We headed out this morning to a new coffee shop for breakfast. We had a huge breakfast and very strong coffee. Perhaps too strong. The highlight was the fruit. There’s nothing better than local fresh fruit. We agreed it was the best mango we’ve ever had.

From here we headed to the trailhead for the Materuni waterfall, which sits among coffee plantations and the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. As we turned onto the road up the mountain, we had young guys on motorcycles riding beside us trying to get us to open our windows and talk to them. One guy followed us 20 minutes up. I wasn’t sure if I was being paranoid or if he was actually following us.

Millie started feeling carsick from the bumpy and windy ride, so we pulled over for a breather. 5 minutes later our guy came down to find us and confirmed, yep, he was following us. We told him we were meeting someone at the trailhead (a lie), hoping it would get him to give up. It didn’t. We continued upwards as everything got more rural. We weren’t sure if we were heading in the right direction or what we’d find once we got there.

When we arrived we were hounded by about 15 different guys, including our stalker, trying to get us to choose them as our guides for the trail. While I understand the hustle, we do not do well under pressure. Finally a kind safari guide pulled us aside and told us what we needed to do and how much we should be paying. We chose a less aggressive guide, paid our entrance fee, and were on our way.

As we walked up it started to make sense why guides were required. We walked through a small farming village. I’m sure they wouldn’t want a bunch of tourists exploring everywhere.

Our guide Abdul showed us where the coffee was growing and where the mountain was. Unfortunately it was too cloudy for us to see it.

It was super muddy. Millie kept slipping and finding it hilarious. It wasn’t the easiest hike but she did great, especially considering we weren’t prepared at all and she was in socks and sandals.

At one point it was so muddy that Abdul carried her like a baby. She laughed and liked it until she didn’t. She made it very clear that she did not want to be touched by strangers.

After about an hour we started to hear the waterfall, and then we saw it. It was very pretty and worth the walk. Everyone who passed us was amazed that Millie made it all the way. I felt proud.

An aside, she is starting to make clever jokes. Her timing and sarcasm is great. Nick carried her a bit and then put her down in the mud accidentally. She said “thank you dad for putting me down in this mud”. Later, we told her the hike was good practice for backpacking someday. She said “I don’t really want to go backpacking but I would like to go suitcasing”.

We walked back to the car. Driving home was a lot less stressful than getting there. No one followed us this time.

We got back to the Airbnb and rinsed the massive amount of mud off our pants and shoes. We checked to see how far we had hiked. 5 miles and a lot of elevation!

We were too tired to choose a new place for dinner so we went back to the same restaurant as last night. It was much busier today and Millie made friends with a little girl named Maya. We eavesdropped on their adorable conversation. Questions were “do you live in this city? How old is your mom? Do you like Frozen?”

Millie ordered her favorite food, pizza. As we were leaving she told me “Mom look” and pulled up her shirt. “I packed one for the road”. She had a slice wrapped in a napkin tucked in her leggings. That’s my girl.