I thought for my last photo post of the year I’d put up a shot from what I feel was the best part of it, my trip to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. It really was a very special trip, one I don’t think I’ll forget.
This was taken across the street from where I stayed, the Springlands Hotel. We hired a local guide to take us into town to show us around and while we were waiting for the van to arrive to drive us into town we went for a little walk down to the spring. The old railway cut across this area, coming into town from the south. Later that day we would see the abandoned train station where the trains would stop, unload and reload its passengers and cargo.
It’s a little sad to see this railway in the state that it is, I think it could be helpful to the local economy, especially agriculture. The lower slopes of Kilimanjaro — which you can see in the distance — are green and lush, covered in crops, including coffee. Damn fine coffee. Perhaps with a little help they could market their coffee around the world and bring in some much needed income to the area. Then again, maybe they want to keep it for themselves, I know I’d want to.
So, that’s it for 2013. It went by way too fast, but it was a memorable year! Thanks for reading.
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