Upon reaching the village at the foot of the mountain, we were charged a fee (less than CAN$2). This is normal, and we knew about it beforehand.
The hike was surprisingly difficult: certainly harder than any hikes I have yet braved (including Sipi in Uganda). We did not undertake the highest hike (which would have brought us above the cloud layer), and after an hour we were certainly glad of that.
There were many villagers living on the mountainside. It was stunning to climb three hours from the nearest genuine village and still find houses. I could only wonder at how the residents can make a living. Having no expenses is a plus; but spraining an ankle or catching malaria must be simply awful.
We arrived at the pinnacle of our hike after four hours of steep, muddy climbing. We ate while absorbing a view of all of Morogoro and its surrounding mountains: absolutely spectacular, and certainly worth the effort. Some children who had followed us along the path (barefoot, on the steep, slippery mud) sat with us. (White people are certainly not a surprise in the budding tourism industry around Morogoro, but we are still uncommon. And when we fumble around with our improving Swahili, we become even more interesting.)
Our trip down was meant to pass an area called Morningside, where European missionary work dates back to German (pre-WW1) days. Unfortunately, our path was blocked at a bottleneck by a billy-goats-gruff-style villager who tried to extort the equivalent of CAN$5 from us. Our fee at the bottom had been paid, and we showed proof; but this man said he was being ripped off by the people at the bottom so he was taking matters into his own hands.
We backtracked. Our hard climb up the mud became an even harder climb down, but after a few tumbles we got through the worst of it. Our guide took us along a shortcut, and before we knew it we were walking through a part of Morogoro we had never seen. We turned a corner and—surprise—there was our convent.
Morogoro and its inhabitants are stunningly beautiful. I miss the place already.
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Some children near our convent play football; others spectate from the top of a container.
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The road leading to our convent. Yes, people drive over this. Sometimes things get messy.
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There was a person standing outside the middle building in this picture for at least ten minutes.
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The hike was steep and muddy. We were accompanied by some barefoot local children.
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A man thatches his roof on a peak. (The long pole on his hut is an aerial.)
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Morogoro from above: a stunning view.
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There were perils along the path, such as this broken but workable bridge.