Thurs 18th. Time for breakfast and then 10 minute walk to the bus stand. 9 o’clock departure was actually a few minutes early. Comfortable trip; had a seat near the front so could take some nice photos. Turned off at Mombo, then the exciting part of the journey started. Not much change to the road to Soni, except that it’s all tarmac now compared to my school days in the 60s. I shot bits of video of the windy road and the spectacular Usambara Mts. Not too far to Soni …half hour or 45 mins. Walked around Soni bus stand to get my bearings; stopped for tea and mandazi then headed to Delta One lodging…that was about the only choice. 15 min walk. Rooms for 10,000 were too basic but the 15,000 ( £5 ) was perfectly okay. It had interesting purple walls. Water was from a bucket. Had a cold wash the first morning before I realised I could ask for a bucket of hot to mix with the cold. Anyway that was rectified for the second morning.
I walked not far to where the old Soni Falls hotel used to be; the building seemed to be still there, but it’s now a school. Of course all the time I was taking lots of photos. I walked up the road to Lushoto a bit to look across to No. 1 Rock and where our old school is. In the village I had a black coffee…no milk or sugar available but it was tasty. Stopped in a little hoteli for a couple of drinks and, and as the eggs and chips had caught my eye, I had a chips mayai for dinner. Chatted with another two people in the hoteli. Headed back to my lodging, stopping briefly at a bar nearby. Oh, and had a Konyagi at the lodging bar with the owner Omari, before retiring to bed.
Fri 19th. My bucket of hot water was brought to my door; had a lovely warm wash. Settled on the place with the plastic coke bottle on the side of the main road for my breakfast. Had an argument over the 1,000 cost of my chapati and milk tea, and we agreed a price of 600. Was later told by someone that actually the 1,000 was the correct price…oops !!
Began my walk to Maweni farm and the seminary…being my old boarding school. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but the walk only took half an hour. Obviously market day as the first few hundred meters of the road were lined by market stalls and people sitting on the ground selling everything from fruit and veg, clothes, electrical goods..etc. Nice walk…the tarmac road became murram about half way. Lots of eucalyptus trees, some biggish houses. I turned off at the sign to Delta Two. It belonged to Omari as well as Delta One and he had built half a dozen rooms for visiting guests. I went walkabout…slightly up hill and across as if I was going to the school. Bumped into Ruth (the Masai lady from the evening before) on her shamba and she proceeded to act as my guide.
She took me to the Maweni Hotel which had actually stopped operating about 2 – 4 years ago when the European owner was deported..or something. The place was really quite small but seemed quite large when we were kids. The big pond which I always associated with Maweni was still there.
We then squeezed through a hedge to get into the school grounds. We were there for about half an hour. Strange feeling being back. The basic layout was the same. A few newer buildings. Went to the Rector’s office which used to be Fr Collins’ room. I chose not to go into any of the buildings as I felt a bit uncomfortable . I sneaked a peak into the Church. Was glad Ruth was with me to act as a distraction whilst I reminisced a bit about the past. I took photos; I tried to picture the changes since my years at St Michaels. I left in ’71 and the Seminary began in about ’76. Enough of that. Walked down the road where there was a little hospital; I parted company with Ruth; stopped at Delta Two where I was shown new developments I.e. rooms for guests; walked back into Soni village.
I walked over to the Falls. Although there were a couple of guys who appeared to be waiting for passing visitors to escort them around, I walked around slowly, made polite conversation about the thick vegetation being cut back, took lots of pictures of the cascading water, and left up a very steep and rickety ladder. I heard a voice calling after me but my pace quickened and the guys lost their opportunity to get a little something from me. !!! Those were the upper Falls and because I was a bit tired I didn’t go to see the more spectacular lower Falls.
I returned to Delta One, showered and got to my bar/restaurant by 16:00 which was the time I said I would be back. I ordered my chips mayai and a couple of beers before Ruth turned up. Had a pleasant time. I gave her 10,000 to buy essential foodstuffs. I got tired of the noise and moved to a bar around the corner over the bridge. I wasn’t sure if Ruth would join me but joined me an hour or so later. She was very good company, and in fact I ended up kissing my first Masai lady ever. Like all Masai it seems…very down to earth, practical, not judgemental, calm. Nothing more happened as I was leaving the next day, but had I been staying longer, who knows what might’ve happened ???
I had a nightcap cap at the lodging and spoke with Omari. The Usambaras are very beautiful; and to think I went to boarding school there for 6 years. I enjoyed my 2 day visit, but it was enough. Didn’t feel totally comfortable, especially after someone shouted at me for taking photos in Soni village. A quick down memory lane visit.