The airport in Kigali is the most relaxed airport I have ever been to. It is completely empty and we can go straight through passport control to the empty check-in counter. The flight to Arusha in the small plane is wonderful and Uwe and I have the huge Mount Meru right next to us as we approach the landing. Unfortunately we don’t see the legendary Kilimanjaro. It must be somewhere further back.

The Kilimanjaro International Airport is also extremely relaxed and after just a few minutes we are through border control and have our luggage in hand.

I would have liked to travel to Arusha overland, but our plans and the dates of our safari changed so often that we decided to take the fast route to Tanzania.

Our Couchsurfing hosts Eric and Shangwe are waiting outside, as is Brian, who takes a deposit for the safari for our later tour guide.

We drive with Eric and Shangwe to nearby Tengeru, which is just before Arusha. There we are given a small house to use.

There is little, but it is a place where we can sleep. We watch football together in a nearby bar and Shangwe cooks pilaf with avocado cream for us before we go to sleep.

Tengeru is located before the big city of Arusha and is a suburb where only locals live. We are a little skeptical when we are taken along a narrow dirt road around a few corners to a walled complex where the house we are allowed to stay in is located.

Although Shangwe is half our age, she takes care of us like a mother. Every morning she comes to the house and cooks something for us. She gives us ideas about what we can do that day and she shows us around herself, showing us her place, coffee plantations and other places in her homeland.

Contrary to our expectations, there are a few things to see in Tengeru. Firstly, there is the rather large Patandi Parish Church, which can be seen from far away.

Secondly, there is the small crater lake Lake Duluti, which we want to take a look at. It is not far from our accommodation to get there on foot.

We walk to the nearby Duluti Lake and meet Shangwe, who is guiding tourists. The lake is not big, so we walk around it.

Everywhere they try to make money from tourists. Paddling the lake in a canoe costs 25 USD, walking around it costs 15 USD.

We give up and walk around the lake on public roads. Every now and then, public roads suddenly become private, but no one stops us or shoots us.

For lunch we have Ugali. It’s polenta with green cabbage and spicy sauce. Very tasty.

We pick up Shangwe at her job as a tour guide and she shows us around. We accept her offer to take us to a nearby coffee plantation.

Surprisingly, she is also our tour guide there, while the plantation workers stay in the background. Shangwe has Tengeru under control.

I have memories of Colombia, where I visited a coffee plantation with Uwe. Shangwe shows us the coffee plants, which feel very comfortable in the shade of the banana trees.

Unfortunately, we are far from harvest time, but we can pick a few red berries and even snack on a few ourselves. The coffee berries themselves are edible, sweet and delicious.

But we’re not here for the berries, but for the seeds. We pick a few red berries and put them through a large meat grinder to separate the seeds, the “coffee beans”, from the pulp.

The beans need to be dried for about three to four weeks. We won’t be here that long, so Shangwe already has some dried beans on hand.

We continue with the dry beans and separate them from the dry skin. The beans are placed in a hollowed-out tree trunk and crushed with a club. There is a beautiful dance to the song “Hakuna Matata“. I thought that only happened in “The Lion King“, but everyone here really says it. Then we roast the beans over the fire until dark.

The coffee beans go back into the tamper and become powder, which we can simply throw into a pot of boiling water, let boil briefly, filter and then finally drink. The coffee tastes really good!

On the way back, Shangwe explains banana beer to us. Here, they make a must from bananas using various ingredients. There are many types of bananas here and only one of them is suitable. Then she goes into a small hut on the way where four older ladies in brightly colored dresses are sitting and in a great mood. “This is a bar“, Shangwe explains to us and tells us to sit down while she orders a large mug of banana beer and buys the other ladies some as well.

The women seem to be waiting for such an occasion. Then we wish each other “maey shamarif” – cheers!

The taste of the stuff takes some getting used to, but after a few sips it’s OK. The alcohol content isn’t high yet, as the broth was freshly brewed. After a longer fermentation, the brew becomes stronger and the party is guaranteed to be more fun.

Since our time in Africa, we have only eaten local food and I am surprised that it has not gone wrong yet.

We walk back and drink some more beer with Shangwe and her friends Eric and Allen, who are staying with us. We also drink local “whisky”, which is actually brandy. It’s not bad either, but it has a completely different taste.

From Tengeru we use the next few days for a few excursions. Our safari organizer Leo treats us to a trip to a waterfall at the foot of Kilimanjaro and to an oasis in the middle of nowhere. With Shangwe we also drive to Arusha again to see this city before we set off on our epic safari in Tarangire, Natron and Serengeti.