Moshi

Moshi lies around an hour outside of Arusha. After breakfast BQ and I decided to take a local bus for $1 each way instead of hiring a private taxi for $100. It took half an hour for the bus to fill up and an hour and half to get to the town. Squashed into a mini bus this was going to be her first experience of African travel. She bagged a window street, learning the local lingo to fend off food hawkers surrounding  the bus.

   
 
As we pulled into the town, I could already see the difference. Although small there is a lot more atmostphere to Moshi. A town often used as a pit stop by climbers headed for Mount Kilimanjaro. It caters to Western tastes very well.

   
 Lunch was at The Coffee Shop in Hill Street. We both ordered  local food – Ugali (polenta, or as BQ described it wallpaper paste) and vegetable sauce. After a huge belly we walked off lunch through the town batting off touts and chancers at every corner. We popped into Shah Industries, a huge factory and workshop past the railway. It’s not exactly easy to find but worth the effort to hunt out if you want quality handmade African crafts. The workmanship is impressive and I wanted to buy so many things. We did a spot of bartering and came away very happy.

  

Uhuru Park is one of the few places you can escape the sun under the trees. It’s full of couples hidding in shady areas and us, who ran straight to the playground. Down time before the start of our big hike towards Mount Kilimanjaro tomorrow (Saturday June 27th).