Our second day at Mount Meru Camp—and our first test hike. We hiked to a “spiritual place.” I wondered if it was so the guides could ask for blessings once they saw us. We had to be accompanied by an armed ranger because of the wild animals. Notice how lush the landscape is at 7,500 feet.

Our travel documents described the hike as “a pleasant hike in the lush cedar and Podocarpus forests, set within Arusha National Park.”