Sat, 28-Jun-25

We arrived in Tanzania at 8pm local time after a very long and tiring journey from Inverness which started at 4:15am, BST. It hadn’t sunk in that by the end of the day, we would be in Tanzania. We started with a short flight from Inverness to Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. After we got off the plane, we were told we had an hour to make it across the humongous airport, thankfully we made it in time! We had so much time to spare, that we stopped to enjoy watching the giant fish tank in the middle of the gates. Then it was time to board the aeroplane that we would be in for the next 8 hours. However, time passed quickly as we had TV screens on the flight and there were great vibes. We were even laughing at a teacher crying at a movie (Gladiators 2).

Sun, 29-Jun-25

Our first day started off with a tour around the market by Elly and his team. In the market, we felt a bit out of place but were made to feel welcome with lots of “Jambo’s” and “Mambos” (greetings) from the market sellers! It was surreal and so different to how we live in Scotland, the fruit and veg looked so fresh! The tour continued through Moshi town and ended at the train station with a local man sharing his knowledge about the history of the train and the area!

After a delicious hot lunch at Berea, we then drove to the village of Marangu to learn more about Chagga culture and visit the local waterfall! We were given a tour and lesson on the culture of the area by our amazing guides Edward and Elly. We learnt that when girls turn 16, they get gifted a beaded anklet and other cultural practises of the Chagga tribe. The waterfalls were amazing!

On the way back, we had to make a detour off the road as traffic was stopped for a very important parade, with the torch that signifies Tanzania’s Independence traveling through the area, which only happens once a year! There was lots of celebration and singing from the passing parade.