Day 79 - Marangu 21/12/12

Started the day with a guided tour around the village of Mto Wa Mbu by the local Community Project. Several hours, all very interesting indeed, culminating with a lunch (twelve different items) cooked by the local women.

Then on to Moshi (?) with a great number of "flamboyant flame trees" lining the roads - most impressive. For quite a lot of the journey, we were travelling within sight of Kilimanjaro - or would have been if it had not been covered in cloud, but did manage to have a few glimpses of the snow covered upper slopes. Camped in the grounds of an old colonial hotel, from where most ascents of the mountain begin. (Jane has made the climb, but at an absolute minimum length of five days and 17,000+ feet as the tallest mountain in Africa, we shall not be following her example).