A Long Walk

Does Uru mnambe sound remote? I discovered on Saturday that it definitely is! Grant, a recent Duke grad who is spending a year in Moshi before medical school, invited us to join him and his friends on a hike to see waterfalls. Our destination, Uru mnambe, was absolutely breathtaking – a 120 meter tall waterfall high in the mountains, fed by Kilimanjaro. Getting there though…. that was another story! We had no idea the hike we were in for when we set off on Saturday morning. We started walking toward town, expecting to catch a dala dala on the way up the mountain. But much to our dismay, no dalas came! So we just kept walking… and walking… and walking up a mountain road for hours.

We passed countless rural villages on our uphill trek. The vegetation became more tropical as we gained altitude, until there were banana trees everywhere. Women passed us with bananas and vegetables on their heads, walking to market in Moshi to sell their goods. One woman actually had a chair on her head, which seemed completely bizarre until we later discovered that the town of Uru specializes in making furniture. Children ran out to the road to greet us, and despite quite a bit of staring everyone we passed was very friendly.

The last hour of our five-hour uphill climb was on a narrow dirt path, winding along a stream surrounded by hundreds of coffee plants. The view was spectacular, but with an impressive drop-off on the other side of the path we made sure to enjoy the scenery mainly during breaks!

Over twenty kilometers and an additional few thousand feet of elevation later, we finally reached our destination. We shared a lunch of peanut butter and honey sandwiches beneath a banana-thatched roof hut overlooking the waterfall, enjoying the view and appreciating the chance to rest. After our long trek, peanut butter and honey has never tasted so good.

We hiked fast on the way back to Uru, our tired legs more than enough motivation to catch the last dala down the mountain. This time luck was on our side, and we made the bus! Walking merely one way gave me an immense appreciation for the distance the women in these villages travel to go to market everyday. I cannot imagine doing that walk both morning and night, much less with a heavy load. Needless to say our Uru mnambe excursion was much more than a relaxed visit to a waterfall. It was quite an experience!

Hour 4, and we're still walking...

Getting closer... ever closer

Happy smiles after lunch!