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Sunday, September 22, 2013

Kilimanjaro Story



Our trip to Africa's Rooftop :  Kilimanjaro

Reached the Summit on September 7, 2013 



The story began with Melinda Martin, Alesa Allen's daughter, who worked with the HELP organization in Tanzania.  She was a director there for about 30 volunteers and was planning to be there for about 4 months.  She was stationed in Arusha, just about 1 hour from Mt. Kilimanjaro.  She invited her mom, Alesa, to climb the mountain with her.

Alesa and I have been exercising together for the past couple of years (including our 180 mile bike ride along the entire C&O Canal trail) and Alesa requested my help in getting ready for her trip.  I put together a calendar and we proceeded to train.  After a few sessions, she invited me to go with her.  I was thrilled and then doubly thrilled when Jeff's response was an immediate, "Oh you have to go."  (Bless his heart!).

So, we jumped into preparations:  medical physical, immunizations, a Tanzanian visa, plane tickets, learning about the climb and the country, buying the equipment we would need and of course, more training.

At my physical in the spring, I learned that my Dr. (Lorraine Guthrie) had climbed Kilimanjaro in January 2013.  That was a happy coincidence.  She said that her best training had been doing lots of stairs, and hiking the mountains near Arlington, VA (not that they are big, but they are the close and accessible).  So, in addition to gym sessions and our biking, we added hikes and the exorcist stairs in Georgetown.  During the summer, our hikes included the following (see hikingupward.com):

 Sugarloaf Mountain/6.8 miles/1265 feet/54 minutes from Arlington, MONDAY 6/24 Leave at 8 a.m.






Bull Run/7.2 miles/1080 feet/44 minutes from Arlington TUESDAY 7/2 Leave at 8 a.m.


Ashby Gap/8.5 miles/1520 feet/63 min from Arlington MONDAY, July 15, Leave at 8:00 a.m. (earlier?)


Additionally, we did these hikes for which I will not post pictures:

Bear Church Rock/8.5 miles/2210 feet/2 hours from Arlington FRIDAY July 19, Leave at 8:00 am.


Buzzard Rock/7.0/2510 feet/1 hr 23 min from Arlington, TUESDAY, July 30, Leave at 8:00 a.m.

Sand Flat/9.3/1010 feet/74 min from Arlington, TUESDAY 8/6 Leave at 8:00 a.m.

Old Rag 8.0 miles/ 2510 feet/ 1 hr 48 minutes from Arlington, MONDAY 8/12 leave at 7:00 a.m. (I have to be home by 2:00)---This was a great one to end on.

The following week, I spent 6 days hiking in the Tetons (at 8,000-10,000 feet) with my family: Jeff, Mark, Eric, William, and brother-in-law, sister-in-law and nephew: David and Jann and Peter Johnson.  THAT was excellent preparation for my hike to Mt. Kilimanjaro.


Flight and Arrival:  George took Alesa and me to the airport for our flight to Tanzania. 

The highlight of that flight was over Nova Scotia.  There was some pretty good turbulence and the plane was bouncing around quite a bit.  Alesa and I heard lots of crying, screaming, praying, "Oh Jesus, Help me!"  People were reaching out and lifting their arms.  It was very interesting.  For me, it was the second worst turbulence I have experienced in an airplane.

We flew non-stop to Addis Ababa and had about a two hour layover there.  We were shuttled to the older, dirtier Terminal 1 where we waited.  Toilets weren't working, it was crowded.  There were lounge chairs (hard to come by) and lots of people waiting.  We sat, wandered, and finally sat on the floor near our gate. When they called our flight, everyone rushed to the door and then there was a long wait and back-up as we waited to go down the narrow, dirty stairwell.  A shuttle took us out to the Boeing 767 plane.  They had two doors open and people went in whichever door they wanted.  There was mass confusion on the plane as people tried to get to their seats.






At the Kilimanjaro airport, we met Melinda Martin, Alesa's daughter,  carrying a bouquet of flowers, Michael Medoth, Ogisili orphange director and Elias Nglisi, member of LDS Branch Presidency in Arusha.  Elias is from the Massai tribe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maasai_people).  I heard the Muslim call to prayer in the distance.   Our Zara tour group gave us a ride to Moshi (about 45 minutes).  So far, Tanzania looks a lot like Central or South America to me except for the colorful clothing and dark skin.  There is a lot of poverty, dirt, and simple housing structures.  Women carry bags or baskets on their heads.  You can see moms teaching their daughters how to do balance loads on their heads too.


Near Springland's Hotel
The Market near Springland's Hotel



Houses along the street to Springland's Hotel
I brought the wrong electrical adaptor.  I'll have to share with Alesa.  After driving down a long, bumpy, dusty road, we arrived at Springland's Hotel.  They opened the gates for us, and the van drove into a little oasis:  yellow, two-story buildings, palm trees, a fountain etc.



Melinda and Alesa in our tiny room #24 on the second floor.  It was a triple room:  about $36/person.  Each night we untied the mosquito netting.


Fortunately, there was room under the beds for our luggage.  Otherwise, the room was tiny.  We had to organize all of our stuff into the following:  the bag the porter would carry for us, our backpack with everything we would need in a day, and a suitcase to leave at the hotel while we climbed the mountain.


Nice, cold water.
The dining hall was open air and seated about 100 people at long tables. Meals were served buffet style and waiters helped with drinks and egg orders and clearing tables.  They were young and super friendly, always trying to teach us some Swahili (pronounce it without the "a").  Breakfast was usually:  eggs (white egg yolks--not too appetizing to me), cornflakes or wheatabix, toast, red sausages, dry potatoes, cranberry juice.  Lunch was usually:  spaghetti or pasta, avacado, rice, chicken, diced tropical fruit.

We met Macon Dunnegan on our first day.  He announced after a few minutes of meeting him that he had just signed his divorce papers that week.  He is obviously feeling like a free man, a bit distracted, flirting with the younger girls a lot, but pleasant, still.  This was his 29th climb, he was just made Ambassador for Tourism in Tanzania (which means he doesn't have to pay entrance fees to the parks which are something like $900 for Kilimanjaro apparently???), and he listed for us a long list of future hikes that he has scheduled with fundraising groups.  He also wrote the book, "Sons of Kilimanjaro"---a very helpful book to read before hiking.  It's about four men who bring their individual issues to the mountain, bond as a group, and have that wonderful experience climbing together.  It is laced with many good hints for a successful climb.  I recommend it.



Alesa and I went to town with Macon.  I think he was thinking we would sit and chat with him, but we wanted to explore so, we decided to walk around several blocks and discovered this colorful market.
We decided not to go to church on Sunday. . . the nearest ward was in Arusha, about 1-2 hours by uncomfortable, unfamiliar bus.  Instead, we got ready for our trip and met Macon Dunnegan and the other women in our group:  Carrie Robison and Kristina Southam.  We had a little orientation meeting with some final directions and wrote down our passport numbers. We lost power at 6:35 p.m. on Sunday night.  Everyone got out their headlights.  We ate in a covered patio, open to the air.  Our trip begins on Monday morning.


Five Mormon Women in our group: Melinda Martin (age 26) Alesa's birth daughter who grew up in Salt Lake City, just completed a four month job as director in Arush for HELP, Alesa Allen (age 51), my hiking, biking friend.  We've known each other for about 22 years, Rene Johnson (age 48), Kristina Southam (age 26) from Ohio, just finished some work with HELP also and working at a camp in Belize, Carrie Robison (age 36) a nurse from Sandy Utah.  It was a very compatible group and I thoroughly enjoyed being with these ladies.

We took the Rongai route up and the Marangu route down.  I loved seeing two sides of the mountain!

Routes for climbing Kilamanjaro

Day 1 of Kilimanjaro:  Monday morning.  We packed all of our gear into a duffle bag for the porter to carry.  The weight limit was 35 pounds.  I was so glad I brought my travel scale.  It came in handy several times! Mine was at 34 pounds.  Alesa's was at about 28 pounds.  (I blame my extra weight on my second sleeping bag---it was one I made for Jeff and which I was very glad I brought).  Alesa carried more candy than me and her sleeping bag was rated for colder weather and lighter than mine.  I also had my day pack (it weighed 12 pounds with water), tp (foreshadowing:  this is a place where you ALWAYS carry your own tp and hand sanitizer!), snacks for the day.  We left our other suitcase in storage at the hotel and put our valuables in a safe which we rented for $1/day.  About 9 a.m., we met in the driveway to load our duffle bags and get on the bus with our group of porters, cooks, and guides.

Our first stop was at a grocery store.  It was fairly normal looking to me.  Then we were on our way to the beginning of the Rongai route, which begins on the other side of the mountain, the Kenya side.  It took us a couple hours to arrive at the trail head. One of many things I LOVED about this route choice is that we got to see two sides of the mountain.  We went up by the Rongai route and down by the Marangu route.  I love routes like that where you're not doing an out and back!

 We lunched at a roadside cafe:  hard boiled egg, muffin, empanada-like bread filled with meat and deep fried, a juice box.  I also had my first squatty-potty experience.




We gave our left-over food to the children outside the gate.

Once we arrived at the trail head, we had to wait a long time for the check-in book where we noted our names, age, address, occupation, passport number, guide name and company, and signatures.  Finally we were on our way at 2:25 p.m.  There was only one other group on the Rongai trail that day and they were taking a different route from us, so we only saw them at the beginning.  Macon says that there are about 500 people on the other trails.  As for me, I prefer solitude!  The hike was uphill, but not too steep.  We met some children walking home from school.




 They joined us for about an hour before they turned off to their homes.  Along the trail, we saw a group of Colubus monkeys.  Joseph Mayla pointed out an Iperca tree which is used for medicine for crazy people. 
Day 1 trail
This was one of our porters.


These were our porters.  They carried our tents, our toilet, all of our food, a 35 pound duffle bag for each of us, water. They were friendly, helpful, courteous, kind.  They always greeted us happily.  There were 29 men who helped us reach our goal.

Guides:  Edwin, Florian Mtembelo, Joseph Mayla, Nico
Porters:  Fraja, Onesmo, Jowin, William, Bagrael, Robert, Emanuel, Omary, Hussen, Jack, Victor, Msafiri, Frank, Peter, Oscar, Kamili, Agust, Evanci, Mjeda
Cooks:  Nico, Shedrack
Bathroom:  Clames
Tents:  John
Waiters:  Wenceslas, Faraja Yohana

We arrived at our campsite at dusk around 7 p.m.  Our tents were already put up for us.  I was happy to find a bathroom tent, about 2'x3'.  It was green and zippered in front.  The potty consisted of a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat perched on top.  I'm so thankful to Clemens for carrying it for us.  While I don't really mind digging a hole or going behind a tree, there were many instances on the trip where privacy wasn't really possible.



We each had an individual tent.  I was very grateful for that. 


This was our bathroom tent for the week.  Clemens, thank you!


And our toilet.  There were many times when there were not rocks, bushes, or trees to hide behind.  I was pretty grateful for this bucket!  We had access to it in the morning, and then around noon and for the rest of the day on most days.


Dinner was served in a large green tent, big enough for a fold-up table and six fold-up chairs.  During the week, the chair backs kept getting lost.  I was really glad that I brought my backpacking chair (less than 1 pound).  It provided good back support during many meals.  There was a candle lit and the table was all set nicely for us with a tablecloth.  Dinners always began with soup.  The first soup was cucumber soup.  As the week went along, we started describing the soup as "kind of a chicken bouillion base with "some" vegetables in it".  They were good though.  We also had bread, peanut butter, honey butter, fried potatoes and boiled potatoes, hot chocolate, wine for Macon, vegetables, jerky-like steak.  When Macon entered the food tent to join us, he put some music on.  Michael Booblé, Josh Groban etc.  It became kind of a signature for his entrances.
Our first dinner on the trail with candlelight.


Melinda and Carrie eating breakfast:  cream of wheat cereal, hot chocolate (we told them we didn't drink coffee or tea), toast, oranges, hot dogs, and eggs.


Rene and Kristina enjoying some hot chocolate.


Part of breakfast:  tomatoes, cucumbers, eggs, hot dog, papaya, toast.


The temperature was cold the first night and I used my balaclava and gloves and one sleeping bag.  I was awakened at 6:00 a.m. by the porter's radio and loud voices.  There were 29 support people for us.  I was grateful for the quiet time alone and the space in our one-man tents.  I took along a battery charger to which I could hook up my phone or ipod.  It had enough juice for 5 days of re-charging, so it worked well for the entire trip for me.  I enjoyed relaxing to some music on my ipod each evening.  The first day, I drank about 1 liter of water from my insulated bladder.  The sign at the beginning of the hike suggested 4-5 liters????  I don't think I could drink that much!

Day 2 of Kili: We took a little hour-long acclimatization hike with Joseph Mayla.  He enjoyed singing and sang many Christmas songs with us.  We sang I Am a Child of God and If you Chance to Meet a Frown. Dinner on day two started with soup again.  On the second night, I slept with two sleeping bags, my big wool socks, a shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, a puffy coat, gloves, balaclava, ear plugs and advil p.m.  An inflatable airplane pillow was one of my best purchases!  I used it every night.  I was also grateful for my good air mattress.  Others didn't take air mattresses and slept on the foam pads that were provided, but I think I got a better night's sleep.


Day 2 trail.  Joseph Malaa led us most days.  He walked "pole, pole" (think slow wedding march), so that we would acclimatize better. When we were walking at this speed, my heart rate stayed around 70-85 bpm most of the time.


Rockier terrain on day 2.


Joseph Malaa, age 58, one of our guides.  He has been hiking this mountain since 1970!

Sunrise was around 6 a.m.  I woke to birds singing (and the busy jabbering of porters).  The morning temperature was cold but it inched up the scale by about 7:30 a.m.  At night, all tourists are in bed by 8 p.m. and sound asleep by 9 p.m.  Melinda was having a headache and slight nausea; Kristine didn't sleep well the first night.  I swear by advil p.m.!

Swahili words I learned:

Good night= lala salama
I'm enjoying the food=JACK cool la ka ZOOly
Thank you=a SONT tay
Hello= JOM bow (said happily and kind of sing-songy)
Hello= MOM bow (to which you reply, PO wah.  If you want to be a little silly, you say, "PO wah, ka CHEESE ee, COMmon DEE cee" which means I'm cool like a banana. . . it makes them laugh)
You're welcome or Welcome to this place= CAR ee boo
Very= SAWN ee (as in thank you very much, or very good job)
You are very welcome= CAR ee boo SAWN ee
Greeting to someone older ---Shcommo baba (or mama)
Beautiful= ZOO ree
What is your name?==JEEN oh LOCK oh NONne?

My name is Rene==JEEN oh LONG go Rene



 Day 3:  We saw lots of white bunches of flowers on day 3 and arrived at the third cave around 12:30 p.m.

 The red rock is a beautiful backdrop to this camping site.  The temperature was around 60 degrees maybe with a cool breeze.  I was glad I wore gaitors for dust control.  The tents are more spread out and Tanzanian porters are on the other side of the dining tent.  I think they always eat after us.  They work so hard.  Our tents were all up with our duffle bags inside upon arrival.  We watched them dust off our mats before putting them in our tents.


We saw lots of cairns.


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Alesa relaxing in her tent.

There is no water at this campsite so they have to carry water for us on their shoulders for about 1.5 hours from a spring!





 I also understand that we don't have water again until we summit.  So, I will carry about 4 liters tomorrow.  My sun hat is fantastic especially since my sunglasses broke on our way here.  The gaiters keep my legs cleaner from the dust.  Wet wipes are awesome for feeling clean.  The bring us bowls of hot water before breakfast and dinner.







 I brought my own bar of sweet smelling soap which has been very nice.   I think the temperature is in upper 30's or lower 40's.  My new shoes are doing great.  Kristina and Carrie and Melinda carry on non-stop conversations on trail but it's nice.  I don't have to worry about being conversational.  Today's topics (and many future day's topics) included boys, Belize youth camp from hell, boys, fake eyelashes, facelifts, boys, etc.    I am feeling really good.  The Teton backpacking trip with the family was excellent preparation for this trip!

For the afternoon acclimatization walk on day 3, I wore my puffy coat, gloves, gaiters, maybe a hat.  We're at 12,800 feet.  Clouds came through the camp after lunch.  Joseph is whistling Christmas songs.  The kitchen stove is sending out smoke.





End of Day 3, its is 8:10 p.m.  We had cold mashed potatoes, French fries, scrawny fried chicken legs and a warm yummy coleslaw for dinner and of course, soup to start the meal.  Lunch was soup and fried empanadas..  It is very cold.  I'm not changing my clothes for bed except to put on double wool socks, gloves and balaclava.  Thank goodness for the double sleeping bag and Advil p.m.  We saw many cairns on our walk today and we did a lot of climbing.

Day 4/5:  Thursday.  We hiked from third cave to Kibo, leaving around 8 a.m., a little earlier than usual.  It was a long hike through areas that made me think of the moon or mars.  This hike was quite tiring and we appreciated our rest breaks. We arrived at Kibo huts around 1:30 p.m.  We saw the huts, the one-wheeled gurneys to take someone down the mountain in a hurry.  We signed in as we had at the beginning of the hike with name, address, profession, tour guide, passport number, tour sponsor, and signature.  There is a rongai road leading to Kibo and a Machame route.  As we approached, we saw people coming and going.  Our porters had our tents all set up so after a quick lunch, we headed to the tents for naps from 2:30-5:30 p.m.  After dinner, we tried to sleep again until about 10:15 p.m., our wake up call for departure to the summit.  I wore liners and two pairs of socks, hiking boots, two pairs of thermal underwear, a long-sleeve wicking shirt, my puffy jacket and my ski coat, glove liners, and ski gloves, a balaclava.  Good thing, it was a very cold night!


Alesa and Rene on the way to the Kibo huts.


On our way to Kibo.


Kibo huts in the distance.


Moonscape!  Kibo is getting close.  Edwin offered to carry my day pack at this point.  I was actually so grateful for the offer that I said, "yes."  (uh SON tay).  I almost cried with gratitude.  It took us another half hour to reach our tents.  Alesa is feeling a little nauseous.  I was feeling a little grumpy and definitely tired.  Our hike today looked like the moon, big rocks all around.  Our pace is about 1 step/2 seconds.  The altitude is 15,800.
I laid out my clothes for the night hike.  We leave around 11 p.m. to catch sunrise at Gilman's point.  I'll wear Billie Ruth's long john's, wool socks and silver liners.  We'll make a sign for Rosemarie (my nursing home friend) and Gwen (who just found out she has ovarian cancer).


Kibo Huts:  There were people coming and going when we arrived.  We signed in and then went to our tents.  There were quite a few tents set up. 
Emergency "vehicles" at Kibo.
We left at 11:30 p.m. to start our hike to Gilman's point, the first summit.  It's up a steep hillside with scree the whole way---hard going, often 45 degree angles (or whatever maximum angle follows the angle of repose for scree).  At one early on point, I almost collapsed in a faint and nausea.  Carrie (our RN in the group) gave me some tums which I almost threw up but was able to keep down.  At this point, Edwin accompanied me the entire rest of the way.  He patiently waited each time I took a break.  I alternated between taking 200 steps and resting for a few minutes throughout most of the night.  Two hundred steps, sit down or lie down until I caught my breath and my heart rate was under control.  I was so tired and not feeling so great.  It was so tempting to sleep, but it was also so cold that I knew I couldn't sit for too long. Edwin carried my backpack to the top of Gilman's.  On the way up to Gilman's, the water in my insulated camel back froze in the mouthpiece even though I tried to remember to blow the water back into the bladder after taking a drink.  Fortunately, I also had a bottle of water in my jacket pocket, next to my body, which I could rely on.  I put crystal lite energy flavoring in the bottle. 



Alesa at Gilman's Point!


A not very flattering picture of Rene on her way to Gilman's still.  Tough night!


I was happy to make it to this point.  Edwin was so supportive and stayed with me on the trail every minute from about midnight to 7:03 a.m. and then on to Stella Peak and finally Uhuru Peak.



























I was last in our group to get to Gilman's and many people passed me.  I was so tired.  I'm not one to stay up all night!  Alesa made it to the top of Gilman's well before me--maybe 30 minutes, but she decided to head back down and not continue to the highest peak, Uhuru.  She wasn't feeling well.  We passed each other on the way down, but not on the same trail and so we didn't really get a chance to talk at that point. 

Once I reached Gilman's, Edwin gave me a big hug, we took pictures, I got some food, and energy drink, shared a cliff bar with him, took three Advil and felt much, much better.  I kept thinking about Jeff and our four sons and how badly I wanted to tell them I had gone all the way to the top.  I thought about my 16 piano students who were cheering me on and many other friends.  I was grateful that Edwin was supportive even though he knew how difficult it had been for me to make it to Gilman's.  


We got ready to continue to the top, knowing it would take another two hours.  Melinda, Carrie, and Kristina made it to Uhuru about 30 minutes before me and left before I got there so we didn't get a picture of five Mormon women on top of Kilimanjaro like I had hoped for.  Edwin took over on my camera and took pictures of me and for me of surrounding areas and the amazing glaciers. 



Clouds below us, at sunrise.



Looking toward the goal!



Approaching the goal!


 UHURU PEAK!!!  9:03 a.m. on Friday, September 6, 2013.


There!!  Uhuru!  The highest peak in Africa!  I made it!



These glaciers were between Stella and Uhuru peaks.  So beautiful!



These glaciers were amazing!


 I made a little sign for my friend, Gwen (who just found out she has ovarian cancer---part of our fees coincidentally went to ovarian cancer research) and another sign for my friend, Rose-Marie (who lives in a nursing home near me; I'm her visiting teacher----you should have seen her face when I told her that I had taken a picture with her name on it at the top of Kilimanjaro!).  RoseMarie has been so excited for me on this trip and called me just before I left with a wish for good luck and safety on the trip.  I think they'll both be glad I thought of them at that moment.

Returning to the Kibo area, I "skiied" (the actual term is glissaded) down the gravel.



Coming down the mountain was kind of like skiing.  I had a lot of fun!

It was quick and fun though it made my toes hurt.  It still took me 2.5 hours to get down from Uhuru.  10.5 hours to get up!  You can see how hard it was!  I felt so happy to complete my goal--ecstatic maybe.  Mission accomplished! Back in the tent, I gave my feet some tlc--lotion and cut toenails (should have done that before the final climb).  We still had a four hour hike to the Horombo tents.  That was a long walk after our through-the-night-climb.  Between Alesa's respiratory issues and my sore toes, we walked about 1 mph.  We arrived at camp around 6:30 p.m., it was dark.  William, one of the porters walked back up the trail to meet us and carried my backpack for about an hour for me, which I was grateful for.  He is Joseph Mayla's brother from a different mom.  He probably weighs 100 pounds and is about 50 years old with sun aged skin.  Several times he went out of his way to help us.  When we arrived at Horombo camp, he pulled a stiff brush from his pocket and brushed off our gaiters and legs.

I took 2 diamox yesterday morning, 3 at lunch, 1 more for dinner and 2 for breakfast this morning.  I was fine at 19,000 feet.  Diamox is amazing.  Macon said that he regularly takes up to 750-1000 mg/day when he is climbing the mountain.  I was glad that I increased my dosage the day before the big climb.

Day 6:  Alesa isn't feeling well: sore throat, nausea, rapid heart beat and lack of breath.  She's going to take the emergency vehicle from Mandara tomorrow to Marangu entrance gate to see a Dr. or go to the hospital.  Carrie our nurse says it might be pneumonia.  It took us four hours to go four miles this afternoon. 

Alesa and Melinda walked together slowly with Joseph to go to the emergency vehicle.  Alesa still had to walk about four hours.

We got up at 4:15 a.m to leave for the trail. I went ahead with Macon, Kristina, and Carrie.  At one point, they were in the bathroom and Macon suggested I go ahead.  I took right off and had about 2.5 hours alone on the trail with no sign of humanity.  It was gorgeous and I LOVED the solitude.  I saw the sun rise and all sorts of beautiful vegetation and hillsides.  It was quite glorious.

This is what I had all to myself:


















 I passed a few porters and some tourists as it got later in the morning.  I greeted the porters, "Jombo" and they would answer back.  A couple porters asked if I was o.k.  (It was probably unusual to see a tourist woman walking alone), but I felt quite safe.  They were all so friendly to me.  Also, a number of porters passed me on their way down.

I met up with Macon, Kristina, and Carrie again at the Mandara huts.


Mandara huts

They moved on ahead and I slowed down a bit. . . again, enjoying the quiet and solitude.  Florian Mtembo kept me company.  He was one of the guides.  Our conversation included the following:  tribes (community based, like counties), sport competitions, sometimes violent over land or possessions, more peaceful now, Moshi area is the Chagga tribe, Florian is from the  Meru tribe in Arusha, also there are Masasai in Arush (they are nomadic, holes in ears, livestock).  I invited him to church and told him about the Book of Mormon (he seemed interested).   His wife is Renate.  I asked if she worked.  He said she was at home with their daughter (Irene).  I suggested that he say that she WORKS at home.  Florian went to seminary school but didn't have money to finish so he went to tourism school where he studied about Kilimanjaro.  Future tourism guides specialize in safari or mountain usually.  His parents were both educated, dad is deceased, mom lives in Dar Es Salam.



Florian Mtembelo.  We spent about 2 hours walking down the Marangu trail together.  Good man.



The end of the trail at Marangu.  Alesa Allen, Melinda Martin, Macon Dunnegan, Kristina Southam, Carrie Robison, Rene Johnson

When we got to the end of the hike, we missed saying goodby to the porters.  I regret that opportunity a lot.  They really made it possible for us to have this experience.  They were tired and headed off to their homes.


Upon arrival at Springlands Hotel, people showered and we met for the tipping and certificate ceremony. (I had to shower afterwards because I was the last one to have a turn in the shower).  I thought the tipping was a little awkward since we weren't all on the same page about amounts. We put it all in an envelope and presented it along with our sincere thanks, a few gifts (I had brought socks and inflatable pillows) and our Jambo song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK0wPpLryc4.


Joseph Mayla (age 58), Rene, Macon Dunnegan, Edwin
I'm pretty happy to have this certificate!



Saturday night:  Alesa is wheezing and breathing rapidly.  I decided not to go to church but will take her to the hospital instead.  I'm sad about not going to church and meeting Florian there, but hopefully I can still get some missionaries to visit him.  I didn't sleep well as I was worried about Alesa.  Then at 3 a.m., there was a cacophony of roosters in chorus for about an hour.  3 a.m.?????  Then there was noise in the kitchen, things being unloaded, voices.  Then I got fretting about cancelling my taxi that I had arranged for 7 a.m. for church. Melinda woke up and offered to reschedule it for me.    I washed many of my clothes yesterday and hung them up around my bed to dry.  I used my walking sticks and the iron from the mosquito netting framework to hang them from.  It's humid enough that they're not drying very quickly.

Sunday:  Alesa doesn't want to go to the hospital.  She's afraid of sanitation, treatment etc. in Tanzania. So, we didn't go to the hospital/clinic.  While she slept in the morning, I decided to take a walk into Moshi.  It was a 2-3 mile walk.  Four separate guys tried to talk to me (older teens or young 20's).  They start out all friendly asking about my business here etc. then move on to selling stuff or trying to get me to go to their stores.  I had to tell them to go away.  The last one was particularly pushy and persistent and I had to be firm to get him to go away.  I didn't enjoy that situation at all.

Three good things happened though:  One man was pulling a cart up a hilly bumpy dirt road and having some difficulty.  I jumped in behind him and helped push the cart up the hill.  As I walked down the main road, I saw a man with his daughter all dressed up.  The daughter, maybe 4 years old, caught my eye and we smiled.  I asked if they were going to church.  He said yes and invited me to go too.  I was sorely tempted.  We arrived at a big intersection and he said the church was about two blocks off the road.  I got a little worried about getting lost and didn't want to lose my sense of direction.  I felt like I could have gone though.  However, he politely shook my hand and we parted ways.  The final incident was on the long dirt road before arriving at Springland's Hotel.  Across the street, there is a little hill and a railroad track.  There must be a water source nearby because I saw lots of women with buckets of water on their heads.  Two women came over the tracks and started down the slope with a crying two year old.  Then, he took a tumble and rolled down the hill, crying even more.  I crossed the street, offered him a piece of gum after the mom nodded yes.  He stopped crying and walked happily along.

Feeling fairly emotional today.  I took a three hour nap this afternoon.  I think the physical effort of the mountain, the poverty around me, lack of sleep last night,  worry about Alesa, and this morning's walk is taking a little emotional toll on me.  It's also a long time to be gone from family.

(later)

I'm so happy that I was able to have this experience.  I've been reflecting on lessons learned. Some of the lessons I learned:

1.  Set high goals; don't put limits on yourself (As we started training, I posted a couple pictures of Kilimanjaro around my house so I could focus on the goal and making it to the top.  Those pictures stayed in my mind as I trained and ultimately as I worked toward the summit of the mountain)
2.  Work little by little to accomplish something big (day hikes, 200 steps at a time in the right direction.  A friend, Marsali, often says it's not about how fast you get there, it's about the direction you are moving.)
3.  Choose friends who will work with you to do good things (choose people who work hard, who have happy dispositions, who are forgiving and supportive, who don't complain and who look for the best in others)
4.  Support others like I was supported ("you can do it", celebrating the little accomplishments, watching out for how you are feeling, stepping in to help carry a load)
5.  Learn from other's successes and mistakes (research on what other people did, read blogs, online  hints, Macon's book, my Dr.)
6.  Be grateful for patient people who help me (Edwin was amazing on the summit night.  He probably could have done the hike in 4 hours, but it took me about 8 to reach Gilman's.  It was cold.  And with my frequent rests every 200 steps, he was standing around waiting a lot, yet he was so patient with me.  I appreciated that so much.) and Florian was great company on the hike down.
7.  Take joy in other people's accomplishments (I have been so buoyed up by the support I have received.  I don't want to forget that feeling and I want to give it to others when they accomplish something--whether big or small)
8.  There are many wonderful people in the world.  This time, I learned to love the Tanzanian people.
(I loved our guides and porters.  They were so kind and helpful. I loved their happy greeting, "Jombo".  I loved meeting Michael and Elias and appreciated their willingness to help us.  Michael took time to meet us at the airport, fed us lunch, took us to the airport.  Elias was willing to meet me at the bus station before church (if I had made it) and escort me safely to church.  I had a wonderful conversation with him about the church in Tanzania and his trip to the temple in South Africa. )
9.  Smiles are contagious.  (It is quite amazing what a smile can do. . . on the trail, on the mountain, in life.  It turns the world around.)

The Safari trip starts tomorrow.  We are rearranging our bags.  Bryson will be our guide.  He was recommended to us, so I'm looking forward to that.  We should be picked up Monday morning at 8 a.m.

Safari group:  Ruth Ferrer Walo (a Venezuelan young woman, visiting Tanzania for her great-aunt's funeral, lives in London), Joanna Konstanciuk, Pawel Swiec (newlyweds from Warsaw, Poland)




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