Today we had lunch reservations for Shanga Gardens so the
taxi picked us up at 11:30 a.m. for our 12 p.m. reservation. One of the girls
found this place on trip adviser. We knew it was beautiful, but we had no idea
how beautiful and beneficial the place actually was for the community. Shanga
Gardens is a place for people with disabilities to work and earn a living and
feel productive in society. People who have disabilities are often shunned here
in East Africa and there are few services for them. Many of the people who work
at this facility are deaf. They communicate through sign language and gestures.
All of the people at the shop are incredibly talented…from artists to glass
blowing to weaving to making jewelry, they are really amazing.
There was one
guy that was laying on his side named Moshi who was painting name plates. I
bought one for my niece. He was absolutely incredible. He personalized these
unique pieces of art for anyone who passed by the shop. Everyone who worked in
the shop seemed to enjoy his or her job. I bought many things including
jewelry, art, homemade wine, and a small glass vase. After touring the
workshop, we headed out to the garden for our welcoming drink. They offered
passion juice or champagne. I won’t tell you which one I chose! Then, we headed
into the restaurant for our meal. The first course was a carrot ginger soup
with a bread roll. It was so velvety and smooth that it slid right down my
throat. Then, we had a vegetable samosa with mango chutney. We have samosas in
Uganda, but this was the most delicious samosa I had ever tasted. Then, we had
a buffet for lunch. The buffet included potato salad, carrot salad, pasta
salad, tomato/mozzarella, and lettuce, lentils, chicken, beef, and tilapia. It
was just divine. It reminded me of some of the really nice places I have had lunch
like Josephine’s in Godfrey. After dinner, our waiter served coffee and a
dessert tray. The coffee was from the plantation next door and the deserts
included chocolate covered coffee beans, fruit, fried coconut doughnuts, and
some toffee dessert. They were in little portions, but we were still stuffed by
the end of the meal. After the meal, we sat in the garden a little longer and
also completed our purchases at the shop.
After the market, we headed to the ATM, Shoprite, and then a
Mexican place, which had wifi. I love to buy food in other countries, so I
learned to buy goodies in grocery stores where you can pay the same price that
locals pay. I bought passion fruit jam, mint tea, vanilla tea, coffee from
Kenya and Tanzania, chia tea, and of course a bottle of water. After groceries,
we headed to the Mexican place to eat good food and enjoy connecting with our
families. I hadn’t talked with my parents since Saturday and I knew they were
worried because my mom actually called my cell phone. I had a friend email them
last night to let them know I was okay, but I knew I needed to touch base with
them. I know I put my parents through a lot with all of my travels, so I knew
communicating with them was priority today. Plus, I needed to add to my
discussion post for my class, so I could kill two birds with one stone.
After connecting with the outside world, I enjoyed some food
and headed back to the hotel. We are planning to leave early in the morning to
catch a bus to Moshi.
