Arusha: colorful gateway

Mount Meru's 4,566 meter high top is mostly hidden in clouds

Arusha is a booming town on the southern slopes of Mount Meru. Every year some 250,000 people (as many as the town has inhabitants) visit Arusha, the gateway to the national parks and conservation areas in the northwest of

Uhuru monument to commemorate Tanzania's independence in 1964

Tanzania. On a clear day it is even possible to see Kilimanjaro from the city.

To cater to those tourists' needs, the town has several tourist shopping centers, fenced-off complexes of pretty stone buildings filled with woodcarvings and soapstone statues. Since we visited one of those malls on our way from Kenya to Lake Manyara, we tell Yahaya we're not really interested in visiting another upon our return. Besides, we're all shopped out as far as souvenirs are concerned, and the prices are ridiculous.

Although a banana harvest cycle takes about 39 weeks, the fruits grow all year long

The one thing Helma would still like to buy is ground coffee but at US$ 12 for half a pound it is badly overpriced. Especially considering that this coffee is grown right here on Meru's slopes!

The tourist shopping areas are beautifully landscaped areas, and prices to match

No, what I would like is an English newspaper, which I can get from a street vendor with some help from Yahaya -apparently no major disasters have befallen the world during our absence as the paper basically offers local news. We would also like to see a bit of the town. Yahaya decides to take us to a major food and goods market where we can do some sightseeing.

As it turns out, the regular visitors of the market consider us to be the sight. They keep their distance but people openly stare at us, or call out in broken English to draw our attention. I can't fault them; although the market is huge and crowded, ours are the only white faces around. Then again, 99% of Tanzania's population is of African descent, so it's not that outrageous.

African markets are crowded and colorful events; this is on the way to Mountain Village for lunch

Every kind of food has its own squared-off area within the market place. Stall after stall after stall is selling coconuts, fruits or bananas. In other areas people are selling second hand clothes, or potatoes and vegetables, or meat. The meat market stalls are actually small buildings with a representation painted on the walls informing prospective customers what sort of meat is being sold: sheep, or veal etc.

Bunches of bananas are stacked meters high

Small trucks come and go continuously, filled with men and/or goods. A single sack of potatoes weighs around 150 kgs but the men carry it on their shoulders like it's not heavy at all. We decide to skip the fish market; the smell wafting from one of the trucks filled with fish is enough!

Fire tree flowers give color to the green forests

Next up is a visit to a woodworking shop. It is a cooperation, meaning that the woodcarvers own the place, and share expenses and profits. We get a small tour of the workshops that are located in the open air beneath lean-tos. Every carver has his own specialty: some will only carve small elephants, others specialize in big animals, or human figures. We are also demonstrated that the black ebony wood is actually the heart of the ebony tree. The bark is light colored and stripped away. Raw ebony looks dusty and weathered; shoe polish gives it its deep shiny black color! Ebony is also very heavy, and we all have to try to lift a piece.

Colobus monkeys have a long, fluffy tail that can grow up to almost a meter long

Yahaya drops us off at the Dikdik Hotel, where we will spend a leisurely day of relaxation before he will come to pick us up and take us to Kilimanjaro International Airport for the flight home. After all that driving, Magiel, Dana and I decide we would like to take a hike in the surrounding forest the following day. Bartender Francis will be happy to take us and we agree to meet the next morning at 9.30.

Abundant vegetation grows along the edges of a pond

Francis asks if we have seen the colobus monkeys yet. We shake our heads. No, we saw vervet monkeys, blue monkeys and baboons but not the colobus - whatever they are. He grins. He'll find us the colobus, he promises.

The first part of the walk is past the hotel grounds. The complex grows its own fruit and vegetables and the grounds are extensive. Then we reach the forest. Francis takes us to the spring that provides clean water for the Dikdik Hotel - although it is advisable not to drink it, it can be used for teeth-brushing and such.

We have to walk in single file along the narrow path past the spring

We follow him along a narrow trail beneath immense trees, following the water. Several times we meet people with brightly colored containers who have come to collect water at the spring. We greet them with a cheerful 'Jambo' (Hello) and are rewarded with smiles and a return greeting.

Unknown species of butterfly

Francis stops several times, studying the forest. "This way," he says and points at the trail up a hill. The trail soon ends on a dirt road and we follow the road for a hundred meters. Francis points. "Over there." In a tall tree we discern several black-and-white colored animals. The colobus monkeys. They sport a thick plumed tail and a white mantle that runs down their sides and backs. Colobus monkeys are arboreal and rarely venture to the forest floor. We watch for a while as they cavort in the treetops and when we return to the hotel, Magiel makes another mark in his pocket guide to African animals.