Milima ya Usambara

Irente Farm

On Friday we woke up with the sun, and boarded the "Califonia Dreamer", an old riquety bus filled with too many people, to travel nine hours to Lushoto.  The bus ride was long and hot, but once we arrived in Lushoto, we all argreed it was worth the journey.  Lushoto is up in the beautiful Usambara Mountains in Northeastern Tanzania.  Once we arrived, a guide from the tourism office found us at the bus station and gave us directions to Irente Biodiversity Reserve and Farm.  We hiked for about an hour up to Irente.  The mountain air felt so cool and crisp, compared to warm city we live in.  

Upon arriving at the farm we were greeted by Annette, a cute gray-haired Swedish women, who lives there, and Flora, our Tanzanian hostess.  She showed us to our cute little guest house, where we would be staying for the next two days.  We got settled as the sun set and the temperatures, for  first time in since I've been here, dropped enough to put long sleeves on.  Flora brought us our farm fresh dinner of rice and a roast with delicious veggies.  Then we chatted and drank tea in our comfy little living room.

After a breakfast of fresh jam, rye bread, and cheeses, we met our guides.  They showed us the way through the farms and villages that lay throughout the mountains. Each child we passed, our who saw us yelled out, "Mambo!" and often would chase after us excitedly.  We walked through one village, and found two Chameleons crossing the road.  Our guides picked them up, and let each of us hold them.  They were such unique little creatures, with two little toes, horns, and a spiral tail.  They reminded me of a dinosaur!

We past an old German house, from the colonial era, as well as sugar cane, maize, and banana fields.  Many of the crops were brought here by the colonizers to act as cash crops, to help finance the colonial structure. We crossed a creek, and then entered a rainforest.  The whole area use to be forest before the colonizers decided to cut it down for agriculture.  Now this rainforest is being preserved to protect all of the different kinds of animals and plants that live there.  We hiked up and up, to a lookout tower where we could see Lushoto and all of the surrounding area. 

Our guides made us lunch at the top, that was from the farm.  We ate delicious guacamole, cheese, bread, jam, hard-boiled eggs, and bananas.  Satisfied with a great lunch, we continued back down the other side through the rainforest.  We emerged back at the little village, and then took a path down to Lushoto. 

In Lushoto we bought veggies and pasta at the market and some local sweet red wine to make for dinner.  On the walk back to the farm, a group of kids each gave me a little flower they picked off a nearby bush.  I walked proudly with my little bouquet.  Then we stopped to try the local sugar cane beer, which was quite tart.  They made it all right there though, with a press, and vats for fermentation. 













Back at our guest house, a delicious spaghetti was made and greatly enjoyed with awesome conversation. (: