Jambo from Arusha!

Hi everyone!

So I made it safely to Arusha and have a busy weekend settling in and meeting some awesome new people. 

Can you spot Kilimanjaro though the clouds?

Nala joined us for a hand!

After arriving on Friday afternoon, I unpacked my things and met Rosie, the volunteer coordinater and some of the other volunteers (including another Jamie!). We had a nice dinner of burgers and chips (fries) and then settled in to playing some card games. 

My new favorite spot on the
balcony of the hostel

On Saturday I woke up to do my Town Tour, where I was able to get some snacks at the grocery store, get a SIM card for my phone (yay technology!) and get a general feel for the city.  Later on we went to visit Tazia (one of the owners of the hostel) and her baby at her house a few minutes from the hostel, and then we drove to their land a little farther out of the city. Saturday also happened tob be Rosie’s birthday, so we went out to a nice Greek restaurant to  celebrate! We ended the night by playing some more card games (noticing a theme?)

Sunday morning we slept in a bit and then went on a hike to a waterfall on Mount Meru, a mountain near us. We got dropped off at the base of a road that goes up into the mountain. As we walked, the scenery gradually transitioned from city to village (though the incline was anything but gradual!). I was surprised at the calming feeling I felt as we

View from the village

entered the rural area. I was reminded of my life in Namibia, though on the outside the lush mountain greenery couldn’t look more different than the flat sandy desert of Onamutai. Something about the atmosphere was instantly familiar. We continued to walk up the road and eventually reached the edge of the forest where we paid a fee, got a guide and continued on. We quickly began the descent down into the river valley. Now, as a NH native, I’m no stranger to steep, narrow, rocky passages but this was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The mud was slippery and the decent was very steep. Thank goodness for the handrails on either side! We made it to the bottom with no injuries and only minor amounts of mud on us. A little ways though the woods, we saw a waterfall that dropped into a rocky stream surrounded by lunch greenery and vines straight out of George of the  Jungle. Thought we thought this was the waterfall, we were told there was a bigger one further on. 

A ladder to help traverse the rocks

The breathtaking waterfall

  We continued to walk along the river, crossing back and forth quite frequently (my Teva’s came in very handy!) until we came to a cool misty cavern and saw a huge waterfall rushing into a pool below. It was an absolutely incredible sight. After taking about a billion photos in every pose we could imagine, we started walking back. The trek up was more tiring but significantly less terrifying. After finishing the steepest part, we collapsed for a breath and a picnic in the grass. We made our way down and back to the hostel. The night ended with some World Cup viewing, a pasta dinner and, of course, some more cards.

Till next time,
Jamie
PS: I apologize for the delay. The service here is not great for uploading pictures (though messages are fine). I’m also having issues using Blogger on the iPad, so I’m still working on that. That being said, I don’t know how often I’ll be able to post updates, but I’ll do my best!

Here are some more pictures of the waterfall: