We took a day to travel to Marangu (about 45 min. from Kiboroloni) and first visit Marangu Falls (where Stacey, Wendy and I are pictured here). They are beautiful as well as home to a few legends. I was anxious to hear these exotic Tanzanian legends, which I predicted were full of mermaids, fairies and long-lost loves amidst the tropical mountain foliage...
...but the first legend told by the people in the Marangu area about the falls is that years ago, if people were caught fornicating, both parties involved in the act were pierced through with a spear and thrown over the falls. Yeah. Not exactly what I was expecting, though I'm not sure what I was expecting either; perhaps a Maasai Paul Bunyan and Big Blue Goat? :) The second legend was not much more than a step above the first: there is a statue of a woman overlooking the falls at the top, and legend has it that she threw herself over the falls when her parents were forcing her to marry someone she did not love (which, by the way, was the basic plot of every Tanzanian film I've seen). But despite the falls' dismal reputation, I thought they were still beautiful and fun to visit. The vegetation was what I imagined parts of the rain forest would be – very thick and so much green, beautiful with sparkling waters and cool mists blanketing slippery rocks.
We then hiked up to Mount Kilimanjaro National Park by way of the back roads through local farms was amazing – so breathtaking with every twist an turn as we climbed higher and higher; it felt like we were in the Shire with the vibrant green and quaint countryside feel. Once inside the park's gate, we explored the entrance area and saw lots of treks just returning from their attempt at summiting the highest point in Africa. One couple from Oregon who had successfully reached the peak and gotten back the moment we entered visited with us for a few minutes about their experience. They were very honest about it and said the trip was awful, simply horrible because they were so sick by the time they reached the top. We were told over and over again how dangerous the climb can be if it's not done right, as most mountain excursions in the world are, I would assume. The porters, who I cannot imagine the muscle capacity to carry not only their stuff but all the gear for someone else too, are usually buried by age 35 because of the physical strain. Someone said it is less than 50 percent of th treks that attempt the journey actually reach the peak, but believe it or not, the most successful summiting demographic is made up of people over the age of 50-55 years. Their "slow and steady" treks are always more successful than those of their headstrong, impatient, overzealous young whippersnapping counterparts who don't take enough time and allow their bodies to adjust. :) Even though the Oregon couple warned us of the challenge it truly is, just being at the starting point of the climbs got me totally antsy to try it one day, but we'll see...
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