Arusha to Marangu

We had a more leisurely breakfast and left on the next leg of our journey ar 9am. The skies were clear blue with some clouds on the horizon and the sun was strong even in the early morning. We stopped at a wonderful place called 'Shanga" in Arusha (which means glass beads) which is an arts and crafts project set up for people with physical disabilities who work in teams with able bodied local people. They had improvised looms with bicycle wheels on chains, weaving their own cotton blankets. They had built ovens out of concrete blocks and were blowing glass in small teams. They made necklaces and bracelets out of small glass beads. They also used recycled glass and materials for their products. The whole ethos of the project was wonderfully inspiring. Then we headed over to a craft centre where they sell rare Tanzanite cut stone and gave us a demonstration of the stones which can be worth millions of pounds. There was a small band of friendly musicians who were playing African instruments which I was able to record. Next to the craft centre was the most magnificent art gallery of animal and tribal art on five levels. The artwork was superb, very inspiring and I found a new favourite artist, Mile Ghauli, who makes evocative watercolours of African animals. After having lunch in a small, friendly cafe, we headed off through the town and out into the countryside. As we left the town, I was waved to by a particularly enthusiastic young child as his mother smiled at her son's unboounded enthusiasm also. The countryside was very cultivated with fields of blooming sunflowers in their bright, yellow sunny full bloom. As we continued the enormous base of Mount Kilimanjaro came into view, its upper peaks shrouded in clouds and covering most of the horizon. When we approached our campsite in Marangu, the clouds gave up some of Kilimanjaro's mystery, and showed its highest peak glistening with snow in the bright sunshine. We were elated that this great mountain had showed itself to us as it is more often hidden by thick clouds of it's own creation. We stopped at a viewpoint to take photos and then drove on to our campsite, in the grounds of the Marangu Hotel, where we cooked dinner and settled in for the night.Les mer