Fri 12th 1.75 hrs all the way to Kiala Kilema. So quick. Packed dala from Holili…standing room only…but only for 15 minutes. Change at Himo. Change at Marangu. Check in at Devota. Looked for Joseph. Safari escorted me part way to Kili gate along the back paths and roads. Long walk…at least an hour, and nearly all up hill. The Gate had been moved down a bit, maybe 30 metres. New charges introduced..Usd82 for the day, but enabled you to walk to the first stop called Mandara Huts, 3 hours there and 2 hours back. But I just wanted to visit the museum and look at the large model of Kili. Grumpy old man kicked in. !!! Had coffee for 1,000. Walked down the hill. Nice views looking across to Lake Jipe and the Pare Mts. Boda part of way, 500….glad, because it was further down than I thought…to Mbege. Passed Bismark htl where I stayed for one week in June ’20. Mbege place was opened especially for me. Good laugh. Back via Kibo htl…at least it was open so I popped my head in. Boda to Kilasiya. Had Mbege, where I went in Jan this year..fun. Back, signed into Devota. Bar up the road for drinks. Joseph arrived. Kiti moto n drinks. Nice evening.
Sat 13th. Woke up that morning with a very sore stomach. I ordered a bucket of hot water for a 1,000 , mixed with the cold from the barrel and had a nice shower. I’m glad I didn’t try to be brave and go for the cold one..!!! At 9:00 I walked over to the restaurant for breakfast. I had mtori although I wasn’t particularly hungry. I had an orange on me which I had cut in half and squeezed the juice in the mtori to give it a bit of a tang. Joseph arrived and I explained my stomach discomfort. We arranged to meet at 13:00 and in the meantime I went back to my room to rest. Oh, I must add that my legs and lower back were aching badly as well.
We met, and he suggested a short walk to his home for spiced coffee that would make my stomach better. A nice walk through the bushes and banana plants, but at over half an hour it didn’t feel to be short for my sore stomach. I tried to play down my grumpiness. We arrived at the Arisi coffee processing place. I was slightly annoyed because it was a touristy place and I’ve deliberately steered clear of such places in the past. Anyway, I got the whole process of shelling the beans, roasting, grinding….all traditional methodology….which was actually very interesting. I couldn’t enjoy it to the utmost because of my stomach…But then came the coffee, first plain, then with herbs. But, true to his word, I went as a friend and didn’t pay the normal entrance fee of 10Usd. I did make a very small contribution of about 2Usd; very little for a very informative visit. We got a boda all the way back to Devota. I went straight to my room to rest. When I got going again my stomach felt much better. I went up the road for a drink, but only had a soda. Not in the mood for alcohol, neither was I in the mood for any food that day. So, met up with Joseph and after that I went back to my room for the evening…having checked if any English football was being shown anywhere…but unfortunately not.
It was an interesting stay. Oh, I didn’t mention that the room only cost 7,000tsh…same as last time…but with 1,000 added for hot water. Less than 3 Gbp. There was no hurry to leave the next day as I was only going as far as Moshi.