Good bye, Kibo (by Darina)

Saturday 25th September 2010

Our last day on Kilimanjaro starts early at 6 o'clock. It's still slightly dark but soon we can see the the sun rising and casting its rays around our camp. We're still fairly high (3700m) and the view over the clouds is magnificent.

We are enjoying the last day of the routine - tea to the tent, green washing bowls, packing the rucksacks, going for the breakfast. But that's where the routine ends. After the breakfast all the porters and guides are waiting for us outside the tent and the tipping ceremony starts. The porters sing a couple of songs (and the national anthem) and then Nilam and Jason present our tips. It's quite emotional when you realise our whole trip was dependant on these people. And they took an excellent care of us - feeding us, supporting us, carrying our bags, building our tents. I am very grateful to all of them for making it possible for us to have this fantastic experience while spending our time in the Kilimanjaro National Park. Thank you!

And then it's time to get on the route down. We are leaving Kibo and Mawenzi behind us, still standing there - proud and majestic. The route is a totally different experience and not only because we're walking downhill. We are now on the Machame Route (also called Coca-cola route) and we are passing people who are on their way up. This feels strange. After four five days of meeting very little people on our route, the traffic on this one seems enormous. Our normally very well organised group is not organised anymore either. We are walking more or less on our own, occasionally meet altogether and then splitting again, depending on the pace which everybody finds comfortable. We are walking through sunny and cloudy patches, at one point it looks like it's going to rain. The vegetation is changing too, the bushes are replaced by little trees and bigger trees and by the time we reach our half-way point - Mandara Huts - we walk through the rain forest. What a change this is!

We have a short break at Mandara and some of us get really excited as there is a little shop there selling Coca-cola (hence the nickname of the route). I am happy with just a little bit of a sit down as the constant downhill walking is killing my knees (even though I wear the knee supports). The path wasn't as pretty as on the picture, most of the way it was just stones, rocks and tree roots. But we made it up to here and there is about two three more hours of walking to Marangu Gate, our ultimate goal of today.

Mandara has a special feel for me for another reason. It's a place when my phone finally gets a signal and manages to send a few texts - to my father, to my friends and to Chris Powell who has been a valuable source of information and support to us! And what's more, we get a response from him - unfortunately being denied to climb to the top of Zugspitze due to bad weather. Still it feels like his spirit is here with us!

And now it's time to continue with our track, through the forests and on the paths that are a little bit more enjoyable and comfortable. The nature around us is rich in colour and very lush although I am starting to be a bit impatient and hoping for getting to the finish of the route soon. I am really looking forward to having a beer too. I am dirty, full of dust and dirt, sweaty and thirsty. Although I have enough water in my Camelbak I don't feel like driking it, I had enough of water in the last few days!!! The route seems to be never ending but finally we do get there and we walk through the Marangu Gate (usually the starting point) and we are back to civilization!

There is a registrations office at Marangu gate where we have to sign a ledger to confirm we made it back ok - as I expressed it "We have just logged off Kilimanjaro". It's a bit sad moment as this is where it ends. We are officially back and out of Kili, the special place we had the honour to visit and experience. But we are grateful for being alive and being able to have a little break. We shop in the souvenir shop, we get beer and we sit down. What a feeling!!! Congratulations everyobody, you've done well!

Our certificates are being prepared while some of us are shopping for souvenirs, some of us are having more beer, some of us are sending postcards. Our guides are there too, we even meet Salomon again, who looks healthy and ok. This is a bizzare moment but we are all very happy!

And then our bags are loaded on the bus and we all are on the way away from Kili...

First we stop in the Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort where we pick up our luggages that we left there almost a week ago and we are also re-joined by Gary who so mysteriously left our camp on the summit night. He doesn't mention anything about that night and we don't ask. We are now on the way back to Arusha and the Moivaro Lodge. Some of the guides are in the bus with us and we drop them off on the way, depending on their places of living.

We reach Moivaro Lodge in the early evening. It's dark. Everybody is looking forward to having a shower so we agree we meet again for dinner in about an hour and half. It's strange to be back here, in Moivaro where we started a few days ago. At that time we were full of expectations, maybe a bit scared but a lot more excited and now we're a few days older and full of amazing and unforgettable experience. We've made new friends, we achieved something great, we fulfilled a dream, we overcame a challenge...

I just hope the shower is not going to take away the little dust speckles of Kilimanjaro memories...

The re-union at the dinner (sans Gary) is like a glamorous makeover. Everybody squeaky clean and in different clothing than Berghaus/Helly Hansen/North Face outdoor kit. The beer is being ordered, the burgers are being eaten and we have our own little Certificate ceremony. (It's necessary to note that the Niagara guy whom we met again at the Marangu Gate was on the bus with us to Moivaro Lodge but then he disappeared and we never saw him again). More beer, laugh and talking about Kilimanjaro. That's our last evening together in Africa...

From the roof of Africa with love (part 2) - Uhuru is not just a lager (by Darina)

Friday 24th September 2010, around 7:30am

Nothing like to be sitting around half past seven in the morning on the lower top of Kilimanjaro, taking in the beauty of the sun’s warmth on your face. One thing I am noticing is that there is no snow. We can see glaciers but there is no snow otherwise and that was one of the things we were prepared for. I am very grateful that the weather was so kind to us.

I could probably sit here forever but we need to continue to Uhuru and then rush back to lower altitude. After a short panic episode (me going over the rocks to send an email and then not being able to put my third trousers layer back on therefore me just standing there alone, breathing heavily, being not able to move and not able to think what to do… for about ten minutes!) we set off.

The path is much more pleasant than the nightmare from Jamaica Rocks and is rolling up and down slightly. Still it’s a long way to go, especially when you’re only living on a bar of Cadbury milk chocolate and water (the pipe still frozen so still using the back up water from the bottle). The sun is pleasant but makes me feel sleepy again. At one point I just want to sit down and sleep but Robbie, who’s our guide from Gilman’s Point, keeps saying we’re close. So I keep shuffling and shuffling. People passing us from the other direction, coming back from the peak, keep saying “Well done, keep going” and “Almost there” and similar nonsense as we’re still NOT almost there. It feels like another marathon and we need to make several stops to refresh and de-layer before we finally get to climb the last very slight hill that leads us to another wooden sign!

The first thing that comes to my mind is that this is not what I thought it would look like. It’s a wooden post standing at the end of the road, it’s not like a peak of a mountain at all. But then I realise we’ve arrived, we’re here, we’ve made it and everything else is gone! The tiredness, the hunger, the frozen pipe, the numb toes, lack of sleep, all problems and little troubles vanish because we’re standing on the roof of Africa and what’s more important, we are all ok and enjoying this moment immensely! I feel great. It’s like I am a new person. My breathing is fine, the air is wonderfully fresh. I feel energised and all the tiredness is gone. We all hug, we take pictures, we laugh… It’s an amazing moment.

There is a long way back ahead of us now. It’s hard to believe it’s only half eight in the morning, we were walking for more than eight hours and there are another three hours back to the Kibo Huts for lunch and then three/four hours to our last camp expecting us. It’s not as much fun but the excitement of our achievement is pushing us to move on. The route back is the same up to the Gilman’s Point and through the rocks and stones above the Jamaica Rocks. Then we divert towards a very steep downhill slope of scree. We can either walk it in zigzags or slide which sounds like fun and looks like a fast way how to get down. It’s unbelievably exhausting too I find out very soon. My knees are complaining already, they don’t like the downhill trek at all. I end up falling on to my bum several times too but who cares, there is a lunch awaiting us at the bottom of the hill!

When we finally get to the camp, I just lie down in the tent and lie and lie. We’re covered in fresh dust from the scree adventure. Trying to get rid of it seems like an impossible task as it’s very windy and the dust is just flying around. The camp is very quiet, everybody is resting. Later I learn that some people – Ryan, Jason, Denise – made it to the Gilman’s Point and then decided to go back. I feel a big admiration for them as Ryan and Denise were climbing on an empty stomach and Jason was having big problems with his toes.

The atmosphere at the lunch is much more positive than our breakfast “last night”. I feel happy but also very sleepy and am sure that tonight I will be sleeping like a log even if the tent is suspended in the air somewhere. We get a little bit more time to rest after lunch before we’re rushed to walk to the next camp, the Horombo Camp which is in 3700m. The route is easy, slightly downhill on a pleasant track. We make it to the camp just after the sun set. Our last dinner together is cheerful but the tiredness is taking its toll and we all go to the tents to sleep fairly early. As expected I sleep like a baby for the first time in a week!