Hiking in the Rainforests

We went on two different hikes today. The first hike was through the rainforests below Mt. Kilimanjaro. Along our hike we passed by several small caves built in to the sides of mountains. The caves were built many years ago when the Maasai and Chaga tribes (both groups of people indigenous to Tanzania) were at war with each other. The caves were used by the Chaga to hide in and store food and supplies.

At the end of our hike we reached the most beautiful waterfall. At the top of the waterfall was the statue of a young girl. The story surrounding the girl is legend in the Chaga. In the Chaga tribe chastity prior to marriage was very important. If ever two lovers were discovered to violate this vow of chastity, they would be placed one on top of the other, and then a spear would be thrust through both lovers into the ground. One girl, while not caught in the act, discovered she was pregnant and had to flee her village. When she left her village she was pursued by a leopard. Running as fast as she could, she did not see the cliff ahead of her and fell off to her death. The statue at the top of the waterfall is in remembrance of her tragic end.

Our second hike was like no other hike I have ever been on! While some of our group members chose to rest at the hotel, a group of us went on a supposed 2 hour hike with a Maasai guide to see colobus and blue monkeys in a forest near our hotel. At the beginning of our hike, our guide used his machete to cut down some tree branches and make walking sticks for each of us. Some group members refused the sticks, and I almost did too – I have done a bit of hiking on my own and didn’t really feel a stick necessary. He worked so hard to make all of our walking sticks and was so insistent I take one, I felt bad refusing. If I only I had known how grateful I would be that I made that decision later that afternoon!

The hike started out quite ordinary, our guide pointing out different types of plants and animals as we went. And then we arrived at the rice plantation.

It was absolutely gorgeous and very peaceful. Water fowl gracefully floated across the water, insects made their calming chirping sounds, and we were surrounding by rich, lush, tropical vegetation. It was the essence of tranquility – until group members started falling in the rice plantation.

I don’t know how many of you readers have ever hiked through a rice plantation, but let me tell you it is no easy task. The rice is grown in dark murky water with unknown creatures swimming in it, and so you have to walk on these tiny lines of muddy dirt between the rice patches. The dirt line was already thin and slippery to begin with, and on top of that some of the pathways had been washed over with water. This is where the sticks came in – you used them to pole vault yourself over flooded over pathways. It sounded fun to me, until my stick almost snapped in half under my weight on my first pole vault. Needless to say, over half of our group fell in the water at least one time. I managed to escape unscathed and good thing too – our guide found a black mamba in the water!

Again and again I am blown away by the friendliness and generosity of the people here. As our group attempted to make our way through the rice plantation, the workers there were quick to come over and lend a helping hand. They quickly gathered brush and tried to cover the flooded over pathways so we could walk over them. In return, we provided the day’s entertainment for them. I am sure we were quite a spectacle to see, falling in to the rice patties and screaming loudly when even a toe dipped into the waters. The rice plantation workers waded throughout the fields barefoot. Several of the women working in the field were in hysterics by the time we left. I am sure their families that night got a good laugh out of us too.

Luckily, the trek was worth it. The monkeys were amazing to see. After our initial rice patty experience, our guide wisely decided to take us on a new route home. We ended up walking through several villages. Our guide said it was highly likely that some of the children in these villages had never seen a white person before – and I think he was right. An adorable girl, who couldn’t have been more than 2 teetered to the edge of the fence outside her house to peer at us. One of the women in our group called out a cheerful “Hello”. The girl immediately burst out into wailing tears. As we walked further into the village we saw around 15 children playing ball in the street. Upon seeing us they all began screaming and running to the houses. Almost immediately we would see little faces pop into the windows of the homes curiously watching us parade through the town.

All in all, our “2 hour” hike took over 3 ½ hours.