moment’s notice — he stopped at least 5 times pointing out chameleons that neither Sam or I could find on our own after minutes of scanning the same bushes or tree branch. We had a few fleeting monkey spottings, too, along with these lovely iridescent black and turquoise butterflies.
We stopped for lunch and our guide Ki packed a colorful, yummy picnic for us… when he realized he’d forgotten the avocados, he made a quick phone call and 20 minutes later one of his friends arrived by scooter with an emergency avocado delivery(!!!) Magical! What service! They were perfectly ripe and slightly softer than room temperature butter — melt-in-your-mouth amazing.
We finished our hike with a stop at a village with some commotion behind a little fenced in area. Ki led us in to find two groups of women feeding sugar cane into these presses, extracting the juice to eventually ferment and make some kind of spirit. It instantly reminded me of my friends in Boone (JT!!) who make molasses out of sorghum in a similar fashion, so I asked Ki to ask the women if I could take a picture. They erupted into loud and lively discussion and exchanges with the guide… after about a minute, I asked again if it was okay and Reguli updated me: “They’re still discussing” ☺️ Eventually we got the okay in exchange for us doing a few rounds of pushing the crank. Sam has photos and videos of us doing it, and I got a few snaps of George and Reguli having a go:
My favorite part is the woman who stays perfectly bent over to collect the cane that’s been pushed through and feed it back in the other side to be pressed again while the others run around her pushing the bar that just clears her back by an inch or two each time. They have certainly got their system down to an art — such a hoot!
After the hike, we drove down the mountain to our hostel, passing through more lush, green farmland—much to Reguli’s excitement, since he’s a farmer, too! Throughout our hikes and drives, he’s pointed out an impressive repertoire of food growing — coffee (pictured below!), bananas, avocados, potatoes, tomatoes, manioc, sweet potatoes, cabbage, raspberries, cauliflower, maiz… George said 60% of the food that’s grown in Tanzania comes from this region of Tanga.
We may do a quick trip around Lushoto in the morning, but then we are heading south again to Morogoro (west of Dar Es Salaam) where Reguli lives, since he has to be back at work on Monday. He works for USAID, and his partners from the main USAID office in Dar are scheduled to come for a site visit, so he’s offered up a tour through a nearby national park with George as our chauffeur! These two plotters finally unveiled their full story at dinner…
We had originally planned to stay in Lushoto for the week, but when Reguli learned of his work commitment… instead of telling me he had to change/cancel plans, he asked George to come with us… so George (who didn’t even know us before this trip!) cancelled all his plans and cleared his schedule for the week so he could take care of us while Reguli has to work. We were floored and overwhelmed—so unbelievably kind, generous, hospitable, caring, the list goes on!! Reguli justified it saying, “Yes, well, you treated us like babies at Appalachian,” (meaning we took care of their every need; not in a disrespectful way!) “I’m pretty sure any fellow will bend over backwards to make you feel welcome here.” From our few days’ stay here already… that is clear! We are in very, very good hands and so incredibly grateful for it.
More to come! Stay tuned!
-L
Tanzania Travels 