Author’s note: This post is part of a series on my recent trip and climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, to read all posts click here.
I rose Saturday morning feeling surprisingly refreshed despite the weary night sleep. Our hotel room was on the first floor next to some loud female cats in heat and finally around three am I had to shut the window to get rid of the noise and awful stink. I fell in and out of a fitful, jet lagged sleep for the next several hours lying like a princess under my white canopy bed net.
The sounds of Africa woke me up as the neighboring community outside our hotel compound walls arose. Cars honking, kids playing, birds singing and motorbikes buzzing. All the sounds of life told me that it was time to get out of bed.
Workers unloading the daily supplies of fresh produce for the Springlands hotel.
We had nothing planned that day except our gear check and meeting on the details of our hike. I knew I couldn’t spend another entire day behind the walls of our hotel. I needed to get out and explore. I spoke with the friendly hotel staff and planned two outings for the day. A visit to a nearby orphanage supported by the charity of the hotel and a tour of the rice paddy fields outside the hotel.
For the rice paddies, I hired a local guide named Kebello and set off on a land tour through the rice paddies behind the hotel and into the rich, thicket forest harboring three different kinds of monkeys. Before I laced up my shoes, I knew it was going to be an adventure.
“Karibu!” Kebello bellowed welcoming me in the singsong language of Swahili. “Are you ready“? It was four o’clock and the sun was still rather hot but I was more than ready to leave the confines of the hotel and see what life was like outside its doors. I’d only stepped out briefly the night before to capture my first shot of Mount Kilimanjaro looming in the horizon. The guards opened the large steel door of the hotel and out we went into the surrounding fields and villages of Moshi.
Setting off
I had no idea that rice was grown in Tanzania and in all my travels had never actually seen a rice paddy field. For some naive reason, I assumed rice grew mainly in Asia but realized how wrong I was. Along with maize, coffee, plantains, millet and cassava, rice is one of the main crops grown in Tanzania and is served with many meals. Despite the fact that only 4% of Tanzania’s land can be cultivated, like most countries in Africa agriculture makes up the largest sector of Tanzania’s economy estimated at over 26% of GDP according to the World Factbook (CIA). Over 80% of Tanzanians earn their living in farming and agriculture accounts for 85% of all exports.
As we walked past the harvested maize, views of Mount Kilimanjaro peaked in and out of the clouds. It was hard to believe that we would be leaving the next day to begin our climb.
We followed a dirt road leading us through a small village of homes. There were children playing and yelling Jambo! in delight as we passed by. I found the kids to be rather irresistible. Kids are kids wherever you go and Tanzanian children love smiling in front of the camera. I snapped their photo and then they huddled around me giggling and hooting with joy at their silly faces on-screen. I wish I had brought a Polaroid so I could have printed them a copy out right then and there.
The surrounding landscape of Mount Kilimanjaro is rich and fertile, and has a lovely subtropical climate that is highly conducive to growing crops. Moshi is no exception, having a moderate climate that receives plenty of sunlight and rain to grow crops and also breed lots of mosquitos!
Rice paddy fields with Kilimanjaro in the distance
Walking in the paddy fields was not exactly easy. It was muddy and exceptionally slippery and wet making each step a balancing act. I would soon find out just how slippery it was on the way back.
The paddy fields are divided up for each family into equal plots of semiaquatic, flooded arable land. They go for miles and miles. We could see men out in the fields harvesting rice and woman carrying back firewood for cooking on their heads.
A divider separating a rice paddy field per family.
There were tons of beautiful birds and banana trees lining the fields.
The flowering banana tree
At the end of the fields, we entered a beautiful lush forest filled with the sounds of monkeys playing high above the canopy of trees. We saw the black and white coloring of the acrobatic black-and-white colobus monkeys who thrive in the forests surrounding Kilimanjaro. As much as I wanted to get a picture, they were too darn quick and I had to just leave them to memory.
The sun was beginning to sink lower into the sky and it was time to head back. Unfortunately this is where my luck ran out. As we were crossing a homemade wood bridge through the paddies, I lost my balance and slipped into the mud below. My right leg slid right off the makeshift bridge, swinging the wooden plank abruptly upwards and striking the inside of my left leg. I winced in pain. Slowly I pulled myself up out of the muddy water and discovered that my left leg was bruised, swollen and cut. Oh no! This was not what I needed to happen to me right before a big climb! I had enough worries already given a bad right hip that I’d been nursing and strengthening for months before the trip. Now I hurt my left leg!
I looked over at Mount Kilimanjaro rising mighty off in the horizon. Somehow I was going to make it to the top, pain or not.
“How many times life has seemed too steep a hill to climb. How many times the hill has disappeared like mist”. – Alice Walker, “The Taste of Grudge”
Beautiful! Sorry about your leg. I hope it didn’t slow you down.
I did alright but it swelled every day and now two weeks after the fact I’m still having to rest my knee as it put a lot of stress on it. Oh well. Good news is it is mending! 🙂
Oh my gosh! What a story!
Yes it was pretty crazy. I hurt my leg pretty bad and now home for two weeks and it is still mending! But the good news is it could always have been worse! I could have broke it. 🙂
Karibu! Jambo! My two new words of the day. Well, between the loud female cats in heat and the fall off the makeshift bridge, I am at the edge of my seat waiting for your next post. lol
Let is ok but I will be honest that it has been two weeks and I’ve had to rest and ice it every day. I am so glad I didn’t break it! That would have been a nightmare. I did injure myself pretty bad though.
I would never have thought there would be rice paddies there!
Yes I was so surprised. A lot surprised me about Tanzania. It is really a beautiful place.
Oh may goodness, and right before your trek was to begin. Can’t wait to hear about your first day on the mountain.
Yes it was some really bad luck LuAnn. It swelled every single day and still is healing now at home. But thankfully I didn’t break anything!
Now I am just that much more impressed Nicole. Hiked with a bad leg no less!
Not sure if it is good or bad LuAnn! 🙂 I am just so thankful I didn’t break anything! It was pretty bad after I fell. Could hardly walk and all swollen and black and blue. I wanted to cry but didn’t.
You are one amazing woman!
Oh don’t know about that LuAnn! I just like to be adventurous whenever I can. It helps break me out of the routine and grow. 🙂
What a great adventure! I too would have gone exploring into the rice fields and jungle! Too bad about your injury but it seems it didn’t hold you back any, not with your fierce determination. Hope it didn’t hurt too much.
Alison
Thanks Alison! The injury ended up being pretty bad. My leg swelled horribly and it put a ton of pressure on my knee. I’ve had to ice daily and really take it easy but it is healing thank goodness! I need my knee!
Glad to hear it’s healing. And you climbed the mountain with that! Kudos!
Alison
🙂 I’m definitely my dad’s daughter!
PS You got some great shots!
A.
Thanks Alison!
I envy you. As an aside, they grew rice in South Carolina.
Thanks Irene! 🙂
I might skip out on the rice paddy tour, I can see myself being injured too! Good thing you were determined to make it to the summit! Roar!
Ha Ha…yes it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. I’ve been home two weeks now and sadly I ended up hurting my knee. I think the accident just made it prone to injury but the good news is that each day it is feeling better and better so I know it is healing. Ever since I hit 40, I’ve been prone to way more injuries but that won’t stop me! Now I need to find my next hike to plan!
Fabulous photo gallery, Nicole. The rice paddy fields are vast and very organised by the sound of it. The people must work so hard to make a living.
Thanks Sylvia. Yes earning a living off the land is very hard. I can’t imagine it.
Beautiful imagery as always Nicole! I feel like I am right there with you and getting energized for the ascent!
Thanks Lisa! 🙂 More coming soon!
Oh dear, I hope you didn’t hurt yourself too badly! Looks like a really interesting visit though. I had no idea that so little of Tanzania’s land can be cultivated.
Ha Ha…. my leg is still a bit sore and it is two weeks since I’ve been back. Unfortunately it reminds me that I’m 43. Darn it! I want my body to keep working like I was 20 but sadly it doesn’t . 🙂
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Glad to read in the comments that your leg was ok for the walk & by now I hope fully back to normal. What an awful thing to happen just before the climb, so lucky it wasn’t worse.
It’s interesting about the rice (& lovely pics). I know it’s a popular food in West Africa & i was surprised to learn, when I was researching a blog series I did on Ghanaian street food, that one of the two major strains of rice is native to Africa. It’s apparently more nutritious but the yields are lower than Asian rice, which is now taking over rice-cropping in Africa, along with a newer hybrid. There’s a whole controversy about it all which is very interesting. I wonder what they were growing in the paddies you saw.
Yes thankfully the leg healed but it took three weeks after I got home to fully recover. As for the rice, that is really interesting. I had no idea. I too wonder what they were growing and what the yield is like. Rice was served with everything there.
I bet Ghanaian street food is delicious! 🙂
Glad to hear it’s better & yes Ghana street food is amazing.
Thanks! Someday I will get to Ghana.