Location: Lushoto, Tanzania

The Muslim call to prayer woke me up at 5 AM and I had a moment of putting the pillow over my face and quiet screaming because 4-6 hours of sleep this many days in a row is not enough. To be fair, a lot of that is my own doing as I stay up late to write every evening. Oh well, I will sleep when I’m dead (which could be soon if I don’t!) Too much adventure to be had!

Today is another big travel day as we move south into the Usambara mountains to a town called Lushoto. I spent the entire 7 hour drive mostly listening to Taylor Swift’s discography and nodding off. We stopped for lunch at a barbecue courtyard (it’s exactly what it sounds like) at the base of the mountain. It was swelteringly hot in the sun and I was eager to get up the mountain into the cooler air.

It turns out Lushoto is not just a town, but refers to the entire mountain and all 30,000 people living on it. And us? We were staying almost at the very tippy top at the Cliffside Inn. Despite my taking gravol the tight twists of the road were too much and I ended up being a little carsick.

All our accommodations so far have been pretty meh but this one was beautiful. They greeted us with wash cloths and fresh pressed juice in the main room where a tall thatched roof rose up high above a ton of plush chairs and a fireplace on the back wall. Our rooms were clean, cozy and spacious, with a killer little balcony and a view off the edge of a cliff over looking the valley.

No rest for the wicked though as they had planned a guided tour for us that actually turned out to be a hike. Dang it.

It wasn’t a very long hike thankfully, and I chatted about travel the whole way up with Laura and Sebastian, a very sweet couple from Germany, and my new friend Brindha from my safari group. I guess friends can make hiking bearable! Who knew?!

We crested up on a lookout point that was worth every single step, but was also a little scary! I don’t usually have a fear of heights but my stomach flip-flopped as we crossed a janky wooden bridge onto a rock and looked out over the edge. Who needs guardrails???

We made our way down the mountain, watching the red sun set over the horizon, and stopping to peek at little chameleons that are endemic to this mountain range. Dozens of kids played soccer in a field that seemed to be the centre of the neighbourhood, while a huge group of very young children played ‘freeze dance’ with some adults nearby. I visited on the edge of a garden with Brindha, watching the sun finally set right as dinner was served.

A buffet of the very best food I have had this whole trip was laid out, and I’m not ashamed to say I went back for seconds and thirds of my favourite dishes. Fresh avocado salad, grilled chicken, spiced fish, beef and veggies, rice and beans with some kind of curry sauce, and a spicy ginger tea to top it all off? Yes please. We all sat together and had a blast with visiting, laughing, and getting to know each other.

Record scratch.

Our guide, Emilion, told us we have to be in the bus at THREE IN THE MORNING. Which means wake up at TWO THIRTY IN THE MORNING OR EARLIER. That is properly ass o’clock.

We all did the math like… it’s almost 9 PM soooo I guess we should go to bed! I fear my brain is going to straight up melt out of my ears if I don’t get a good sleep one of these days! We’re all really hoping for some good R&R soon.

Sav