Marangu and beyond....

Sept. 1st: After Chekereni, we spent the next day up in Marangu, the village that lies up near the Mt. Kilimanjaro park gate. This area is really different than Chekereni. It is lush and green. The people that live up high on the mountain don't worry about not having enough water because there is an abundant run-off from the mountain's snow melt. We hiked to a couple of different waterfalls, one called Moonjo Falls, which you can swim in, and the other Kilasia. Kilasia Falls has a Cultural Tourism Program Office and we were able to have a guided tour down to the falls. Our guide was great and we learned a lot while we hiked. He told us about the history and culture of the Chagga people who live on the mountain. He also taught us about the different native plants that are found in the area and what they are used for. We snacked on some wild strawberries on the way down and were given three giant avocados that our guide found on the trail.

When we got back to Moshi, we decided to go out to this great Indian restaurant I had been to before called El Rancho (great name for an Indian restaurant in Africa, right?). It's quite aways out of town and our guide book suggested taking a taxi, which we were dead-set against, so we decided to walk. We had already been hiking all day and, after about an hour of walking, I was completely wiped out. Jasper was fussing, I was fussing, and Rob was trying to be the team cheerleader. So Rob flagged down someone driving by and we hitched a ride the last 1/2 mile or so. The food at El Rancho was worth the walk. I had a fabulous vegetarian burger and Rob had some excellent Indian marsala and naan. El Rancho is special for a number of reasons. First of all, the name, like I mentioned before is so typical of Africa. For some reason, things get named the darnest things here. Second, the memory of eating here with all the students I did the field study with five years ago, was a pleasant one and still stands out in my mind. Third, this place has a minature golf course! And table soccer! And beautiful gardens. It's just a wonderful little haven of irony and tranquility.

We took a taxi back into town when we were done eating.