A wild ride to Moshi

Last weekend I took off with a few friends and went to Moshi for the weekend. This part of Tanzania is incredible. Unlike Arusha which is a strong Masai tribal region, Moshi is the home of the Chugga people. The Chugga tribe are not nomadic, and they prefer the higher altitude areas at the base of Kilimanjaro. Our friend is a guide, and better yet, he's a Chugga himself; so we got an up close and personal cultural experience. 

The two days were so jam packed and there are many, many stories... but what goes on tour, stays on tour... right? One of the highlights though, has to be our visit to a coffee plantation. Our host was a oldish man who kept calling us his dearest visitors. So cute. But man he knew some stuff about coffee. And we got to roast & our own coffee in the old Chugga style - chants and all. Lucky I was wearing my trusty african wrap skirt (called Khanga). I got the nickname Dada Africa (which means Sister Africa). Once the ground coffee was sorted, we mixed some together with raw sugar and cocoa and made 'coffee chocolate'. Seriously, best thing ever. I ended up with a lot of brown stuff smeared across my face because I was trying so hard to lick the powder off my hands!!!

Alright, what's next? Oh, yeah. The Chugga caves. These man made underground tunnels were used until the 1960's, when the Chugga people used to live in them when they were under threat. That threat could have been drought or a Masai attack, either way a do or die situation. The cave guide told us the most incredible history of the region. I think it is interesting that the Masai culture gets so much international exposure but the Chugga is relatively unknown. 

Those of you who know me probably know how much I hate bananas. Well I've had to deal with that issue, because Chugga food is pretty much only bananas. Bananas mixed with sauce, with meat, fried, on bread... you think of a way to serve it and I'm pretty sure the Chugga have it on their tables. There are 7 different types!!! 

We went to visit my friend's mum who lives in the area, and had the privilege of eating a traditional home cooked meal with her. She even let us help her cook; not sure why because non of us were particularly skilled in the kitchen! We prepared chipati which is a soft bread sort of like naan. I am starting to OD on carbs. Intense.

Finally, we went to a water hole somewhere in the region. Don't ask me where, or what it is called because I was totally dazed when we were told. Guess that's what happens after about 3 hours sleep and one too many Konyagi shots.

Amazing way to spend the afternoon, swimming in hotsprings and jumping off a ledge on a rope swing. We even tried tandem, but I crashed and burned. Fail. No women were swimming, just the three Mzungus (us). And I got some very strange looks when I acted like a total tomboy and used the swing. Guess they thought I was crazy. They're probably not wrong ;)

And the finale? A mad race on a Tuk Tuk with Rihanna blaring on the radio as we cruised through the desert over rocks and sand at a speed which I don't think would be acceptable for a vehicle like that even on a tarred road. Holy crap that was some fun.