I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!....the weather has been great here in Yorkshire, the suns been shining and you can feel spring in the air!
Our second day saw us leave Mti kubwa camp in the forest and set off for Shira camp 1. This was a full days trek with an altitude gain of 2000ft. Not too long into the trek would see us leave the forest and into the giant moorland zone.
Before we set off the crew did a song for us- wow, all I can say is wow! it was amazing, great fun and really upbeat. We were all stood grinning from ear to ear as we picked up a couple of words and tried to join in. We danced and everything. What a fantastic way to start the day! We were full beans and felt really honoured with our crew. None of the other climb crews did that with their groups. We felt very special!
We were about to go when Chacha pointed out a Blue monkey in the camp.....it is also known as the sky monkey. It had an injured back leg and was roaming around the camp looking for dropped bits of food. It was in no way phased by all the people in camp. It just did it's own thing.
We had managed to make it through the night without any unwanted visitors in the tent - even after bathroom visits in the early hours of the morning! It wasn't a great nights sleep for any of us, the moon was really bright at one point, I actually thought it was near dawn....it was about two am! Experiencing the loo ( hole in the ground in the dark with a tiny torch wasn't anyone's idea of fun I can tell you )
So we got ready to leave our forest camp, quite a few of the groups had set off for the full days trek already. We were cool and relaxed and ready to start our day in earnest. Goodbye camp! Got a happy smiling Bec's photo, she's ready to crack on for the day.
We set off on our first full days trek. It was going to be tough with some very steep climbs ahead of us before we headed down to the Shira plateau and our next camp for the night. It was a really hot day and the sun was out in force....now this was going to add to our discomfort as we hadn't had chance to acclimatise to the heat yet.
Some of the climbs were really steep - George our assistant guide was setting our pace and thankfully we were on with our Pole pole Kilimanjaro. Just as well I don't think any of us would have made it otherwise. As we left the forest behind and entered the moorland zone, the difference was amazing. We kept climbing a strenuous climb and would catch our breath at the top...we were constantly criss-crossing with other groups, so there was plenty of good natured banter and lots of joyful shouts of Jambo!
The going was really tough, especially with the heat! Man!....it physically drained and zapped your energy quickly. I was having problems with an intermittent pain in my right lung, when we were climbing the steep inclines it was bothering me. But I recovered really quickly when we leveled out or stop for a minute breather.....so that made me feel good. George was brilliant - Hakuna matata he said....no worries! pole pole hakuna matata - this was our mantra the whole eight days on the majestic and magnificent Mount.Kilimanjaro. We were so lucky to have two fantastic guides with us.Chacha & George...we wouldn't have made it without these guys and of course the other 14 members of our crew. The most amazing set of lads without a doubt!
Ali was having a tough day - it wasn't the steep inclines....well no more than any of us were struggling with them.....it was the heat. It was really causing her problems and made her feel drained. We were all talking lots of encouragement, we were a team and we knew we were all gonna have a day that was really hard, a day where you hit your wall as it were. Today was Ali's, but she kept on, never a question of her not of course. We were glad for a break when lunch was called!! We were at around 10,000ft now.
We got settled for lunch and more importantly more fluids on board - I don't ever struggle with my fluid intake, I drink a major amount even back home. The girls and Dom weren't doing very well with the drinking and Chacha and George were reminding them a lot to drink more. We sat having lunch while watching a couple of white necked ravens having a bit of a spat....sorting out the pecking order if there were going to be any food about for them to get! beautiful looking birds....saw them quite a lot actually where ever people gathered to eat....bit like the pigeons back in the UK.
Our view from our lunch table as it were! - pretty spectacular I'm sure you agree, we were just outside the Shira crater here.....a very beautiful place to stop and enjoy our picnic lunch! It's difficult to explain how you feel sitting there looking out over views like this, it really does feel quite surreal, like you're not really there almost....so much to absorb!
We set off after lunch on what was a particular gruelling climb, it was long, hard and really steep, we were all feeling it, my breath was a little laboured, but was still keeping the pace. George said to us another 20 minutes and we'd be at the top....so on we went pole pole Kilimanjaro. We made it up and then we hugged and fistbumped, congratulations were given out enthusiatically , Chacha came to me and said you are a really strong woman. I felt overwhelmed and proud to be honest, ha ha, the praise made me feel really good I have to say!
We had a ten minute break and believe it or not we were all recovered and ready to go on, we were now making our way down to the plateau and camp. We'd been walking for some hours now but we were still full of beans and definitely loving every minute if it. What a trip, what a mountain, this so far had surpassed everything I imagined it to be, I knew nothing about this would disappoint me, it wasn't going to be possible.
We stopped for a break not far from camp - I filled up with tears, this was our first view of the summit, it was actually Kibo in all it's glory. Sitting majestically in front of me the thing I've concentrated on for four years,shrouded in clouds was the object that I had concentrated all my determination and motivation into....the thing I had used to get me on the very long road to recovery, the thing I said all along, I will conquer Kilimanjaro.....and here was my first look at it properly, so yes I filled up. I was emotionally a bit of a wreck ha ha, but got myself under control.
We got to camp and I was sat in the tent after nearly falling head first into as I tripped over the guide ropes much to Bec's amusement, she was laughing that hard I thought she was going to pee herself - ( did I tell you I'm very clumsy hee hee! ) it was before our evening meal and my face was splitting with a smile that was almost a permanent feature by now and the thoughts and words on a loop in my head were....I'm on Kili, I'm on kili.....over and over and all the time I'm sat grinning like a mad fool. And do you know what???? I didn't care!!!!!
We were here, we were on the mountain, I was sleeping on my mountain!...I was going to conquer Kili and I was going to have the adventure of a lifetime, a wonderful million memory making epic adventure, it was already in the making.
Mountain day two - completed....BOOM!!!
Until next time
Tracy
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