The Spirit of Cycle Touring&Kilimanjaro from Below

Imagine you had a map that was in fact a miniature version, in every last detail, of the world. Further, imagine you could place all your senses into one finger; then run that finger over the landscape. That, i realised on my way to Moshi from Lake Duluti - 15km's outside Arusha, aptly described in my guidebook as 'a beautiful, forest-fringed, crater-lake' - where i camped last night, is what you experience by cycle touring. More than any other form of travel you become almost one with the landscape; gliding down the slopes, grinding up the hills, sweating in the heat, being blown about by the wind. Add to that the fact that you can carry everything you need, from food to shelter, and meet the local people face to face, and i doubt there is any better way of experiencing a new country.

Arusha-Moshi (via Lake Duluti)

[Total distance: 56miles]

Rather than staying in Arusha for another day i decided to overnight at Lake Duluti, where i finally used my tent and cooked for myself (and therefore was at last able to have oats for breakfast), and just generally relaxed. It is indeed a beautiful place, great for birdwatching and very quiet - although this was shattered for a time by a score of locals pitching-up to watch the Arsenal playing Chelsea in the FA Charity Shield (modern technology has a lot to answer for).
Herons hunting in the reeds, Fish Eagles and cormorants swooping over the lake - which is not more than about 200m across - sunbirds in the bottlebrush trees next to my tent, and various bird parties (including the unexpected bonus of a striking Slaty-eyed Flycatcher) moving through kept me busy for the afternoon and morning before i left.

The cycle to Moshi was a pleasant one, with the road in good condition, fine weather with only a mild headwind, and an undulating landscape. It also helped that in total i dropped down about 1000metres in altitude; though unlike the plains after Namanga, Moshi lies amidst a very lush landscape, presumably because it is at the base of Kilimanjaro. And it was as i was walking down one of the main streets of Moshi this afternoon that the clouds briefly parted and i saw the peak of Kilimanjaro, exactly a month after i flew over iton the way to Kenya. It is the first of two major landmarks, the other being Lake Malawi, that i saw from the air and which i hope to cycle past.

I spent the last remnants of the day sitting on the roof of the Buffalo Hotel, where i have a cheap room at the bottom, cutting up some sugar cane whilst sitting next to the water tanks (officially the place doesn't have an accessible roof) with one of the cleaners who was up there listening to his pocket radio, and watching the sun set as the clouds curled coyly around Kilimanjaro's Peak refusing to reveal what lay below.

I suspect that i'll be spending another day here, perhaps getting a book (i do get bored with my own thoughts at times, though you wouldn't guess that from the amount i write would you) and a new pair of sandals. Then it's off to Same (80km's from here) from where i hope to turn off the Arusha-Dar es Salaam road and head into the Southern Pare and Usambara Mountains, coming out at the coast.