Well we got off to a bad start. I had booked a lodge around 10k outside of Moshi which the lonely planet says is a great place to base yourself to go for walks around the villages near Kilimanjao..... it also says its a top end lodge. Anyway, I got there and there was no one there - I think I was the only guest - no guides and no water in the room. So, I quickly did an about turn and decided not to spend two quiet days in a room reading a book. So the ever reliable lonely planet has let me down for the first time.
Anyway, got back to Moshi and went for lunch. Bumping into one of the employees from Childreach and the English students who had arrived to climb Kilimanjaro. This is how the charity raises money. It a strange feeling bumping into people you know .... even the guys who sell things in the street remember you from day to day. I bought a couple of paintings from one of them and felt terrible haggling but this I am told is a must. There is a coffee shop on one of the main streets where it is clear all the tourists congregate. It is one of only 2 places where tourists outnumber the locals. When I got back to the apartment the electricity was off. The sun goes down pretty early so candles and torches are a must. Every piece of electronic equipment I had needed charged so I felt quite cut-off. In the darkness I was trying to spray some of my insect repellant onto my ankles and realised after a few seconds I had picked up the wrong tin and was spraying an insect killer that is definitely not for the skin. Luckily the spray was not working too well so no damage done.
Today was a much greater success. The driver who picked me up from the airport offered to take me to marangu which is the village at one (of the 7) entrances to the Kilimanjaro National Park where the trekkers start their walk. He picked up a guide along the way and we went to see the waterfalls and local villages in the area. Having walked around here I find I am definitely not cut-out to do the full climb, a morning was enough for me......... (for the moment anyway). However, it was really beautiful and totally worth the walk. Its also nice being driven around in a car rather than cramped on one of the tourist buses.
The people I am staying with are trying to arrange a safari for me so we'll see if that works out. It is proving very difficult and expensive to get something for one person and for only 4 days. Most safaris go for a minimum of 7 days and I just don't have the time to fit that in. I had booked a safari but it was cancelled as not enough people signed up so we'll see what I can manage to sort out.
I am finding the best thing to do is just rely on the locals as much as possible. They are very helpful and can almost always put you in touch with someone who can help with anything you are looking for.
Back to the charity office tomorrow. Did I say we were interviewing people on Friday for a Finance Manager role? Its very different interviewing people here rather than in Aus or the UK. So we need to finalise this before the other people from the UK office get here in a weeks time. We're also looking at reporting tools they can use and working with the auditors to get the stats signed off (yes it really is a home away from home!). Hopefully I will be able to go out and visit some of the projects this week.
I'm struggling to get photos loaded on the computers in the internet cafes but I'll keep working on this and hopefully get something up soon.
Hope you are all well, K x
