Rediscovering Kasulu

Normally I wouldn’t dedicate an entire to post to Kasulu (after all, not only have I mentioned it before but it’s also essentially a dustier version of Kibondo (and I don’t mean that in a bad way – I’ve developed quite an attachment for my adopted hometown; I just mean there’s not much new to report)). However, my encounters with Kasulu in the past have either involved staying at a guest house in town or just passing through on the way to Kibondo or Kigoma. Little did I know that there’s a miniature Eden tucked away in a compound on the edge of town. Or rather, I knew of it (since Tim (also of PiAf) was living there), but I had no idea just how amazing the garden that he’d mentioned really was.

On this trip to Kasulu though, I stayed with Tim and got to see it for myself. And wow – it’s beautiful. Gorgeous roses, budding birds of paradise, impatients with blooms about 3 times larger than I’d ever seen in the states, flowering cacti, banana trees with their hanging blossoms, and brilliantly colored indigenous plants and flowers everywhere I looked. There was even a family of tortoises hiding in the shade of one of the rock walls – and an ivy-covered gardening shed that looked like something straight out of The Secret Garden. It was an absolutely stunning garden ... and in spite of that attachment that I’ve developed for Kibondo, I have to admit that I was a little jealous of Tim’s housing setup!

(for more pictures, scroll through the "Images of Africa" slideshow - I uploaded a bunch)