Where we are staying for the next two weeks

Yesterday's post was a little late, so if you missed it you can read it here first...

https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2021/02/long-day-to-get-to-usambara-mountains.html

So, the taxi was bringing us along this dirt track that was not much wider than a walking path. I had seen pictures of the property, so I kind of knew what to expect, but from the looks of this path I wasn't sure we were heading in the right direction!

We came to an old wooden gate, and the driver got out to fully open it so we could get through. He seemed confident that we were going to the right place.

Scenery along the way.

Sure enough, we came to a clearing where we could see the house.

Yep, this is the place!

I'm trying to learn some more about the history of this old house. It seems so out of place here in rural Tanzania. During the German colonial period from the 1890s to 1918 the area was popular with settlers. Large farms and plantations were created in what was a pleasant mountain climate.

I believe that is when this big old house was built.

The current owner does not live on site, but there is a large local staff. The property is beautiful, and while the house is a little dated and needs some work, it's a beautiful location. We do not have access to the master bedroom, but otherwise we are the only ones here besides the staff and we have the run of the place.

Ruth on the property.

There is a fishing pond.

Our bedroom.

Our bathroom.

There is a shower we can use in the downstairs bathroom.

The living room.

The living room is huge. What you are seeing in the photo above is only half of it! There is seating for 12 people! We are pretty comfy sitting in there. There is also a big fireplace that the staff have offered to light up for us, but it really hasn't been necessary yet.

Ruth in the kitchen.

We have full use of the kitchen, but the staff will also cook for us. We have not yet checked into the prices!

The dining room.

We have booked in for a two week stay at 70,000 shillings ($38.50 CAD, $30.25 USD) per night for the two of us.

We had a rest, but then did the short walk back into town to pick up some supplies. It will take us a few days to figure out where the best places are to buy things. There is no larger grocery store so you have to go to several shops to get what you're looking for, and even then we found it difficult. Again, hopefully after a couple of days we'll get things figured out.

The road into town.

We were having a hard time finding fresh chicken. Asking some questions using Google Translate in Swahili, we finally found someone who spoke some English. He said "do you want plump European factory chicken, or do you want local natural chicken?"

We said local chicken. We probably should have chosen the plump European one!

We were brought to a stand that had several skinny chicken carcasses on it. They asked if we wanted it cut up, which they did (including removing the head for us!) and then proceeded to tell us that would be 15,000 shillings ($8.25 CAD, $6.50 USD). We think we got taken, but at least we had dinner! And, we'll get two meals out of it for the two of us.

There seem to be a lot more Muslim people in Lushoto, so booze is maybe not that common. But we found a place to buy some beer and a bottle of the local stuff.

Next up was some fruits and veggies.

Ruth, buying some veggies.

The lady does not look overly impressed with me.

We both slept great last night. The bed is a little hard, but the sheets and pillows are good quality which made for a comfy night's sleep. 

They are calling for more rain today, but the forecast for Monday through Friday is supposed to be beautiful. We are looking forward to getting out and exploring the area.

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Decent deal on this Kindle Paperwhite.

And in Canada...

Bath Towels