No sleeping in…we were woken by John with a cheerful “good morning, how did you sleep…do you want tea or coffee?”. That’s the best wake up call I have ever had from a hotel!! I look around, oh ya, I’m in a little tent, 11.2thousand feet on the side of Kilimanjaro in the middle of a rainforest. Next knock on the tent was a house call from Augustine….pulse good, oxygen good, 1+2 yes, lungs good, appetite good, score 10.
After a quick visit to the Bank of America and a wash up, teeth brush using a bowl of hot water brought to our tent we packed up and headed to the mess tent for breakfast and our days itinerary.
With our gear out of our tents we geared up, boots, backpacks and lots of sunscreen (thank you Ruby). We headed out from the rain forest into the moorlands.
The moorlands are a savannah of tall grasses, heather,and volcanic rock draped with lichen beards. We ascended through lush rolling hills and crossed several streams where we reached Shira Ridge and then dropped gently down to Shira camp 1.
I was doing quite well throughout the day, it was very hot and dusty and I think thats when my buddy Parkinson’s decided that because I had not noticed its presence for the entire past two days and had slept extremely well in the rain forest, I was now going to pay. The terrain was was pretty easy, always going up, up, up, small rocks that would get in your way if not watching your step so….. Here I am telling my legs to step to the right in order to miss a small rock however, Parkinson has a different plan….lets just step on the rock and freeze!!!!! So, instead of taking in the awesome view I am in a battle with Parkinson on who wants to go where….keep in mind that everything I do Parkinson does double, so, it becomes very tiring. Freddie2 (my guide) had noticed I was having difficulty so he had me drop back and Pole Pole (slow slow). At the same time Freddie made sure I was well hydrated. He kept my mind off my battle by telling me about his family, his two sisters, where they lived and so on. During this Pole Pole the porters are speeding past you, your tent and baggage on their heads…just amazing.
After 6hours we drop down to camp. I am exhausted but feel i won my battle, my legs were mine…finally.
I sat outside our tent and inhaled the view of Kibo (sister mountain) from across the plateau…truly amazing.
NOTE: the reason why you climb up and sleep down is to become accustomed to the altitude…..totally brilliant.
That evening enjoying dinner, on china plates I might add, there was a lot of light hearted chatter. We laughed about no shower for two days, sharing stories, celebrating and some tears.
This was the day the crew gave us our Swahili names. Mine was to be Bibi61….grandma61 (61 my age), I was the oldest of the team but as the crew said “Bibi61 is the strongest. Dennis (Earl) was Babu …wise grandfather.
It was getting very cold, I decided to go in for the night,add another layer of clothes, visit the bank and hope like hell I did not have to make another deposit during the freezing night. My vitals were all great although I downgraded myself to a 9 because of Parkinson.
It was also becoming very clear that due to many variables….layered clothes and no showering any remote fantasies of romance like having a glass of wine, sharing some flatbread and snuggling in one sleeping bag was NOT going to happen!!!!!
