Day 2 - Holy Smokes, it's Kibo! (by Darina)

Tuesday 21st September 2010

We're woken up around six in the morning by one of the porter's deep "Hello". The following morning ritual is repeated every day - they wake us up and enquire about how we slept and whether we have any health concerns (head aches, nausea etc.) Then we're offered coffee or tea, straight into the tent! Two green bowls of water follow for the morning hygiene, then packing our rucksacks which will then be left on the big plastic sheet outside for the porters to sort out and finally the breakfast.

This morning I feel fine although I didn't sleep very well or very much. It's a bit chilly but the sun is already rising and just when we all meet at the benches and sip the hot tea - there it is! Kibo, proudly showing itself in the morning sun. Finally, after three days in Africa, we can see the destination of our trek. Such a beauty!

The breakfast is surprisingly tasty (again) - porridge, eggs, bread, even bacon! And choice of hot drinks - tea, coffee, chocolate or an energy drink Milo. What a luxury! Before we set off - our today's guide is Robbie - the porters fill our Camelbaks with water. We have a long way ahead of us so Robbie is rushing us a bit to leave the camp as soon as possible. As promised, the route is not very difficult to walk on and we walk very slowly anyway. Soon the porters are passing us, skipping like mountain goats although they carry possibly up to four times more weight than we do. The path is as dusty as it was yesterday, there are bushes around us that gradually become lower and lower as the path becomes more and more stony. The ever present Kibo is keeping us company, it's a little reminder of our final destination. So close but still so far, we're only a little over two days away from its top!

It takes around four hours for us to get to he Second Cave camp where we stop for a lunch. It's been a long morning for some of us and not everybody is feeling very well. There are reports of headaches and tiredness but still we're keeping our spirits up and stay cheerful and optimistic. We are currently in 3500m. The lunch is delicious (avocado salad, vegetable soup, chocolate, banana) and fuels us for the upcoming trek that will takes us up to 3750m; our overnight camp however will be in 3600m.

The path is starting to be a bit difficult as it's full of stones and rocks and at times it gets very uneven and slippery. So far the weather was warm and dry. During the afternoon the sun starts to hide behind the clouds now and then; the difference is remarkable. Suddenly the air is chilly and the fleece becomes my new best friend. We get to the camp in the late afternoon. The view is quite something. On the right side is Kibo that seems to be more distant now then it was in the morning. On the left side is Mawenzi, the twin peak of Kibo. And our camp is just between them. The tents are built already so we can get inside and have a little rest before our washy-washy bowls are brought to us. Our tent is on the downhill slope so it's going to be an interesting night!

The atmosphere at the dinner is a bit tense tonight. Some of us are very tired, some are not feeling well thanks to the never-stopping headaches and the temperature outside has dropped a bit lower than we expected. It's very windy too which doesn't help. The dinner is brilliant though (although from now on I have no recollections of what exactly we were eating - purely because I didn't make the notes); in conditions we currently find ourselves we couldn't have wished for better food! One of the guides tells us about tomorrow - it's a short trek towards Mawenzi (up to 4300m), then in the afternoon we'll have an acclimatisation walk to 4600m. At this minute, everybody seems tired and not very excited about tomorrow and soon we all part into our tents.

Before I hit the sack I need to go and send an email. It really is quite unpleasant outside and what's more, somebody is already busy in the cyber cafe so I stand outside and look around the camp. And then it hits me! There in the distance, in the dark, but illuminated by the almost full moon was Kibo. The sky very dark shade of blue, with thousands of stars, enveloping Kibo whose glaciers are glaring into the night. My heart misses a beat at this moment, this must have been the most amazing thing I've ever seen. It seems so peaceful but still so noble! I suddenly forget all the little issues like cold, full bladder, fears of altitude sickness and realise that I am very lucky - I don't have any headache, I don't feel tired, I don't have any muscle soreness and I can be here, in this magical place, seeing this beautiful picture. I am silently thanking my guardian angels for letting me experience this moment. (Now back in the real world, I would also like to thank Jason who took a picture of Kibo that night. I am very grateful for it...)

The night is very windy and at times I am worried that our tent is going to fly away in the direction of Kenya. Again, I can't sleep; it's partially because I keep sliding towards the bottom part of the tent, due to our unfortunate location. It is a bit annoying but I am surprisingly calm and manage to get at least a few hours before another morning comes.

Day 1 - Pole, pole (by Darina)

Monday 20th September 2010

Grateful that the morning is finally here, I get up at seven thirty and have my last shower for next six days. The breakfast is short and sweet and then we all meet in the reception, just before half past nine. Oh, btw. the morning is cloudy again so although Kibo IS there, we still can't see it! Our luggage is weighted in the reception; mine is 15 and half but still pass without re-packing (little sigh of relief!)

The cars that are taking us to the start of the route are already here and we also get pre-packed lunch boxes. The atmosphere is a bit rushed so nobody has time to be worried or scared. Until... there is a lady sitting in one of the armchairs in the reception room and she wishes us good luck. She is also saying that she had to come back from Kili the second day because she woke up in the morning blind! I am doing my best not to freak out. Blindness?? She was told it was due to the altitude sickness but really? Trying to think logically I am calming myself thinking that nobody ever mentioned blindness to be a symptom of an altitude sickness and on the second day morning she couldn't even be in a very high altitude? The next think she says - and it's an advice too - is to be prepared that from day one we will be covered in dust and dirt. Before we even have a chance to ask more, her sister comes to the reception - unfortunately another unsuccessful story; she came back on the third day because she couldn't handle the dust and while now safe in the hotel, she still can't talk properly and her coughing is right scary. Right, ten minutes before setting off, two bad stories are something we don't exactly need... But it's too late for anything anyway, we are being called to get into the cars as all the luggage has been loaded.

According to the itinerary we were supposed to go first to the Marangu gate where everybody entering the Kilimanjaro National Park needs to register. Marangu gate is about twenty minute drive from the hotel. As we're now driving for more than a hour (the driver estimates two and half), I don't think we're going to stop there. As it turns out - we don't bring us to Marangu but Marangu brings itself to us. At the start of the Rongai route - at Nale Moru village - there is an officer waiting for us and we all have to register into his ledger book.

The drive was about hour and half after all as some parts of the road are now tarmac and therefore easy and fast to drive on. Still the last bit coming to the village was quite rough and we were all quite grateful for our 4x4. So here we are. It's around eleven in the morning, it's us here, another group from Exodus company and many porters and guides who are sorting the luggage. We have some time so we take the opportunity and offer our best smiles for a group picture:

Please meet - Salma, Jason, Nilam, Nadia, Sonja, Denise, Darina, Ryan, Paul, Gary and Katherine. All happy and smiley :-)

Soon after our registration, Niagara guy - who is here with us but is soon coming back to the civilisation and beer - is introducing our dream team: lead guide Obote and three of the other guides, Dixon, Robert and Salomon. We greet them happily and I am thinking that these are the people in whose hands our lives are now. For some reason I feel ok about it.

We set off around 12 noon. We're currently at 1950m amsl. Our today's guide is Salomon. The porters are still sorting luggage and other stuff they need to carry while we're on our way to the first camp (2700m). Salomon assures us that the porters will soon catch up with us, pass us and then arrive into the camp hours ahead of us. No wonder, as from the first minute we walk very, very slowly. While it can look strange to some, I think it's a clever way how to get us used to walking slowly before we get to the high altitude.

We are walking through a forest - I could say a common forest and we could be anywhere in the world. It's strange to be walking on Kilimanjaro but still we didn't see any of its peaks. What's even stranger though is the fact that our conversation turns to the topic of toilets (don't ask). Salomon is teaching us new vocabulary - apparently on Kili you don't say you need to go pee (or otherwise). You say you "need to send an email" (or "make a download") and the toilet is a "cyber cafe". Very neat! Needless to say it doesn’t take too long for us to implement this system :-)

From the forest we get on the path leading us through corn fields where we also come across some of the villagers. The field is the place where the dust first introduces itself. The lady in the hotel was truly right. The dust is soon covering everything we carry (including ourselves). Thinking back about our preparations we realise that in no book or blog we have encountered anybody complaining about dust or warning us to be prepared for it. I wonder if that’s because we are in the middle of the dry season…? Maybe?

We stop for a lunch in another forest and can see monkeys in the trees (apparently waiting for what food we leave behind). There is also a first attempt of some of the ladies to use the famous SheWee device, I’d rather not go into any details as I am risking some leaking myself as at the memory I still have to laugh hard… From there we continue slightly uphill on a neat (dusty) path, small trees and bushes around us. It’s like a Sunday afternoon walk, no rush, just a slow pleasant walk. We arrive to the camp in the late afternoon, Salomon says it’s called Simba camp. There are other groups of climbers too, already settling for the evening. We only have a brief rest before Salomon takes us for a short acclimatisation walk, up to 2850m. The path is now mainly bordered by bushes and grass and we can see that soon we will be walking in and above the clouds.

Our first evening on Kili starts with green bowls. In the Kili language they are called “washy-washy” and apparently these green bowls with warm water are our new shower system. It’s hard to use the water from the bowls to wash all of the body, fortunately we have more than plenty of wet wipes which are working perfectly (at this altitude at least; later, when the dust gets too deep into our skin, the wet wipes only re-distribute the upper layers of the dust but don’t actually clean much :-))! Another funny business is our toilet tent. Oh yes, we have our own toilet tent – which is basically a bucket containing chemicals with a toilet seat over it. Believe me, compared to the “general public toilets”, ours one is a luxury!

Satisfied with the result of the evening hygiene routine I join the others in the dining tent. We have popcorn! Unbelievable. I don’t normally eat popcorn but this one tastes soooo good. For dinner we have some sort of vegetable soup, fish and roasted potatoes. I am not sure what I expected but this food has definitely exceeded everything. Yum! After the evening Salomon comes in the tent to greet us and tell us about tomorrow. Apparently, the second day is very hard. Actually somebody says that there are two very difficult parts on this trek. The second day and then the summit night. Hmmm. Shall I be worried? So far I’ve been feeling great. And we stil haven’t seen either Mawenzi or Kibo peaks!!!

Soon after the sun sets, our tent is in the dark. Turns out that Niagara guys forgot to bring lights so we’re sitting by the candlelight. Very romantic! Unfortunately it makes us asleep – at least I feel like that – so soon we separate and go into our tents. But before than we are warned that the camp has an armed guard (I believe this is because we’re very close, if not on the border with Kenya) and if we have a need to visit a cyber café during the night, we should have our torches with us. This way the guard will know we belong to the camp and won’t shoot us… Touching, non? J

I feel asleep but cannot sleep. There is noise coming from the other groups’ camps and the porters are awake till late night. When I finally fall asleep it feels like a few minutes before the morning knocks on the tent…

Where IS the hill?? (by Darina)

Sunday 19th September 2010

Although I have problems to sleep if I am not in my bed, last night I slept like a log. The morning is a bit cloudy and cool. When we walk to the restaurant to get the breakfast I notice that the immediate surroundings of the hut looked better in the dark. The garden around the main building is very pretty and colourful though. As for the plan for today, we don't really have any. Visiting Arusha could be an option but do we have enough time? Our itinerary is saying we should be picked up at 3:30pm. We go to the reception to confirm this but the receptionist is responding with a laid-back: Yeah, it could be one o'clock or two o'clock. Well, this isn't very helpful...

Stuck in the hotel we decide to go for a walk around it and the coffee plantation, in the middle of which the lodge is situated. I realise I actually didn't notice any coffee plants, which of course could be because I have no idea what coffee plants look like :-). The walk is pleasant - it leads through the forest around the lodge and occasionally we see some colourful birds - but not very long so we end up back in the hotel. At least we make some use of the sunbeds at the pool and enjoy a nap breathing the fresh air around us.

As there is nowhere to go, we have a lunch at the hotel too. The lunch menu is on a laminated sheet of paper but doesn't offer much, the dominant item is without doubt a selection of three burgers. I am thinking about last night's very tasty dinner and am decided to go with the meat today and order the cheeseburger. As it turns out in a few minutes, it was an excellent choice! After lunch another nap outside and then our driver is here to take us to Marangu, Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort, where we spend our last night before going on Kili.

On the mini bus from Moivaro we meet Gary from Michigan. He arrived to Moivaro last night too and he's one of the members of our climbing group. Apparently his travelling from America was very adventurous after his first flight was delayed so he then missed all the connecting flights. Fortunately he made it ok and on time to Arusha so now we are heading in the direction of Marangu. First though, we stop in the lodge near the Kilimanjaro Airport to pick up another two members of our group - Nilam and Salma, both girls are from London.

And from there it's a pretty straightforward and simple route. The whole trip from Arusha towards Marangu is basically one straight road with one roundabout near town Moshi. We pass villages consisting of simple houses and huts but plenty of bars (with plastic chairs for seating outside). People don't seem to be doing much. They are hanging around the bars or shops, occasionally we see women selling bananas and other fruits on the edge of the road. We see kids herding goats or donkeys. There is the one and the same Coca-cola poster everywhere. Advertising signs of Zantel and Vodacom are glued on every other building. My favourite ad is Kilimanjaro lager though. It says: It's Kili time! Make the most of it! And that's certainly what I am planning to do. Just one little detail - where IS it???

This is our second day in Tanzania and we still haven't seen a glimpse of Kilimanjaro. Gary asked the driver and the driver points in a general direction of ahead of us. Hmm, thank you. We still can't see it, it seems to be fairly cloudy in the distance too so maybe we won't see it until tomorrow?

We arrive to Marangu and the Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort just before six pm. The hotel looks very pleasant and apparently from our room we can see Kibo!!! If only the clouds would go away... After a very fast check-in all the members of our group are meeting with a representative from the African Walking Company. His name is Nyattal - or something similar, we call him Niagara guy. He's quite funny but very very confused. From the beginning he insists there is twelve of us when apparently there is only eleven people sitting in the meeting room. He's got a genius idea. He will just read our names from his list and check if all of us are here... Brilliant. Only he omits to read at least one of us present in the room. Never mind. Then he manages to re-name Sonja to Norma (seriously, how?!?!) which obviously is her nickname for the trip duration :-) now. Another confusion arises while checking the equipment that we have hired in advance. Paul and me hired two sets of walking poles and mattresses for the tent but Niagara guy only reads one set under Paul's name. A few minutes later when he's distributing the equipment, he calls mine name and eureka - my walking poles are actually here... We are a bit worried and we hope that Niagara isn't one of our guides on Kilimanjaro. He later confirms that he isn't and we all sigh deeply with a relief...

All the confusion and paper shuffling apart, Niagara is giving us some important information about the organisation of tomorrow and briefly tells us about what is ahead of us in the next few days. Suddenly the fact that we're starting our trek tomorrow is very, very real. It's the third day of our holidays but only now I fully realise that we are actually going to be on Kilimanjaro tomorrow... And there is no way back!

After the briefing we all go for a dinner. We all sit at the same table which is set for 11 people, yay! Somebody got it right! The conversation flows, the food is nice, Kilimanjaro lager even nicer. I guess each of us is thinking about what expects us and how we're going to cope. Although the general mood is very humorous (Question: Why Kili? Answer: I was looking for some trip on lastminute.com and it there was either this or Mallorca available), a little tension hangs in the air. It's not too remarkable but it's there. Btw. our group consists of the following people: Jason and Ryan, Norma - sorry Sonja, Nadia and Denise, Katherine, Nilam and Salma, Gary, Paul and me. Gary is from US, Katherine lives in the Notthingham area, Paul is West Bromwich based, the others are from London. So here we are, the family for the next six days!

Just before ten I leave the group and return to the hotel room to re-pack the luggage. We are only allowed 15kgs for the main luggage (the one porters will carry) but fortunately we can leave the stuff we won't need on Kili in the hotel and pick it up on Saturday, on the way back. It's difficult to decide what we will need and what we can live without and I end up carrying quite a lot of stuff in my Camelbak. I am worried about how I am going to cope with the weight but at the minute there is nothing else I can do. At night I can't sleep. Although the bed is comfortable, I just can't fall asleep and my mind is creating all sorts of horrible scenarios that could happen on our trip. I am trying to shush myself and I start counting sheep but around 367 I give up. I manage to get a couple of hours of sleep but am up around five thirty in the morning, two hours before the alarm is scheduled to go off... I can't stop thinking - what's expecting us in there? What's it going to be like? Will I be able to breathe? Will I get sick? Am I fit enough for this?

Just a few more hours and I will find out...

The first night in Africa (by Darina)

Saturday 18^th September 2010

Saturday is mainly spent by travelling, leaving Amsterdam around 11 am. We fly with KLM which is a delightful change for me as I’ve been using the so called low-cost companies for my flights to Czech during the last few years. It is very pleasant to be able to get food and drinks on board for free!

We are seated on the left side of the plane. This was carefully managed by Paul during online check-in because we were advised that if we wanted to see Kilimanjaro from the plane we should sit on the left side. A very wise advice. Unfortunately at that time we didn’t realise that the landing time was scheduled just after 8pm and therefore it would be dark. And therefore we wouldn’t see Kilimanjaro anyway… Never mind. It was there. Somewhere.

We are indeed landing (at the Kilimanjaro International Airport) around quarter past eight in the evening and yes, it is dark outside. The air is pleasantly warm though as we proceed to the Immigration check building. It’s not a big building and it’s quickly filled by the passengers of our flight. We have visa and we filled our landing cards on the plane so can join the passport check queue straight away. After around half an hour we’re ready to go and meet…. Alex! Our driver who will take us to the Moivaro Lodge near Arusha.

Alex is very friendly and is trying to teach us some of the Swahili words. Paul chats with him, I am just looking into the dark behind the car window, thinking what’s awaiting us here. The road from the airport is a good one and in around an hour we should be in the hotel. There isn’t much to see, only occasionally we pass lights coming from villages (I assume). What puzzles me though are all the people that walk along the roads. Where are they going? In the dark, without any torches, where there aren’t any visible signs of life anywhere? As we get closer to Arusha, we come across little villages (I assume that’s what they are) with shops and bars and many people hanging around.

Alex suddenly turns the car sharply to the left and we leave the main road. Now we are driving on a very uneven, stony track. If I was feeling asleep before, now I am fully awake holding to anything there is to hold on in the car. There are banana plants around us and a few simple huts and houses occasionally peek through them. I wonder where exactly Alex is taking us. Fortunately, at the end of this funny road there is our hotel.

(http://www.moivaro.com/pages/moivaro_lodge/lodge.htm)

We are welcomed with a warm and wet towel to refresh our face & hands and a glass of juice. This ritual is repeated in any of the hotels and lodges we visit during our trip (apart from the Dhow Palace in Stone Town, I think…). After the formalities our luggage is taken and we follow two of the hotel’s employees into our hut. The path is only lit by small round lamps which create a mysterious and romantic feel around us. Our hut is very nice, simple but friendly. The toilet is moving a bit while seated but fortunately stays in one place. There are mosquito nets covering our beds, a good reminder to splash some repellent on our arms and face before we go back to the main building for dinner.

For the dinner we sit outside on the restaurant’s terrace as it’s a warm and nice evening. The waiter asks if we wish anything to drink but there is no drinks menu on the table so we have no idea what’s available. “What can we have, what drinks do you have?” I ask and the answers: “Beer,” which is followed by a substantial pause as if he couldn’t remember what else they have. “We’ll have beer,” Paul “interrupts” the waiter who happily skips away inside the building. Soon we have two bottles of Kilimanjaro premium lager. Cheers!

The dinner menu is printed on a crumpled piece of paper but offers two choices of each of the starter, main dish and dessert. I am a bit wary of eating meat so am ordering some vegetarian stew, Paul is having lamb curry (apparently the lamb didn’t really taste like one. I refuse to discuss more.) The food is tasting very good though and our first evening in Africa is very relaxed and pleasant. After another beer it’s time to go to get some rest before the real fun starts on Kilimanjaro. Lala Salama.

Amsterdaaaam! (by Darina)

Friday 17^th September 2010

Everything starts in Amsterdam. Actually, it starts at Birmingham airport where we meet around 4am but however hard I try I can’t write anything exciting or interesting about the airport, sorry. Oh, maybe just that I was faithful to my tradition of having a muffin and hot chocolate for breakfast there and also that we started are new Malarone regime (once a day with or after meal!)

So let’s go back to Amsterdam. We arrive early in the morning (around eight). After a little bit of waiting for Paul’s luggage we briefly stop in our hotel, Sheraton, which is situated straight at the airport - just to leave our (very heavy) bags there. And then we set forward to explore Amsterdam, starting at the Centraal Station. We don’t have an exact plan; we just walk the streets and little alleys, cross the bridges and breathe the atmosphere of early morning city life. The streets are very colourful, full of interesting and sometimes weird shops, massage parlours, bars and cafes.

Although our wandering seems aimless, we visit several interesting places. First, it’s the famous Dam Square in the heart of Amsterdam, with beautiful old buildings. Unfortunately the Koninklijk Paleis is covered with scaffolding which leaves us the National Monument, hotel Krasnapolsky and Nieuwe Kerk to admire. We continue through narrow streets and after some searching find a little shop called Wijnand Fockink. It’s currently closed but we later come back and find out it’s some kind of home-made liqueur bar. As all the menus are in Dutch I don’t dare to order anything.

One of the things I wanted to see was a Flower market (Bloemenmarkt) which was supposed to be floating too (wasn’t sure what to imagine as “floating”). In my head I saw a big hall full of flowers of all kinds – tulips, roses, carnations, lilies, you name it. Maybe that’s why we (or let’s say I) couldn’t find it and when we finally did it was a huge disappointment. The market was basically a raw of small stall which predominantly sold bulbs and seeds. Never mind. Afterwards I gave up giving directions!

So then we continue walking along Rokin and the streets around it, briefly visit Café Hoppe which apparently has been in the business for 300 years now!, and then return to the Dam Square to the restaurant called Majestic for some lunch and beer. The plan afterwards is to visit some of the places recommended by our guidebook – De Bierkoning, XtraCold, Puccini Bomboni, Tibet. Tibet is apparently a very good place to go for food; it’s located in the Red Light District though so we will leave that for the evening. De Bierkoning is a shop – not a pub as we hoped – where you can buy any beer from around the whole world (we should have checked if they had Kilimanjaro!!!). XtraCold was supposed to be a bar made of ice, it turns out that yes, one part of the bar is made of ice and for not exactly small amount of Euros you can spend half an hour in there and get two drinks. Pass! Not far from there though we come across a Czech-Slovak pub called “U Josefa” so we stop there instead and rest with some very good beer. And finally, Puccini Bomboni is a little shop selling heavenly chocolate bonbons of different flavours like white rum, Drambuie, cinnamon, nutmeg… We treat ourselves to five pieces each, ending up with a bill of twenty Euros. Delicious chocolate definitely is not cheap!

We then go back to the hotel to finish the check-in, have a nap and prepare for our evening adventure. Paul wants to go to the Red Light District but first we stop at the Czech-Slovak pub to have a beer. One beer then leads to another one, purely because it started to rain outside and it’s very cosy in the pub. The pub is owned by a Czech guy called – surprisingly – Josef; we chat a bit (I find it difficult to chat in Czech language), he’s been living in Amsterdam for quite some time now. He’s very friendly and at the end wishes us a good fun in Africa. By now it’s dark outside so we go looking for a place where we could have dinner. There were many places along the Rokin and other streets we walked but funnily enough we ended up in a small “kind of” Italian place – I call it Pizza and pasta place – just at the fringe of the Red Light District. (We never made it inside Tibet, it didn’t look very appealing). Having a pasta carbonara with a view of a sex shop and a lesbian cinema poster was a whole new experience! As was the district itself – all the women of different ages, shapes and sizes, romantically set along a canal inhabited by a flock of swans… Our visit of this part of Amsterdam was concluded by stopping in a small pub which name I cannot remember, unfortunately. Very cute place serving local and not so common beers. There we have realised it was well after eleven and we should be thinking about getting back to the hotel and having our last night in the Europe for next few weeks.

We did it!!!

We did it and it will take more than just say "we did it". We are freshly back and full of emotions and feelings which are currently difficult to describe but the least I/we can do is a big sigh of relief... and a picture of the certificate!!!

This one is mine, I am sure Paul will post his later:

Oh yes, the good African people thought I looked younger than my age and recorded my age as five years less than I actually am. The mountain has miraculous effects, apparently :-)

Plenty of blog posts will follow in the next few days, at the minute I am just getting used to be back to the civilisation, cleaning and de-dusting all my clothing and keep thinking about one very special hill in Tanzania...