Considering Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro was clagged in for the next few days, so not much to see from the rooftop Cafe at Climbers' Home hostel, our stopping point. Mingi was researching tour operators for his mountain bike ride. I tagged along and ultimately ended up doing QA on the proposed bikes, which although relatively new were poorly maintained. It wasn't until a much higher spec Specialised appeared that we were happy. Small operators have a cluster approach to gear. They work out of the same or nearby buildings in groups. They get gear from gear warehouses meaning they don't pay attention to the condition of the kit. I'm not sure how the casual tourist manages that scenario unless they have a substantial understanding of both the gear and the mountain environment. Given the amount of hire gear in circulation, there is a reasonable number of tourists doing this.
Over a couple of days in Moshi, I was fending off street-based tour hawkers. They latch onto you as you emerge onto the street and are difficult to politely shake off.
The week's forecast for Kilimanjaro wasn't that great, with further heavy snowfall above 4500m (summit at 5800m) and rain below. Before I pulled the trigger on the $2500 - 3000 cost of the climb I wanted to do some multi-day walking on the Usumbaras mountains back towards Tanga.
They're a smaller set of ranges that are home to mountain villages, forestry, and significant market gardens feeding the east coast and surrounds. Eating out whilst travelling has been pretty stress free. Although restaurants are generally honest, there are pricing bumps between locals and tourists in the bigger towns, and at the worst end gouging, if they can get away with it. 1 restaurant a hawker took me to added 10000 shilling ($6) to the meal price tripling it. Both sides pleaded innocence when I refused to pay. A local sitting nearby told me it was the hawker who told them to do it in Swahili. I guess he was coming back for his share.Read more