Saturday April 26th 2008: 9 hour bus ride to Moshi, home to the Kilimanjaro

Early in the morning we take a Scandinavia bus to Moshi. We decide to play it safe and not take a cheap Hood bus as we have heard so many horror stories. This meant we had to spend the night in Dar as Scandinavia buses don’t run from Morogoro to Moshi. But once we settle in the bus, we are happy with our detour through Dar as we feel very comfortable, are served drinks and watch 2 movies. The 9 hours just fly as we watch the lush green scenery go by. We also know we will take a normal Hood or Abboud bus on the way back which will be very uncomfortable, and dangerous, so this is our way of pleasing ourselves at least halfway.
Of course we are also very excited as Moshi is known for its great coffee shops and we are dying for a true cup of locally grown Arabica.
On the way I can tell we are arriving in a much wealthier part of Tanzania as the land is cultivated and the houses look in better condition.
We arrive in Moshi at the bus station, immediately swarmed by flycatchers. That is the term used to describe the safari touts that try to sell you packages as Moshi is the departure place for Kilimanjaro climbers and only 1 hour away from Arusha, the departure place for the best safaris in Tanzania including the Serengeti. What they do is they try to spark a conversation, ask you where you are from, what is your name, etc… but there are 10 of them almost stopping you from getting to where you are going so it takes a good bit of patience and cultural etiquette not to be rude as we would be if this happened in our home countries. Heather is exhausted so I take on the role of “Let’s get to the hotel and the coffee shop!”. She has been fighting Malaria so it’s only understandable as this disease just drains all the energy out of you.
We finally find a coffee shop opened (it’s Sunday) and it lives is up to our expectations. Absolutely the best coffee I have had in a long time. Smooth and strong at the same time (no this is not a romance novel). We are content.
In the evening we have a great Indian meal. There is a large Indian community in Tanzania and Moshi has many Indian eateries.
Once we are back in our hotel room, we enjoy catching up on some world news on the BBC.