After yesterday’s hard ride we had a welcome day off the bike today.  The order of the day was a hike to Irente viewpoint.  A hike of about 15 km.   Before going up the hill we went into Lushoto to visit the friends of Usambara office and take a quick tour of the Irente market.  An African market must be experienced to be appreciated.  Very chaotic, very colourful and truly a wonderful way to experience the local culture.

After leaving the market we started climbing out of Lushoto and were welcomed by some truly spectacular views. Unfortunately as we continued to climb we ascended into the clouds.  When we reached our ultimate destination we found ourselves completely shrouded in clouds.  To bad we missed this opportunity but it was still a wonderful hike. 

After waiting a while at the view point for the cloud to clear (no luck) went on to our lunch at Irente farm.  Irente farm is a very picturesque German style mountain lodge harking back to days of German colonialism.  The picture below is the view from Irente farms.