Day off but not an off day

Note from author—we have pictures to post, but want to get this blog up before we lose internet connection.  They will fall between yesterday’s post and this one.  If our connection continues to be good, look for pictures in a few hours.

While Cindy, Tom and Linda relaxed at LJS for the morning, the rest of the team hiked the Uluguru Mountains up to Morningside.  Godfrey arranged a guide for us, who met us at 7am in town at “The Coffee Corner,” a cluster of outdoor food stalls nestled in the foothills.   Some of us enjoyed a small cup of very strong African coffee before beginning our trek up the mountain.

Victor, our guide for the day, is a tall, slender man who spoke very good English.  He wanted us to start our hike in town so that the first kilometer would warm us up as we stretched our legs and we would be prepared for the climb to come.  We passed a parade of villagers, mostly women, walking into town with heavily laden baskets balanced on their heads, carrying produce to sell in the market—bananas, avocados, cucumbers and much more. 

As Victor led us out of town the paved road gave way to a rutted dirt road that got progressively narrower.  Then Victor stopped and gestured to a very narrow path, almost a goat track, which climbed steeply to a sharp turn in the trail.  We started up it single file and realized that this was going to be a serious hike.

The 4 ½ mile path to Morningside clings to the side of a steep hill and goes through a very pastoral scene of terraced farmland, banana groves, single homes and clusters of several homes together.  The farmers in these mountains use every available space to grow their crops, which feeds their families and provides a little surplus that allows them to generate some income.

We reached our goal shortly after 11 am and, shrugging off our backpacks, gazed in wonder at the site of the steep fields spread out before us, curling down to Morogoro cradled in the valley far below.  Snacks were shared and laughter and conversation wove its way through our impromptu lunch.

 

Downhill is always shorter, even though the steep terrain was tricky on footing (and aging knees), and we reached the foothills again a little after 2pm.  We bought sodas and more water at a stand and the cold drinks went down very easy. 

Our final stop was at a local wine shop where some of us made a few purchases to enjoy after dinner.  

The crew that stayed behind went into town with Barbara around mid-day and were treated to a driving tour in the neighborhoods around Morogoro.  They also visited the War Memorial cemetery that commemorates those killed in World War I.  Of interest to the trio was the noted segregation of the graves, where each race and nationality was marked and their cultural burial customs were observed.  That was followed by a leisurely lunch outdoors at Ricky’s Café and an entertaining half hour watching Barbara haggle for fruits, vegetables and staples in the local market. 

Our morning will begin early tomorrow because Bishop Mike is preaching at Bungo.  Barbara will translate for him at both services and word has spread throughout the town, so we are expecting a good gathering.