Zara is a really good company to go on a trek with, they treat their customers really well. The hotel we stayed at called Springlands Hotel was a mile or two outside of Moshi, we took the Devanu Shuttle from Nairobi, got to Arusha, had to change buses and then continued to Moshi.
The border crossing is probably the most bizzare border crossing ever, getting into the USA from Canada is a painful experience, getting into the USA from Mexico is cake, but going between Tanzania and Kenya, is probably the easiest ever, the most confusing system, but no one looks at the passport, they just stamp it and let us go on our way. Anyways, we get to Moshi and its a town, city by compared to the rest of the area, we drive thru the city and then sort of leave the city and get to a dirt road, driving along the train tracks and small villages that alined this dirt road, and then we get to the Springlands Hotel.
Its a gated hotel, sort of kept the outside world from the tourists inside. When we were inside, it didn't even feel like we were in Tanzania or Moshi for that matter. The hotel was really nice too, I really enjoyed having a beer and swimming in the pool.
I didn't like being separated from the Moshi-ites, I came to Africa to experience Africa, so we took many walks into Moshi, went to the bars downtown many nights, and went to the Sunday market. Sunday market reminded me of any market in a 3rd world country, lots of people and lots of stuff... I think the thing that actually annoyed me the most was being a honing beacon for people to sell us stuff, we couldn't go anywhere without someone wanting to sell us something or asking us for money.
I felt bad after a while that I couldn't give money to every kid I saw, we handed out the candy pretty much the first day we were there. Its nice to be in a gated community but sort of not the reason why I went to Tanzania. I saw alot of t-shirts that said "mzungo," meaning white person, just like in Spanish gringo means white person, I remember being called gringo chica when I was in Peru.
Moshi is an okay place, very dirty, it was sad seeing lots of trash everywhere, in the drinking water, canals, and surrounding trash canisters. I knew it would be dirty but not this dirty. I have been to better 3rd world cities before, most of what they sold on the streets was expensive junk, I didn't buy all that much, surprising when I went to Peru and Thailand, I would come back with so much stuff... Another thing that surprised me was the amount of Muslems and Indian and Pakistani people that live in Moshi and Tanzania and Kenya. We went to the local Indian store and purchased a lot of stuff because it was cheaper and better quality.
As far as drinking beer is concerned, drink safari beer before you start on Kili beer, 5.5% alcohol content in safari beer, and its good. The porters say that we start in safari and then continue to the peak of Kilimanjaro, so that is how you need to drink your beer. But don�t try the banana wine because it will make your eyes flip into the back of your head. The porters can certainly drink their beer.
We took everyone out when we got back to Moshi on the last day, it was a lot of fun, I think the best part was getting back to the hotel that last day and taking a nice warm shower, and then drinking a lot of alcohol to supress the pain in the knees. We went to this bar called Police Mess, beer and cooked meat, great combo after a 6 day hike. Honestly, I would have been happy with just beer...
This whole journey started last summer, when my dream of hiking up Kilimanjaro became a reality, I met some really great friends along the way. Once the wheels got turning for this trip to happen, I really started getting into the thought that wow, I am going to hike up Kilimanjaro, oh my god, am I insane or what?!
The more I spoke with people about their journey up the great mountain, I couldn't wait to be part of the success list of people who made it to the top of this massive mountain, and to think that I am probably going to be one of the last to see the glaciers, I know that someday when I take my kids to Kilimanjaro, there might not be anymore glaciers there. And then the thought of a major disaster happening where ever I have been, I sort of thing that the volcano will erupt... Small joke with family and friends...
From what we were told by others, Umbwe route is the hardest route, honestly, going up Umbwe was pretty easy, so I don't know why it has such a bad reputation. Maybe to keep people off the route, it was so nice hiking in solitude, we were the only people on the trail, it was quiet and you could hear everything so clearly. I really enjoyed the hike, all jungle and since the weather was so unusual
(lots of rain... Rain here is nothing until you have to hike many hours in rain... And hike through mud up to your knees), there was mist everywhere, so we missed out on seeing a close up of Kilimanjaro, I guess it kept us in suspense, we heard monkeys, and the crows followed us the entire way up and down. At least they didn't steal food from our hands, but they did go thru the trash a few nights.
First day it rained like you wouldn't believe... Up to our knees in mud at some points, scaling walls of slick moss, I would stare at a porter with 50 pounds of shit on his head/shoulder/back, and he would fly up the mountain. The hike was supposed to be 6hrs long (7 miles) and we did it in 4hrs, we went faster than the porters, which was surprising for them. Most of the other days, the porters were way faster than us, especially coming down, oh my gosh, Mweka route is sooooo hard coming down... Its all rocks and boulders, maybe they aren't too bad but after going up to Uhuru peak and back down, your knees get messed up.
Lets just say we gained 5000ft elevation the last day, and lost 9000ft of elevation, its a big hike, and you are sooooo exhausted. I had a hard time running a few weeks after we got back to California, my knees were shot, but they are doing fine now.
I will admit that coming to California a month before Africa was the best decision I could make, thank goodness it worked out. Being able to hike these mountains definitely helped prepare me. I am constantly reminiscing the first time I went up Boundary Peak to about 12,000ft, and I nearly passed out, it was so difficult, now that I have been to that height a few times, its pretty easy, great work out. I think that when I return to New England, mountains will be cake.
I almost had hypothermia when we got to the campsite the first night, lets just say gortex stinks after hiking in the rain for over 20 minutes, mind you that we were hiking for 4 hours in rain, everything got soaked, even though we wore gators over pants and boots, it still leaked water, and once the boots got soaked, its a painful experience. So we get to camp and I am so cold, to the point I almost got hypothermia, really sucked... Especially since we beat almost all the porters to the first campsite. Eventually my stuff came and we helped to set up the tents, I really needed to jump in the sleeping bag. Everyone said my lips were blue, but after 15 minutes in a new set of clothes and a warm sleeping bag, I was normal again, still cold but less cold than before. Our cook was the bomb and made some really yummy stew.
Funny thing happened, we didn't get to the camp until dark and Lubos' porter fell asleep on the way up he says because he got lost since it got dark but I think the porter was exhausted, so a search party of porters went down to find him. A few porters turned around the first day because they were exhausted, I was surprised because it was only the first day and porters were turning around. We had 12 porters total for 6 hikers, and 3 guides. The last day, Lubos gave the porter who lost his way, his head lamp, told him not to get lost again, it was funny... Though probably not good for the porter for future treks.
Second day, it was misty, not entirely rainy, I wore my wet clothes again in fear it would rain and I had only two sets of clothes, better to get the wet ones more wet than use the dry ones. I had a scary feeling that if we had to hike the entire time in rain in mist to the top, we wouldn't make it. Its really painful putting on cold clothes and boots, and yes, the boots were still wet inside. I was cold for the first hour of hiking, I was the first person to leave camp, my whole body was one goosebump. Even though everything was so pretty looking around us, lime green moss and little red flowers in random places, I was basically concentrating on keeping warm and power walking.
We hiked for a few hours, left the jungle shortly after we started the trek in the morning, and hiked along the ridge. When the sun came out and it warmed up, felt like summer again, but until that point we hiked though these really weird trees along the ridge, reminded me of palm trees but had a different look about them. On the hike we scaled up a 100ft ridge, that was pretty cool, my legs aren't long enough, so I had a tough time scrambling. Pretty much grabbing every guy's hand because if I fell I would fall very very far.
Everything was so pretty looking, it felt so erry too because it was all misty, felt like a movie or as though a villan would jump out and scare us with a chainsaw, and then you would see a porter in the distance, hear a radio because they got really good reception there.
Finally we were about 1/2hr from the second camp and then Kili appeared, we were above the clouds, I have to say that was the coolest part of the entire trip, being at the top was really awesome too, but just getting to the point where you are above the clouds and there is Kili, its like, oh my god, I am seriously here, and doing this, wow... I was so taken away from seeing Kili for the first time that close...
We got to camp and took everything out of the bag and let it dry, the sun was shining and it was really nice and warm, even took out the sunblock because we were afraid to get burnt. Once we took everything out of our packs, it was all over the mountain side, it was a funny sight.
Later, before sunset, Lubos and I took a walk up to a ridge, saw sunset and mt. Meru in the distance, pretty much mt. Meru was the only thing we could see everyday because the peak was just above the clouds, its height was 15,000ft. Stars were amazing at night, they jumped out at you, especially during the last stretch, from midnight until sunrise, the stars were amazing, and it felt like we were hiking closer to them. Sunrise and sunsets were really cool too, with all these great cloud formations everywhere and the sun behind, it as a cool sight.
Lubos and I would hike up farther each day in order to prepare us for the next day, we knew that we were going higher and higher each day. Day 3 we woke up early and across the ravine was the other camp where Machame route camped, of course they had already been hiking to that point for 4 days, Umbwe is the quick route to the top, really we were supposed to go up the Western Breach, but we could hear rocks falling all night long, Zara said there were a few deaths on that ridge already, so we opted not to go the hard way, we will continue the crowded way.
Live to see another day and hike another peak. So after we made it across an easy ravine, we got to the Great Barronco Wall. The funny thing is that we went at such a slow pace that by the time we got up to 15,000 or 16,000 ft, it felt like I was walking around in my backyard, how bizzare is that... And I wasn't even taking diamox, I did have advil every morning but that only helps to loosen up the blood flow.
Anyways, day 3 we scaled the Barrano Wall, its hilarious watching the porters climb up that thing with about 50 pounds of stuff on their heads and back. We were crawling at some points on our hands and knees and they were hoping along like bunnies. They liked to carry my pack on their head, that was funny.
Oh, I didn't mention, that back at the hotel, we met up with this irish guy, Frank, funny as hell, he decided to come on the trip with us, definitely provided plenty of entertainment, he was going around the world, quit the lawyer job in Dublin and decided to travel for a year, after Kili he was off to Zanzibar, South Africa, Asia... Who knows... He has an online journal, its funny to read every now and again. We met a lot of people on an around the world trip, it gave me the idea to travel around the world and visit places I hadn't thought of visiting before.
Okay, so mornings are great, clouds are low, by the time 2pm comes around we are encircled in clouds, even on the summit day, it was like that too. Day 3 ended at Karranga valley, I had this problem of not eating enough and by the time we got to the camp, I would have a struggle going up that last hill, mind you that this hill is more like a cliff going straight up, but I would make it each time, definitely struggle on the way from Gillman's point (19,000ft) to Uhuru peak (19,500ft), but just took my time and went slow.
People ask me why I am smiling in every picture, and well, I smile because he makes me happy =) I told myself the first day we started hiking, if he didn't stick by my side, I would kick his butt. I was perfectly fine up to about 18,500ft, really close to the top, every time I looked up, I thought we were near the top, there was one point right before sunrise when I asked the guide if we were close, it just looked like we were close, and he said it was an hour away, I really wished I didn't ask... It kept going on and on...
Okay, back to the hike. Day 4 started at 12,000ft at the Karagua Valley camp and ended at Barafu camp, 14,500ft. Went to sleep around 6pm, oh, and they load you with carbs like you wouldn't believe, pasta, potatoes, good meat sauce, and rice, and every breakfest was the same, I took a picture of it, after 2 weeks of the same crap for breakfest, I was so ready to go home to some junk food and some pizza, burgers, and wings. That was pretty much the first thing I did, went out for wings, burgers, and pizza. Actually when we drove back from LAX, we went to In&Out burger, and it was soooo good. During the safari, lunch was the same boxed lunch for 4 days straight, sometimes not totally cooked, it was sooo gross, our cook was horrible, people called him the grandfather cook, we thought because he would be good, yeah right. The cook on the hike was great, he came out with so much good food, favorite meals was fried chicken, rice, meat sauce, and avacado.
Okay, so we went to bed around 6pm, after watching a great sunset, mentally preparing ourselves that we are hiking up a freakn mountain in about 6 hours. At 11:30pm we woke up and left the campsite around midnight, it wasn't as cold as I thought it would be and it was really cool watching the stream of lights go to the top, there were a lot of people at that final campsite before the summit. We made it to about 19,000ft when the sun came up, the group sort of separated a few hours into the hike because some people were slower, I was in the lead pretty much the entire trip, we kept this rhythm which helped us sustain energy until the end, step/rest and you need to maintain a breathing pattern through your nose, once you start panting, you are going way too fast. There were times I felt like we were going too slow, but I guess its all for a reason.
Our group consisted of the big L, me, Dan, Floppy (Dave), and Ellie (Dave's girl friend), at the time, I had met them for the first time and was just getting to know them, but now, I love them all and we are all really good friends. Already planning more adventures =)
Day 5 we hike to the top, made it, woohoo!!! After watching many people turn back along the way to the top, now I can see why only 10% of the people who attempt Kili make it. I had a really hard time coming down, I wanted to pass out, big time. So the guides carried me for a little of the way down, well, after a while, I just wanted an arm for support. I told myself that I wouldn't pass out and I would make it to the bottom, but I needed to do this myself, so I struggled until about 17,000ft, and then I continued down feeling a lot better, I really didn't think the altitude would affect me that much, but hey, at least I know what it feels like. It snowed one evening, but other than that, it was all scree at the top, scree is sand and rocks that when you take one step up, you fall back 2 feet, so that is why we switchbacked all the way to the top, its a good thing there were caravans of people infront of us, they made the path for us. Coming down was great because we basically slide on loose sand the entire way down.
Glaciers were blinding, so bright, thank goodness for sunglasses, they were amazing to see. Got back to the Barafu camp, slept for an hour, then continued on the difficult journey to the last camp, I felt like everyone was at the final campsite, it was over crowded, and the bathrooms were disgusting. I didn't mind the bathrooms elsewhere, but here, ewe...
On Day 6, we woke up early and left before everyone else left because we just wanted to get off the mountains, put up with a few more hours of pain, and then go back to the hotel and shower and put on clean clothes, by the end of the 6 day trek, everything in the packs smelled really gross, and the body felt worn out and tired, and not having showered for 6 days and then experiences the extremes that we experienced, all I could think of was beer and a shower.
Would I do it again, probably with my kids, I wish I hiked up Mt Meru, caught a glimpse of Kili from there, I heard mt Kenya is difficult to hike to the top. I would like to go to South Africa and Madagascar. Definitely plan to hike higher mountains in South America and Asia. I never mentioned anything about the safari, I really enjoyed the serengeti the most because I felt like we had to hunt down the wild animals, or else they were just chillin' by the road, saw a ton of cool animals, so that was a really fun experience.
