Day 2: Legho Village

JOURNAL ENTRY BY BRIAN MEYER

Today was our first full day in Tanzania and our first exposure to the food, culture, and people of Tanzania. While it was a long and tiring day, it was a great way to overcome and defeat our jet lag!

The day started with a large and much needed breakfast buffet at the Mt. Meru Hotel. My favorite thing we ate was mandazi, an East African fried doughnut of sorts (great dipped in peanut butter)! After catching up about our sleep and excitement for the weeks to come, we retired to our rooms until 10am.

After we gathered at the hotel lobby, we parted for a two hour trip to Moshii for lunch where we enjoyed some authentic Tanzania pizza (a safe and non objectionable food when preparing for a hike). We then traveled to the village of Legho. There we were given a tour of part of the village and given generous accommodations for the next two days. The village, located in the mountains, has stunning views of the surrounding area including Mt. Kilimanjaro. We spent the afternoon having great conversations and playing a game called Kill the King which consists of two teams of four competing against each other to knock down the other teams poles which are placed upright on the ground. It’s like cornhole but more fun and funnier! We then enjoyed a delicious dinner of coconut flavored chicken with rice and vegetables.

We finished the night by gathering around a campfire and sharing our thoughts on life and our expectations for the trip. We talked about our long and difficult adventure ahead but our resolve to grow stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally from the journey. We enjoyed looking up to the stars above us in the black sky and talking to one another until we retired for the night to get some much needed sleep for the long day tomorrow.