Marangu - Camping In The Cloud Forrest

The next day we stop at Arusha. I wander around by myself. There's a large market selling tropical fruit. I have a Zanzibar coffee (spiced with cloves) in a really tiny quaint coffee shop. We visit the Amani Children's Home, which is a home for orphans and street children. I brought some origami paper all the way from Ireland for this visit. Out of the 90+ children that are there, only five are girls. So few girls are there because on the streets, boys can do manual labor. The only option for females is prostitution. Often girls will withstand harsh conditions at home instead of running away due to the only alternative.

The Amani Children's home is enormous. There's a large garden full of bright orange and yellow flowers, at the front. The inside is spacious and simple. There's a painting of an elephant in the entrance hall. A boy plays a turquoise guitar, sitting on one of the couches. Another does a series of backflips. We get shown around the home. We see the classrooms and where the children sleep. The rooms are clean but quite bare. Some have cement floors. We wander outside where an epic football game ensues. We donate around $40 dollars each.

Next, we drive to Marangu. This is a tiny village in the Kilimanjaro region. We're camping in the rain-forest, just up the hill from the main village. The truck goes up a very narrow road which appears to be too small for such a vehicle. At one stage, there's a steep cliff to the left. We're so close to the edge. As I look out the window, I'm unable to see the ground at all. It's a terrifying moment. We continue upwards, through the banana trees and dense rain-forest. We stop at a clearing. It has started drizzling. We're surrounded by lush green vegetation. We walk over a small bridge, to cross the river. Local women appear and help carry some of the heavy camping gear, balancing it on top of their heads. Bizarrely, the local men are nowhere to be seen.

We eat an incredible African feast. The best food I've had so far on the trip. It's made by the local Chagga people. Roast yam, roast potatoes, banana stew, beans, rice, maize, salad and pineapple. The camping area is narrow. It's spread over different tiers, with steps linking the different levels. The moon is almost full. After a cup of hot African tea, I go to sleep. I plan to get up at 4.30AM, in hope of catching a glimpse of Mount Kilimanjaro at dawn. It's the only time when the mountain isn't immersed by clouds.