BootsnAll Travel Network



What my blog is about

My name is Jill. My sister, Jaimi, and I are going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. We can't wait to return to Africa and fulfill a lifelong dream!

Home again

January 10th, 2010

Another adventure has come to a close.  The trip home was demanding, especially the 6 hours in Nairobi were we had to deal with the most incompetent airline agents in the world; we ended up sitting with all our luggage for several hours, finally getting the “right”  people to re-check the bags and issue boarding passes. Unfortunately, those people had no clue how to do anything, and it took 2 hours to get it worked out.  And even so, while trying to get on my connecting flight in Istanbul, I was informed that I was not checked in and my bags had been pulled off the plane.  Thankfully the Lufthansa personnel in Istanbul was very efficient and resolved all those problems, getting me and the luggage on the right plane to Munich.  In Munich, I then was confronted with a cancelled flight to Stuttgart, so had to take a bus for the last leg of the journey. Finally, 33 hours after getting the car at Maramboi Tent Lodge, I made it home.  And I’ve received a text message that Jill also made it (after about 45 hours on the road). 

We are now facing perhaps the most difficult question – what will the next adventure be?  We are thinking perhaps Machu Picchu and the Inca trail, or a tour down the Amazon.  We are working on sister #3 to make sure she is not left behind next time, so hopefully sometime in 2011, you’ll see the new blog for jilljaimijuli!

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On Safari

January 7th, 2010

What a change of pace from mountain life to the safari route. The past 2 days have still been very long, but spent mostly in the seat of a Land Cruiser with binoculars in front of our eyes. We’ve had some great sightings, and are enjoying a relatively luxurious hotel life to compensate for the long tent nights in the cold.

Yesterday was a bit too long, as we were picked up from the hotel in Moshi at 7:30 and did not get to our new location until about 7:00pm. The drive down was a little disorganized, as we had to make several stops on the way to pick up supplies and that dragged things out. We entered Manyara National Park at around 14:00 and spent 4 hours touring. The landscape was incredibly lush and we enjoyed seeing lots of animals, including many babies! Hippo, elephant, baboon, dik-dik (Marianne, we thought of you!), vervet monkey, giraffe, impala. The highlight was clearly the Hippo baby – neither of us have ever seen one before. Manyara has a Hippo pool and there must have been 20 – 30 hippos in there, so it was quite a sight.  The other really cool thing was watching the animal dynamics when a lion came into the area – we never actually saw the lion, but heard the warning calls, the screaming of the baboons and saw monkeys, antelope, and every other “prey”  in the area run frantically away from the lion hiding in the bush. It was a great game drive, but by the time we got to the hotel we were exhausted from being in the car all day; and then frustrated, as the hotel we were at (Lake Manyara Hotel) was BEAUTIFUL and we had no real time to enjoy it. We were especially disappointed that we did not get our planned afternoon siesta time, when we saw the beautiful pool grounds overlooking Lake Manyara and with pool-side bar. We went for a quick swim anyway and then explored the hotel on the way to dinner, coming to the conclusion that it was haunted (very old with eclectic décor, relatively empty). We made it through the night anyway, and slept like rocks in our comfy room.

Today started early with 6:30am breakfast; the ghostly staff was ready and waiting for our luggage (eerie – as we walked out the door to our room with bags in hand, they walked around the corner ready to take them away from us. How did they know?). While waiting for our guide to pick us up, we stepped outside the entry hall and found the front lawn covered in baboons! Really – there was a troop of over 30 of them, playing a kind of catch and hide-and-seek with the groundskeeper. So the day began with good entertainment.

We then headed to Ngorongoro Conservation Area and spent several hours in the crater viewing the animals. It was amazing to see such an abundance of wildlife, all living next to and amongst each other. As we drove to the crater floor, we saw 2 cheetah lounging in the grass, overlooking a plain filled with grand gazelle, Thompson gazelle, wildebeest, and buffalo. And this was just the beginning. On the lakeside, we found hundreds of flamingos in the water while jackals and hyena scavenged the beach. Further down, 2 lions lolled in the sand. We saw an ostrich chase off a hyena and a yellow crested crown crane tail a serval cat, calling out for all to hear that there was danger nearby (poor cat didn’t get his lunch today thanks to that gutsy bird!). Adding to yesterday’s “baby” sightings, we found a baby black rhino. The highlight for today was a large male lion laying on his back in the sun, appearing arrogant and without a care in the world. And funny, there were not any other animals around the area that he was napping. Jill was also excited to spot an elephant skull, but was disappointed that she couldn’t take it home to school. Would have been tough to fit it into carry-on….
We ended earlier today, but the mountain fatigue caught up with us and we snoozed most of the way from Ngorongoro to our new accommodations near Tarangire national park. We are staying tonight at Maramboi tent lodge, and we love it here! We drank a glass of wine out on the pool deck, which borders on a large plain with Lake Manyara in the background. So we sipped wine while watching zebra and wildebeest graze. Our tent is huge, and comes complete with wood floors, 2 beds, sitting area, and bathroom. There are little walkways between all the buildings that curve around and make us feel like a natural part of the landscape. We’ve just finished dinner and can also report that the food is great, and service could not be better (thanks James!). The only downside is, as we sit here and blog, we hear something climbing around on our tented roof. I’m hoping it doesn’t chew it’s way through!

Tomorrow we are sleeping in (YAY!) and will report on the rest of the days’ happenings from Nairobi, as we wait for our connecting flight towards home. And we’ll upload photos then, too; the baboon on our tent roof seems to be causing signal interference as we keep losing connection now.

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Motivational song lyrics

January 6th, 2010

You might be wondering what kept us busy during the snowstorm at Mawenzi Tarn; we actually stayed quite busy as we prepared for our summit attempt.  In fact, we were creating song lyrics to chant as we climbed the peak.  And now we’ve decided to share those with you.  Oh!  And, Jill practiced her summit moves, complete with mittens on and slow motion arm swings to demonstrate how exactly she was going to be instigating forward motion up at 5800m.  of course, I’m not sure how helpful this was as she forgot to practice the vomiting….

Song 1 (to the tune of Louis-Louis by the Kings):

Pole, pole*; Oooo, baby, wanna keep it slow; Yeah yeah yeah yeah 

Pole. Pole; I’m climbing to the top of Kibo; Yeah yeah yeah yeah 

*Swahili for “slowly, slowly”  which are the instructions you are supposed to follow when climbing Kili, to avoid AMS.  Our guide apparently did not know this.   

Song 2 (to the tune of We Will Rock You by Queen):

We will, we will, Sum-mit; Vomit on our face; Won’t be a disgrace; Walk like a zombie, this isn’t a race

We will, we will, Sum-mit  

Song 3 (to the tune of Walk This Way): Walk like a Zombie; Talk like a Zombie ; Climb like a Zombie(we didn’t get very far with this one….)

Song 4 (to the tune of We Wish you a Merry Christmas):

We wish you acclimatization; We wish you acclimatization; We wish you acclimatization; So you can get to the top!

Good fartings we bring; To climbers on their way; Good fartings of acclimatization; So you can get to the top!  

Song 5 (to the tune of Ain’t Nothing Gonna Break My Stride):

I flew away to Tanzania; In a little aircraft to find ya; Kili said “you ain’t gonna conquer me”; Now here I am and I’m climbing your peak 

Ain’t nothin’ gonna break-a my stride; Ain’t nothin’ gonna speed me up; Oh no, I’ve got to move on slowly; Ain’t nothin’ gonna break-a my stride; No way I’m gonna turn around; Oh no, I’ve got to pole-pole

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The Descent

January 5th, 2010

After photos with the guides and with Flat Stanley, we don our mittens again and head back down.  Shortly after starting, Jill makes another vomit stop, and then declares her fingers are too cold, prompting a complex glove-exchange manoever with Jaimi;  as soon as Jill has something on her hands, Crispin sends her and Silvan running down the slope. As we round the crater on our way back down, it becomes apparent that we’ve become national heroes, as we are enthusiastically congratulated by each passing guide; they all insist on shaking hands and making exclamations of “ very very strong!”, “ so fast!” and “ I saw you flying up the mountain!”  This was fun, despite our advanced state of AMS.  Back at Gillmans’ Point, we saw the sun rise, then began the treacherous descent over the scrambling rocks.  The descent was as close to never-ending as the ascent towards Uhuru; we cannot believe that we actually climbed up so far.  It is probably good that at this point of exhaustion, we were not fully aware of the day’s statistics: 20 km hike, covering 1200m (4000 ft) elevation gain. Glissading down the scree, we are again in a trance-like state of just wanting to get down – as quickly as possible.  At 7:30, we collapse into our tent, and basically don’t move again until 10:00.  At which point, we need to pack up and hike another 9 km to the next camp. 

Our last night is spent at the Horombo Hut camp along the Marangu route, and we rejoice the last night in our tent and being within 24 hours of a shower.  The last day down is a long one, covering 19 km to Marangu gate; it is not an uneventful one however, as we again pass through 3 different climate zones.  In the rainforest, we even site blue monkeys and cows.  Yes, cows.  They are apparently illegally sent to pasture in the national park.  The day concludes with the excitement of working out the tips for our team, showers and a bottle of wine at the hotel.  (see the “things to consider” post for more on tipping).  It has been an incomprehensible adventure – until you’ve done this, you can’t imagine it.  We are so glad that we have!!!

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Summit Day

January 5th, 2010

Opening the tent at 11:00 pm, we are thrilled to see that the snowstorm has passed and the sky is filled with millions of twinkling stars.  It is time to get ready. We are scheduled to begin our ascent at midnight, and can’t sleep anyway.  So we start putting on layer 1…  and layer 2…and 3… and once layer 7 is complete, we step out of the tent (it is going to be cold up there).

Our waiter serves tea and cookies while we wait for our guides. Jaimi, who is chomping at the bit to get going, ends up delaying departure while everyone waits for her to get her gloves on.  But at 12:02 we are off!

The moonlight is so bright, that we don’t even turn on the headlamps and wonder why the other groups bother.  But later on we decide it’s a nice gesture from them, as we can then easily see where the they are, and it looks a bit like Christmas lights strung up the side of the mountain. We began a windy path up Kibo peak, passing one group after another as we go.  We focus on simply putting one foot in front of another as we watch for our landmarks to eventually appear.  It doesn’t seem like we are walking fast, but our hearts are pounding and we are taking about two breaths per step.  The first landmark is Williams Point, which marks the barrier of 5000m; at this point, Jill has mentioned that the pace might be too fast, but says she will wait until Hans Meyer Cave for a break (which we should hit in 30 minutes).   Eventually we reach Hans Meyer Cave, the halfway mark up to Gillmans Point (which is where you come out on the crater rim, but not the highest point). We took a break – of sorts – it certainly was not more than 3 minutes and then we headed into the “zombie” switchbacks; so-called, because the best technique to get over this part of the mountain is to assume a zombie-trance state.  At one point, Jaimi says, “Jill, we are almost to the scrambling rocks!”  Jill looks up and sees that the scrambling rocks are actually a couple of miles away, but doesn’t comment – just keeps walking.

We do eventually make it to the scrambling rocks, the last major obstacle before Gillman’s Point, which usually takes about an hour to get over.  About halfway up, Jill starts to feel nauseous.  We make a medication stop, administering Metoclopramide and Advil, and continue on.  By this point, we were truly “in the zone”  and it is hard to even recall the climb over the rocks; we just kept following our guides. Finally we scaled the last large rock structure and came out directly in front of the sign for Gillman’s Point.  There were cheers and hugs all around, and hoots from our guides down the mountain to let the others know we has already made it – far ahead of anyone else!  Crispin does a time check, and then announces his watch does not work and asks to see Jaimi’s.  We all lean over, and see that it matches Crispin’s time, showing 3:30am.  We all do another cheer, as this is at least 1 hour before anticipated arrival time at Gillman’s.  And then, Jill starts searching around, and we ask what’s going on.  She says, “I have to vomit now,”  and disappears over the crater rim.  A minute later, she re-appears looking brighter and announces, “I’ve never thrown up with such a good view before!”  We all laugh and head off again towards Uhuru (the highest point on Kibo peak). During all this, a thunderstorm hit the plains below us; it was quite a sight, to watch the lightening flash and be looking down on it. So with the flashes of light below and behind us, we began the walk around the crater.

We are amazed at the silent landscape in front of us; we are the only people atop the peak and it feels like our mountain.  We walk around the crater, plowing the first steps into half a foot of fresh snowfall; the moon is so bright, and the snow sparkles around us.  It is a dream landscape. The path between Gillmans’ Point and Uhuru is supposedly 1.3 km; it seems though like forever, like those dreams where you walk down a hallway and it stretches as you go.  We now know what people mean when they say they are “high;” we were, and felt it.  Brain function fogged and as we rounded a corner and saw a tremendous glacier to our left, we were clearly in the grip of altitude sickness; ataxia had set in and every second step was a stumble. 

We keep thinking we are almost there, forgetting that our Kili book warned us of many false peaks along the way.  Each time we reach one, we summon our strength for “only a few more meters” and then are frustrated that the sign is not there!  The only remaining thought is “where is the god-forsaken sign, so we can head back down!”.  At some point along the way, Jaimi leans over on the top of her poles feeling completely expended; from behind her comes a frantic Swahili dialogue between the guides;  afraid they might turn us back, she waves them off, says she is fine and starts taking steps forward again.  And then, Jill says, “I think that’s the sign.  Am I hallucinating?  I think that’s the sign.  Is that the sign???”  Jaimi just keeps walking.  And then, a few minutes later, we are actually there at Uhuru, the highest point in Africa. 

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The Saddle

January 5th, 2010

A long trek across the saddle between Mawenzi Peak and Kibo peak.  If you have never fully internalized the meaning of “desolation,” come here and you will.  We followed a several km path through empty, rocky lava desert (well, empty except for the remains of a small aircraft crash from a couple years ago), which ended above the snow line at Kibo Hut. We experienced our first snowstorm in a tent last night, and as it looks as if the snowfall will continue through the day; we are praying it stops and clears up before our summit attempt in the wee hours of the morning.

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Mawenzi Tarn Hut

January 5th, 2010

4330 m, 14,200 feet

It is cold here.

A little rougher start this morning; another cold night with restless sleep and everything starts to feel a little soggy. The novelty of packing and re-packing our stuff has worn off, and today we do not even get a sunny breakfast. Our appetite starts to diminish anyway, and eating our lovely meals begins to feel like duty rather than pleasure. We also discover that our cook, Frankie, has taken ill.  We supply him with Tums, metaclopramide and Advil and hope for the best – this would not be a good man to lose. As we being our daily trek to the next campsite, we are not feeling our best. Our packs seem heavier, the ascent steeper….  As we continue through the foggy moorland, however, we settle into a slow but steady pace, our breathing evens out, and conversation resumes. Our spirits rise as the landscape changes to alpine desert and lava rock, and we catch a glimpse of Mawenzi peak in the distance (the secondary peak on Mt. Kilimanjaro). The remainder of our hike over rocks and stones is easy and we incessantly chatter the time away. We reach Mawenzi Tarn Hut once again in a great mood as we realize we are higher than we have ever been, and yet feel surprising good. It is, however, very cold.  We settle into our tent that is waiting for us and bundle up in warm clothes, looking forward to a long nap to compensate for last night’s poor sleep.

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Kikilewa

January 5th, 2010

We are at camp site three, and at lunch our guide brought in a bottle of wine in celebration of the New Year.  They were only too happy when we shared the wine with them.  It seems that all we do here is eat, walk and sleep as we’ve settled into a routine that includes tea 5 times a day, a morning hike, and nap, an afternoon hike, and three full meals plus popcorn and cookies.  We also get wash buckets delivered twice a day. We feel like we are acclimatizing well, as we pea 8 times a day and are farting endlessly (those are both good signs of acclimatization, and Jill’s favorite saying has become “Farting well means faring well”). Additionally we are getting to know our team a bit better, and gaining popularity by sharing our power bars and chocolate.

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New Year’s Eve

January 5th, 2010

Today is the last day of the year, and we are spending it on Mt. Kilimanjaro!  This is the second day of our climb and so far it has been fantastic.  last night before going to bed, we wandered around in the moonlight and enjoyed the view; the clouds partially cleared off and we had a starry night with a full moon.  Above us in the distance stood Kibo (the main peak), and the snows of Kilimanjaro gleamed in the moonlight.  Once in our tent, we had a few last bouts of giggling as well as a final success of the day. Finding spiders in our tent, we deftly (and with only a minimum of squealing) managed to exterminate them so we could go to bed.

This morning dawned clear; we woke up to a delivery of hot tea to our tent (by our waiter) and relatively quickly got dressed as we were excited to step out into the inviting sunlight.  The sky was brilliant blue, and Kibo looked near enough to almost touch.  We were thrilled that the team had moved our table from the dining tent out into the sun and enjoyed a full breakfast of porridge, eggs and sausage.The day’s hike went by fast, as we passed through heather and moorland, ending at the second cave campsite. After lunch and a nap, we then did our first acclimatization hike, with our assistant guide, Sylvan. Kibo was visible for the first half of the day, making this all seem real as we take steps closer towards that final summit day.

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Kili day 1

January 5th, 2010

Wow, it has been quite a day. We have finally embarked on our ma\outain trek and are now reminiscing over the day’s many events with a cup of hot tea, at our table, in our dining tent. The popcorn and cookies are already gone, but dinner is on it’s way.

The morning began with mass chaos, with numerous guests checking out and starting their climbs today. So people and luggage and gear seemed to be everywhere. We did manage to make it out, roughly on time, but our supposed 2.5 hour drive to our trek starting point turned into a 5 hour odyssey. The highlight was when our van got stuck in mud directly behind another van stuck in mud with a large truck stuck in mud behind us.  It was apparently the entertainment for the village, as there were a couple hundred bystanders enjoying the show, as we attempted to get un-stuck again. At one point, we offered to climb out of the van, but were instructed that the weight was needed to get the van out again.  Go figure!  We also found it astounding that none of the bystanders offered to help push any of hte vehicles out; I guess that would have resulted in a pre-mature end to the fun.

We also stopped in the town of Marangu whiles the guide fetched the park permit from the gate; while there, we took a nature walk and encountered a boy with a chameleon on a stick.  When we declined paying him for the opportunity of taking a photo with this particular chameleon on a stick, he informed us in outraged tones, “This is a business here!”  (again: a chameleon on a stick…)

Finally we reached the Rongai route starting point, where we met our team.  Well, kind of.  We were introduced to half of 20 men and became very confused at the number of people posing for our team photo, which was exacerbated by introductions that included “our waiter.”  Ummm.. waiter?! On a mountain expedition? Little did we know at the time, that he would become our favorite team member.  We then provided entertainment for the multiple groups when we suggested that to compensate our luggage, they not carry chairs up the mountain for us.  This was clearly a ridiculous suggestion, as over a hundred guides and porters laughed and told us not to worry about such things. At this point, we did not realize that accompanying the chairs would be a table, dining tent, and portable toilet.

The hike started in the rainforest and we were excited to put our new gear to use when the first downpour hit.  The campsite was a bustle of activity with a number of groups arriving at the same time.  We were surprised to see that our group carved out an area in which to pitch 3 tents – for the 2 of us.  A sleeping tent, dining tent, and our bathroom tent.  We’ll just call this Cyrus City from here on out!  As soon as things were set up, Ladilos (our waiter) summoned us to the dining tent for popcorn and tea.  Talk about roughing it!

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