Moshi

The bus is shaking heavily as we slowly advance to the Tanzanian border. Sand is coming in through the windows and covers everything. Tsavo West National Park is on right side, but no animals visible. The border - the Kenyan officials jokes that he now has to arrest me because I overstayed my Kenyan Visa by 30 days, but he lets me pass. A tarmac road welcomes us on the Tanzanian side. We swiftly arrive in Moshi.
Moshi is on the foot of the world famous Kilimanjaro (5895m) which is also the highest peak in Africa. Snow still covers the summit, but will vanish in the decade(s) ahead. It is mostly invisible because of clouds produced by the evaporating snow.
Moshi is remarkable unremarkable. A city of 150'000 people, mostly sustained by hard currency from tourists. A five day hike to the summit costs anywhere from 800$ to what ever people are willing to pay. After checking out the city on the day of arrival I walked up the slopes towards the Kilimanjaro. The classic African, reddish dirt road took me through villages, lush forests, to small scale farms and picturesque creeks. A nice "safari" with the peak visible at all times, until the sun got to strong and the volcano decided to cover its nudity.
In the evening I went out for some beers in local bars and left after 2 nights spend.