Tanzania

I've crossed Tanzania, stopping just a day away from Kenya, a day away from Kilimanjaro. It is the furthest I could make it in Africa. Tanzania had presented difficulties from a lack of food and water. No one was starving, it was more of just an extreme lack of ingredients. I could get tomatoes and fried bread regularly but not much else. The days were hot and wet, the road muddy, sometimes sandy, tetse flies came and went in swarms. I suppose it was a fitting way to finish Africa. The challenge I am always a looking for.

Despite the difficulty I didn't miss the stunning beauty. In the south I climbed steeply for an afternoon, the first time since Lesotho. The road followed along the rim of a mountain range that rose sharply from the plains. Ancient volcanoes, now cold, dotted the landscape below. Storms rolled through breaking up the sunshine. Every afternoon school children would cheer and chase me as they walked home from school. In the north more volcanoes appeared, large cones standing individually, rising a mile or more into the sky. They appeared slowly out of a persistent haze, then linger on the horizon for days as I circled around them. I stopped in Maasai communities. I complimented their many cattle and felt a little embarrassed to admit that I don't own any cattle myself. As part of their circumcision ritual some of the boys had intricate patterns of white dots and lines painted on their faces. The look was striking and beautiful, the paint shined brilliantly in the sunlight against their dark skin. They wore feathers in headbands and black clothing while all the other Maasai wore red. I saw very young boys herding cows too. The boys were maybe 4 years old and the cows were all babies too. It was funny and cute.

I am heading back to Europe now. I am in search of good food and lots of it.

 A flower for you. 

 African highway. 

 That is my tiny bike on the left. 

Mount Meru