Day 1: Fly Dubaià
Mt. Kilimanjaro
After getting 2 hours of sleep, we went to the airport and
hopped on a plane. The air time was about 5 hours so I got enough sleep. I must
say, Kenya Airways may not have been the best choice, alas, I’m still here to
tell my story. Kenya Airways issue #1: I had a cherished window seat on this
five hour long flight. It was an early morning flight so the sun was rising,
also nice. However, when you’re trying to sleep, it is really annoying to have
the morning sunshine blazing your retinas. Oh! I’m sure you’re thinking, “put
down the window shade, idiot.” Well, obviously I would have if there had been
one. Kenya Airways issue #2: Having the pleasure of the window seat sitting
directly over the wing, I was able to look at the wing whenever I wanted to,
and even when I didn’t want to (see issue #1). I decided not to tell Heather
this until we were off the flight, but I could visibly see screws missing from
the plane wing. Comforting? NOPE NOPE NOPE. Kenya Airways issue #3: This issue
directly affected Heather, and that is the passenger that was sitting next to
her. There was a woman (who initially tried to steal my window seat…. Oh hell,
no you crazy lady!!), who had the aisle seat next to Heather. This woman made
for some awkward plane moments. Like when she refused to get out of her seat so
I could go to the bathroom. We’ve all ridden in coach, there is not excess leg
room to pass by someone. This woman made me straddle her to get out of my seat
and also to get back into my seat. (Then which way do you face during the
awkward straddle….) Also, she smelled. Also, she kept flipping her dreads in
Heather’s poor face.
So, we have a nice comfortable 7.5 hour layover in the
Nairobi airport. The Nairobi airport is nothing special, but when you have been
to the airport in Addis Ababa, this airport could be made of gold. (Okay,
hyperbole). So we find this little restaurant/bar in the corner of the airport.
We sit at the same booth for over 5 hours, ordering food and drinks, playing
cards, and generally being obnoxious to the general population. This was quite
fun. Heather made comments about there being a fence surrounding the airport, “It
is because the lions like to watch the planes land.”
The cards and drinks
There were also possible
sightings of Big Foot.
Big Foot. No joke.
Other notable moments in Nairobi airport:
-Heather continues to call the hotel we will stay in that
night a “resort” hahahahahahhahaha
-Someone complimented Heather’s dirty Hawkeye shirt (gross)
-Our plane from Nairobi to Mt. Kilimanjaro was a &*%#! Propeller
plane (I wish I was joking)
-While Heather was filling out
her “Dear diary” about the day, she said ...
“I’m going to lie and make up shit you
said.” So, don’t believe anything she says about our trip, clearly it is lies.
Somehow we made it alive in our propeller plane to the
Kilimanjaro Airport, filled out papers that essentially said we don’t have
Ebola or Ebola symptoms, and had a sign that said our names on it. I was
pleasantly surprised/impressed at the efficiency and security of entering the
country, their official visas, and fingerprinting before we left the airport.
From there, it was about an hour drive to Arusha, where our hotel
accommodations were. To my shock, we were legitimately put up in a resort,
called SG Resort. It was quite nice. We ate some food, got ready for the next
day, took our last cherished shower, and of course, as our vacations happen to
go, only had one bed to share. It was the most space we had sleeping for the
next five days. Yep. You read that right.
In the morning we ate breakfast, and met our trip
coordinator, guides, and cook. We then drove with them for around an hour and a
half to get to the Machame Trailhead where we would start our trek.
OG update: For our trip we had a lead guide (Chami),
assistant guide (Kedy), cook, waiter, toilet guy, and a handful of porters. On the
drive to the trailhead, the first signs of Chami being a real OG came to light.
Now, for those of you reading who don’t know what a real OG is, OG stands for “original
gangster.” These are people who are true gangsters such as Tupac or Dr. Dre —they
protect what is theirs, they have connections, they work ladies, they do deals,
and you do not cross them. So, on our way to the mountain we stop 3-4 times.
Now, Chami already has one phone, we stop on the side of the road, a woman
comes up to the van window, and hands him a second “burner” looking phone. A
few more minutes down the road, and we stop again. This time Chami tells us to
get out and stretch our legs. So, we do, he disappears, presumably to do some
deals. Then a little while later, we pull on the side of the road again, this
time to pick up a female, who we later find out is a porter, but she clearly
has a thing for Chami. She was not happy to see two young women in the van.
Once we enter the park, we wait in a “tourist” area where we
are given lunch, and use a flush toilet for the last time (okay, for 5 days).
Flushing toilets and running water <3
Don't be fooled. These monkeys are assholes.
We wait there for over an hour, where we take pictures at the trailhead signs,
relax, and watch the monkeys that surround the area be complete assholes.
Seriously, you must hold your food at all times or the monkeys run through and
snatch it, then run away and climb up a tree as you watch in despair. We had to
sign into the park before we started the trek. The reason we had to wait so
long, is that the porters also have to be “weighed” to make sure they are not
carrying too much.
We went to Uhuru Peak. Yep.
Clean clothes, clean people.
We then FINALLY start our trek!!!! We start the day at 1490
meters (4900 feet) and end the day at Machame Camp 2980 meters (9700 feet). On
Kilimanjaro, there are 5 vegetation zones, the entry into the park is a
cultivation zone, and the first day we hike through most of the Montane forest
(rainforest). The forest is beautiful with the trees, hanging moss, and
flowers. Kedy, our assistant guide, is very knowledgeable on the vegetation and
animals. On this day, the climb is very gradual and smooth, but we also learn
the meaning of “polé polé,” which will be used countless times throughout the
hours and days of the trek. It mean slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, which is the
only way to make it up the mountain, although I must say I took the term to a
whole new level.
After several hours of hiking, we reach Machame camp. Once
we get to the camp (and each camp after) we sign in with our names, occupation,
date, company we are hiking with, guide name, age, and gender. We then settle
our things into our two person tent and get ready to eat dinner. At this point
we are tired, but happy to eat. There is a special tent set up for us to eat in
with a table (mess tent). The first few days this tent was fine, but I definitely
learned to hate it. After drinking warm beverages and eating, Chami came in and
gave us a briefing on the next day. We both got ready for bed, used our special
toilet in the toilet tent, and went to bed. We quickly learned that nighttime
is cold. Really cold.
Camp
Day 2: Machame Camp à
Shira Camp
The day started off with breakfast and warm beverages in the
mess tent.
Similar breakfast every morning: pancake bread, omlet, toast, hot beverages, fresh veggies, oatmeal
The porters had boiled water the night before and filled our
drinking bladders and water bottles with water for the day. Thank God for water
flavoring. My stuff was already jumbled around and messed up. My boots started
rubbing, so I put athletic tape over them so it wouldn’t rub and make them
worse. I also put athletic tape over spots that were sore so it wouldn’t
blister. So I had bright yellow athletic tape on both heels, side of my big
toes, and covering the tops of my middle two toes. Not that it mattered, my
feet were encapsulated in 3 pairs of wool socks at all times.
Hiking started off quite steep and the day got warm quickly.
Several hours of steep hiking were exhausting, but the terrain eventually
leveled off and we made it to the camp. I think we were supposed to hike more
that day to help with acclimatization, but it had started raining and they didn’t
make us. Heather and I spent the afternoon huddled in our sleeping bags,
napping and reading. We got up again to eat dinner, then had an early night..
This is also the day I noticed I had started drinking less water. We started the day at 2980 meters (9700 feet) and ascended to Shira camp at 3840 meters (12,600 feet).
Fun facts:
- The zipper on the toilet tent was broken, so I peed with
it open. Sorry world.
-Kedy said there are now a few lady porters, “You know,
because equal rights and stuff.”
-And NIGHTMARE: I discovered quite possibly the creepiest
bird I have ever seen-- a white necked raven. If “The Birds” ever happens, it
will be with those birds. SERIOUSLY. THE. WORST.
Awful birds. Every where. Awful.
Our guides have told us some basic Swahili words besides polé
polé:
Jambo- Hello, Mambo- What’s up?/How are you?, Poa-
cool/good, Asante- thank you, Karibu- welcome
I think this picture is actually Day 3, but whatever.
Just trying to advertise that power gel in my hand. Kidding! Power gels are gross. The more you know.
Still feeling good :-)
OG Update: Nothing to report, although Heather and I
listened intently to figure out if the lady porter was in Chami’s tent. We seriously
did not have anything better to do.
