Day 65, 66 and 67

 Day 65

Today was a quiet day spent at MTAD. We spent some time chatting with family via WhatsApp and Zoom. It was good to catch up as we hadn’t managed to actually speak to anyone for the last few weeks.

We also had a chat with Robert as he had been for his PCR test this morning as he hopes to travel to Kenya on Tuesday. He said the hospital was pretty quiet, only a couple of people in front of him. However because today is a Saturday his sample won’t be tested until Monday. His test results will be dated Monday and “should” come back on Monday!! 

This has left us with a dilemma. We have pretty much given up on KLM and think we will just get a refund as we have no faith in them actually flying us home on any sensible combination of flights in the near future. So we were thinking of trying to fly home with Qatar the following Monday. However if samples that are taken over the weekend aren’t processed until Monday I am not that confident that the results will be back by mid afternoon on the Monday, which is what we will need in order to get them printed and then travel to Kilimanjaro Airport in time for an evening flight!!

So we spent sometime discussing our options again!! We will wait and see when (or if!!) Robert gets his results on Monday and then make a decision but it maybe that we decide to book flights for the Wednesday instead (this is the next direct flight to Doha with Qatar and gives a 2 hour connection to a flight to Heathrow). Hopefully this will allow us to get a test on the Monday and then get the results back on Tuesday or early Wednesday which will be ok for an evening flight. 

We spent some time on the terrace this afternoon watching the birds, in between phone calls. At one point the Silvery Cheeked Hornbills made an appearance and I got some good photos. You can actually see the “Silvery Cheek”.

We also decide that as Robert will be away from Moshi from Tuesday to Friday we will also look at spending a few days somewhere different.  We do a bit of research and email a few places for quotes.

This evening we had dinner and tried to follow the Worcester vs Bristol rugby match on the Internet.

Day 66

Today we are the only guests at MTAD along with one volunteer so at breakfast Neema informs us that they won’t be opening the restaurant tonight and that she will not be around the the rest of the day. This is fine with us and we make plans accordingly.

Around 10 we walk in to town before it gets to hot. We visit the bank, buy a few supplies and stop for a juice and samosas before walking back. 

On the way home I take a few photos of life on a Sunday morning on the outskirts of Moshi.

This is the roundabout outside the coffee shop. Roundabouts always seem to be well maintained in Tanzania. Weirdly they are a popular location for wedding photos!!

There doesn’t seem to be much concern for “low emissions” here. Many buses are old and seem to pump out great clouds of smoke.

 Tuk tuks or Bajajis as they are know here are common place around Moshi now. Their numbers seem to have rapidly grown over the last couple of years.

There are tarmac roads around the centre of Moshi but pavements do not really exist. You can walk down the side of the road on the stone/gravel/mud and just need to keep your eyes peeled for the motorbikes and bajajis that can pull on to this at any time and expect you to get out of their way.

There are now a growing number of supermarkets in Moshi and this is one of the best we have used. They are still considered very expensive by locals but if you only want a few things it is worth paying a bit extra just for the convenience.

Today is Sunday so there are many church services in progress. As we pass this one there is a bit of a traffic jam.

Another obstacle to be negotiated when walking around town are the drainage ditches. This one isn’t too deep but others are. Some do have planks or concrete slabs in places to help you cross but quite often you need to pick your crossing place carefully.

 

This is the Water For Life roundabout and one of the most popular in Moshi for wedding photographs. Last weekend was the Kilimanjaro Marathon which starts in Moshi, so at present it has even more flowers than normal. Sadly however, this year there were far fewer international competitors than usual, for obvious reasons. However I believe that for the first time I can remember a Tanzanian won it......usually it is a Kenyan!!

Walking on we pass one of the many businesses that have sprung up over the last few years selling plants and brightly coloured pots for your garden. Gardens seem to have become big business in Moshi these days!!

We now turn off the main road and walk down Uru Road into the Rau district where MTAD is located. There seems to be quite a bit of cloud now and so we have no views of Kilimanjaro.

Just before we get to the road for MTAD we pass the University football field where there is a match going on. A sight that has been missing in the U.K. for the last year.

Once we get back to MTAD, we get some coffee and sit in the shade on the terrace.

Around 4pm we walk down to Keys Hotel to get some dinner. They do pretty good pizzas here, they even have a proper pizza oven. By the time we walk back down the road at about 6pm we get good views of Kili, the first time this trip we have seen it from the road.

Day 67

This morning we walked down to the ACTT Office. We had some paperwork to sort out with Robert. We also wanted to continue some discussions we have had with him about how we might be able to provide some support directly to ACTT as well as to the schools. This year has been a difficult year for everyone including ACTT.

Luckily we have finished everything we need to do with Robert in the office when the power goes off. This means the office is now dark (as they are in a basement) and very hot (as we now have no fans).

We have already arranged to eat lunch at Mama Irene’s so we move our “office” there for the rest of the morning.

We manage to book flights home with Qatar on Wednesday next week and we also book our PCR tests for next Monday. These will be done at Mawenzi Hospital in the centre of Moshi. We have paid for it using our MPesa account as they don't accept cards or cash. 

By the time we have done all of this lunch is ready. Today Mama has cooked spaghetti, greens, banana stew, goat stew and some small fish.

After this Robert drops us back at MTAD. We have a chat with Emma our daughter via WhatsApp before the wind picks up, the thunder starts and the rain arrives.

The students quickly manage to clear away all the tables and chairs before the really heavy rain starts. 

This evening we do some packing as tomorrow we are moving to Mount Meru Game Lodge at Usa River for 3 nights. This is only about 60Km from Moshi but is somewhere we have always liked the look of and thought about visiting. They, like everywhere else at the moment, are offering extremely good discounts so we decide this is the perfect opportunity to visit.