Moshi - Part 3

 Today was Sunday and we are the only guests at MTAD. For breakfast we have individual glasses of fruit salad and the most amazing banana bread. As we eat we hear the girls singing, what a nice way to start the day. 

We spend the morning in our usual spot on the terrace. At one point we are joined by a friend who seems keen to read my diary.

He stays with us for several minutes moving around the table, the IPad and the water bottle before jumping on to Pete who then decides it’s time for him to leave.

We are going to have dinner with Robert’s family tonight, so having had a big breakfast and knowing that Mama Diana will cook up a feast later we decide to skip lunch today.

Robert picks us up about 5.30pm. We do a detour to an ATM to get some cash (no problems thank goodness ) and then do a bit of shopping before driving to Robert’s house.

We have a lovely evening with the family. Peter, their son is home from University in Dar. Robert has him working at ACTT so we have caught up with him already but it’s nice to see again. Robert’s friend, Evodi, who we know well also drops in to say Hi and to enjoy Mama Diana’s food. We spend the evening sharing photos of our son’s wedding last year and their oldest daughter’s university graduation. These family visits are always a highlight of our trips.

The next day we wake up to rain and so have breakfast inside chatting with Millie. Luckily the rain stops around mid morning and the girls quickly set about cleaning up the terrace so by about 11 we are back in our usual spot.

This morning our room is cleaned by Anastasia. She speaks good English and has left our room looking lovely. We tell Millie what a good job she has done and later Anastasia comes over to us to thank us for giving her such positive feedback. It’s lovely being part of their learning experience.

We have a light lunch and then go down to ACTT. On our way out of MTAD, we spy Jackie, Millie and Neema altogether, it’s a good opportunity for a photo.

Again it is too hot to walk so we take a bajaji. We spend the afternoon with Robert discussing various aspects of the business and making sure all our paperwork is up to date and correct.

Around 5.30pm the staff all go home and we are about to go and get some dinner with Robert when Boniface notices that the van has a puncture. Luckily there is a young lad around who helps Robert change the tyre.

We call in at a garage before going to dinner to see if they can repair the tyre. Robert pays the guy and arranges to come back after dinner to collect it. The guy says he won’t be there but will leave the tyre with the night watchman.

We go to Hugo’s for dinner. We have been here several times before on our previous trips. At weekends it can get very busy but on a Monday night it’s not too bad. We order mbuzi vitunguu (goat with onions) which is something Hugo’s does really well. It has a lovely flavour and is pretty tender.

After we have finished dinner we go back to the garage to collect the tyre. There is no sign of a night watchman or anyone else. Our tyre is just propped up against a wall so we just take it. I guess Robert will give them a call tomorrow to check if everything is ok.

Today we have decided to have a rest day, free from anything to do with our school projects or ACTT. 

As we are finishing breakfast some of the girls appear carrying plates of sandwiches to be assessed by their teacher.  Clearly sandwich making has been the first lesson of the  morning. Now this may seem obvious to many of us but Tanzanians really don’t eat sandwiches. However if the girls are going to work in hotels with foreign tourists they clearly need to know how to make a good one. 

Mid morning we decide to do the 15 minute walk down to Keys Hotel for a swim. It is quite a busy road and goes past the new entrance to Moshi Co-Operative University. It’s pretty hot but we do actually walk there, refusing a number of lifts from bajaji drivers.

When we arrive it’s actually quite overcast so have coffee on the terrace before deciding whether to pay for a swim.

Whilst drinking our coffee the weather improves so we pay and move to the pool area.

When we first arrived we noticed a group of guys down the far end of the pool. It turns out that they are 5 Russian guys who have just climbed Kilimanjaro in 3 days!!! ……getting down off the mountain this morning. 

For those who don’t know or haven’t experienced it, the end of a successful climb is a time for celebration for everyone involved. It pretty much always follows the same format. There is lots of singing and dancing, the climbers get their certificates and then give the guides and porters their tips and any gifts they have for them. This is then followed by a meal for everyone and in this case plenty of drinks……..and wow, could this lot drink!!  

By mid afternoon things had all got a bit too rowdy for us and so we decided to walk back to MTAD for a bit of peace and quiet.

This evening we decided to have the Swahili menu offered by MTAD.

All very tasty especially when accompanied by a couple of glasses of wine.