Tanzania Part 1: Kilimanjaro
In my mind, it felt like the ask to hire a driver to cross the border into another country, was pushing up to the J-Lo-level of outrageous requests to ask a hotel concierge. “You need a driver..to Tanzania?” the manager of the resort repeated back to me. But not with a voice that made it seem like I was asking something crazy.
“Yes, on Sunday - in 5 days.” I said with girl-boss bass in my voice because in reality, it was our only plan to get to Kilimanjaro.
She said she would “look into it” with a smile - like she knew she was gonna crush this one. I didn’t know if she was going to call her cousin or brother, but I had a good feeling that this woman wanted to get us to Tanzania.
Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s Tallest Mountain, is located in the Kilimanjaro region between the small towns of Moshi and Arusha, less than 4 hours from our hotel in Mombasa, Kenya. Instead of a series of awkward flights, the easier, shorter and less expensive option would be to drive. In Kenya, it’s not particularly hard to ride a bus for an outrageous number of hours or even convince a taxi to take you anywhere, but figuring out a private driver drop-off in another country was new ground.
Not even an hour after my request, the manager found me sipping on another orange Fanta, chilling in the shade of a cabana. I was shocked - she was ON it!
“I’ve been calling your room!”
“I’m so sorry! You found a driver already?”
“Yes, It will be 70,000 KES [about $500 US]
She waited for my reaction to the price, which still would have been a yes, even if she said 100K KES
“Oh my God, Yes!”
“You’ll do it!?” she said thrilled, like she was going!
“Fantastic! His name is Steven” and gave me his WhatsApp to introduce myself. I’m sure I didn’t say Thank You enough thousand-times. I give her full credit. It couldn’t have been a smoother, faster relief to the biggest anxiety. Well, second biggest - we still didn’t have our visas.
On the way to Tanzania - no visas lol
Steven picked us up in a clean, white VIP van and greeted Lindsey and I with hugs. He instantly informed us it would be his first time to Tanzania too, and that he was excited for the trip. Come to find out, Steven is part of an elite group of 10 private drivers that service the hotel’s exclusive clients who frequent the resort. He even told us stories about a Swiss family he was a driver for, so often, that he ended up becoming great friends with him. For the rest of the trip, it was easy to figure out why you would want to be friends with Steven. He kept us comfortable with water and snacks, and cracked jokes the whole time during the smooth ride. He commented on his English not being the best, but for me, he didn’t miss a single beat.
When we arrived at the border, Lindsey and I just looked at each other, knowing it would work out. We applied for visas the full week in advance (trusting google) and paid the $100, but by the time we reached the border, our inboxes were still visaless. When he parked the car, he said he would need to get his temporary passport.
Here we were concerned about a damn visa, when Steven drove to the Tanzanian border with no passport. And check this, it was a breeze! We went inside the immigration building to show our passports, vaccination cards, and answer a few questions, the toughest one being “where is your husband?” as a joke.
There was one other wandering family in the whole building and we were done in under an hour. About another hour after we were done, Steven apologized to us for “taking too long” because he also had to get a yellow fever vaccination shot! What a guy, what a GUY!
Lil leg stretch, visas now in hand!
The last piece of the puzzle would be Tanzanian police stopping us in a Kenyan vehicle which also had a simple solve - a 19 year-old border agent said he knew the hotel we were going to, so he could just come with us to talk to the police and show the appropriate papers. Also ensuring Steven could get back into Kenya. No sweat - passports stamped, we were in!
“So how do you like Tanzania?” Lindsey joked with Steven, now a tourist himself.
“I love it! It’s just like Kenya!”
We all cracked up. The windows were down blowing a cool evening breeze and the sun was setting on the vast horizon.
“The sky? Just like Kenya! “Wind? It’s the same!”
Even our new border patrol buddy was having a blast. We stole that man from work and now he was in the middle of our party.
The gates to the Shose Chalets were inviting and quiet with the view of Kilimanjoro a just neck crank to the left. Steven and our new bud helped us with our bags and rolled them through the grass to find some sort of check-in area. A man walked towards us and started walking aggressively at Steven like there was about to be a problem. Steven stopped in his tracks, gasped “oh my word” and threw his arms around the man with a brotherly embrace.
He looked back at us beaming and said “I know him!”
The man was Peter, the manager of the Shose Chalets, and a former executive VIP driver for the resort we just left. Apparently, Peter and Steven were close friends years ago working in the same elite group, only for Peter to move to Tanzania to expand his range in the hospitality business. Minds. Blown. All of us.
Our Border Buddy, Steven and Peter
They had a quick reunion complete with loud laughs and inside jokes, while Lindsey and I laughed along at the sheer perfection of synchronicity of the entire day. This was meant to be, for all parties involved.
“I’d stay and have a drink with you, but I have to drive!” Steven joked with Peter.
Not to mention he had to get the Border agent back! It was truly one of the most special moments to witness.
After Steven’s strict instructions for Peter to take care of “his girls”, our time at the Shose Chalets was impeccable. Peter took our WhatsApp numbers and instructed us to contact him for anything and everything! First order of business “what are your plans?” and “what time do you want your breakfast?”
We told him we were really hoping he could help us with some plans and Peter was ON IT, boy! He immediately contacted the resident guide for the next morning to explore Mount Kilimanjaro and set our breakfast to be ready for 9am.
The next morning our breakfast was served to us on the porch of our darling chalet that overlooked the gorgeous gardens, banana trees and koi pond . We were in a sliver of Moshi that felt like a secret. Right as we finished our breakfast of crepes, fruits, eggs, coffee and tea we met our Guide Baraka.
He let us know that we would have to be traveling in a tuk tuk because we would need gears to go up the mountain, and trucks are too wide. My first tuk tuk was in Kilifi just to the beach and back, and now my second would be to ascend Mt. Kilimanjaro.
This is an important time to note - no, we didn’t go to the top. Hiking over 19,000 ft. up Mount Kilimanjaro takes a full 8-10 days with a serious gang of porters and expert guides. Baraka was an expert guide, having hiked to the top more than a dozen times, but this was not that trip. There is a whole National Park where you can do day hikes and/or explore the base. But this was a bit more special. Baraka told us point blank “if anyone asks if you hiked Kilimanjaro, you can yes! Just say you “didn’t go to the top”.
Baraka explained that this area was where he grew up, in this particular part of this mountain, home to the Chagga. The Chagga are a completely separate bantu ethnic group, who live closer to the base of Kilimanjaro. Going up the mountain in the tuk-tuk instantly revealed a buzzing neighborhood with schools, stores, churches and little kids running around. When the kids (and adults) started “giving us the eye” driving up the mountain, Baraka said the locals would call us “fireflies” code for: CATCH THEM TOURISTS - MARK EM - but not to worry because this was literally his hood, and he was known as that guy. Gangsta.
When the road became too narrow for the tuk-tuk, we started the hike to Materuni Waterfall. During the hike, Baraka told us all about his journey as a student, currently studying Safari Science and how he had recently purchased land to start building a safari lodge of his own. He talked about how his dream was to expand on his business of recycled plastics into bikes for kids, that would incentivize the youth to recycle by giving them bikes. Having spent years working as a safari guide, he told us some WILD stories about how he literally saved multiple lives on a “safari drive gone bad.” His gentle, fearless and determined spirit instantly shook out of me a respect for a him I didn't see coming. I definitely see how he developed the reputation of “that guy” amongst the whole town.
We could hear the waterfall probably 10 minutes before we could see it, and once again, it felt like it was a secret. We were the only ones there (rare!) and the roar was intimidating but inviting. Fearless Lindsey immediately had her eyes set on the cave and swam across the water to explore it around the falling water.
The end of my frolic came when I went to reach for a branch to balance, only to realize it wasn’t a branch, it was the entire trunk of a fallen tree. The scale of what was under me shook me enough to enjoy the rest of our time in the sun. But my Lord, it was breathtaking. For me, it was one of those grandiose nature moments when you discover that your smallness is just to reveal that God is beyond measure.
After we dried off, we made our way to lunch, which would be in the middle of Mount Kilimanjaro! We hiked down, and tuk-tuk’d over to a part of the Changaa land where the most famous Kilimanjaro coffee is produced. Fun Fact - Kilimanjaro coffee is an Arabic bean brought over by the Germans. However, no other place on earth will grow and produce the flavor like it will on Kilimanjaro. We met 2 amazing guys (and their baby sister) who walked us though Kilimanjaro coffee from berry to bean to roast. They lit a fresh fire and roasted the beans in a pot, while singing folk songs for making the coffee.
The baby girl was under 4 years old, and even she was clapping along and singing to the beat of the coffee being stirred over the fire for the full 20 minutes of roasting. Once the roast was complete, it was time to “grind the beans” in a giant, standing mortar and pestle, where you pound the beans, to the beat of a different song. The song sticks out in my mind more than my tired arms, and it had the nerve to be catchy. You clap “we’re making coffee” pound-pound [to the beat] “in the local way” - “making coffee” pound-pound [to the beat] “in chagga-landy”. And then you brew!
I’ve been drinking coffee my whole life, and this was the stuff! Strong, like my type! Smooth, like my type! It was so bomb. We were then served banana soup (fire!), and local veggies with rice and beans. My stomach said, “that was quite the combo to eat and drink, to then tuk-tuk DOWN Mount Kilimanjaro” but an experience that nearly felt like I dreamt it. “Incredible” is a wack word to use for it.
Baraka dropped us back at the Chalet with big plans for the next day to explore a traditional Maasai Village, Kikuletwa Hotsprings and some other cool stuff he wanted to show us. The next day we went from Fireflies to Dem Girls!
Kilimanjaro Part 2 coming at you Weds. May 29th.