I slept in until almost 8:00am, so needed to rush as I promised I would meet John at 8:30pm. He arrived shortly after I did and we, along with Jim, enjoyed a nice final day breakfast together. Gosh I am going to mis his laughter and presence each day – what a great guy he is!

Around 10:30am, Mrs. Munisi from the Bethlehem Children’s Home arrived to say good bye to us. What a sweet lady she is. Livingston and Winston (one of our Kili guides) came to pick up John and take him to catch the shuttle back to Nairobi. Before they left, they presented us with our Kilimanjaro summit certificates – how exciting!

Amongst hugs, a few tears and many ‘hope to see you next year’ John was gone and we were in for the long wait until going to the airport for our flights. Sian is off to Dubai at 5:30pm so Jim and I decided to go with her to the airport. Livingston and Winston drove us to the airport, Sian checked in and we said our farewells.

Jim and I couldn’t check in until 6:00pm so we amused ourselves at this very basic of airports. Finally we lined up to check in, lined up to exit through passport control and lined up through security to get to the one and only international gate. We had a chuckle when a lady behind us was concerned about a plastic bag for her toiletries and the asked if we needed to take our shoes off. Here the security is light at best and to prove it, Jim had a caribiner in his pocket and the security system didn’t go off!

Finally at 8:30pm we boarded our KLM (fabulous airline) flight to Dar Es Salaam and then on to Amsterdam. The flight was very pleasant and after dinner and a movie, I slept for about 4 or 5 hours of the 9 hour flight.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is fabulous and I wandered the shops and had their famous Poffertjes (small Pancakes) which were scrumptious. Only 4 more hours to wait for my flight to Vancouver!!

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Sleep was quite irregular as several teams awoke before midnight for their summit attempt. We are lucky as we have time on our side so that we can have a full night’s sleep – or so we hope! Sian was ticked at a group of Germans that insisted on singing when they got up at midnight – she was not a happy camper at that moment.

At 3:00am, I heard numerous porters scrambling around and I wondered what was going on. Apparently there were a few groups that turned around early as they didn’t make it. Not surprising as so many of them take very little time to acclimatize and ascend to the summit.

Finally at 4:00am Ema woke us up and at 4:30am we met in the dining tent for coffee, tea and cookies before our summit attempt. At 5:00am promptly 8 of us started up the slope, John, John, Winston, Sian, Jim, me, Amy (our only female porter) and two other porters. I thought it wonderful that they too wanted to push themselves to the summit.

Thankfully the early morning was pleasant as we wound our way up to Kosovo Point where we hiked up to yesterday. We were hiking slowly, oh so slowly and before long the sun rose over the horizon with Mawenzi Peak in the foreground. It was a beautiful sight!

Our progress was slow but sure with rest stops every hour. The higher we got the more frequent our stops were and the tougher it got. I was surprised at how difficult this summit was, and was VERY happy when we finally reached Stella Point at 12:00noon – a mere 7 hours from when we started!

We all gave each other a high five and took the requisite photos before deciding whether to carry on for the extra hour to Uhuru Peak. Sian decided this was the one and only time she would do this *#$&%# mountain so she was heading up further. Jim contemplated going as well but decided it best to turn around and not push his luck (his breathing had been laboured up to this point due to asthma). He did an amazing job reaching 5730m!! And did much better than many that turn around before this point. I too was struggling with my breathing (your body can react dramatically different each time you reach altitude), so John said the two of you will be turning around. At that moment my inside voice said ‘yee ha, I’m going down’ and then reality sunk in – we still had at least 3 hours and 1200m of steep downhill before we reached camp and some substantial food. Snacks at this point weren’t cutting it! One nice thing is that there will still be certificates for all three of us.

As Sian headed up further, the two Johns, Jim, Amy and I started our descent through the mist and fog. The weather had been nice up until this point, however the clouds had come in and we were getting wet – thank heavens for waterproof clothing.

At 2:45pm we walked, or hobbled, into camp and straight for the dining tent! Faithful Ema was waiting for us with juice and the whole crew were there saying congratulations! What a lovely reception. Still a bit shell shocked from altitude and exhaustion we ate what we could and then headed for our tents for a nap. We will wait to see what time Sian arrives back down and either stay another night here or proceed down lower to the Millennium Camp (which is preferable as it is best not to stay at the higher altitude for too long).

I fell into a pleasant sleep considering my little mice ‘friends’ were ever present and scurrying around. At 5:00pm I was jolted from my sleep by Ema shouting, ‘we are leaving camp in 10 minutes’. Obviously Sian was back and we needed to move quickly to get to the next camp before
dark.

We left about 5:20pm and gingerly started down the hill to 3700m and Millennium Camp. Before long John, Jim and I were ahead of Sian, John and Winston as Sian’s knees were giving here issues – rightfully so after such a descent. We trudged along in silence and around 6:30pm we had to put on our headlamps as the sun was setting. It was a peaceful experience walking in the twilight and then dark watching the stars and moon appear. Beauty aside, it seemed like eternity walking on tired legs and finally at 7:30pm we arrived at camp – hooray!

Sian and John were about 15minutes behind us as Sian’s knees were in bad shape by this time. We ate what we could manage and we were all tucked in bed by 9:00pm.

Lala Salama (sleep well) – oh I will!

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Also see YouTube for the Kilimanjaro song sung by the porters: http://youtu.be/IEVaHd71Ja4

Happy birthday to Charmayne!

Hooray, we are on our way back to Arusha, a proper bed and HOT showers! I awake excited to know that tonight I will be in a very comfortable bed at the Snow Crest in Arusha. Seconds later remember that we still need to hike down 14km and bus 2 hours before this can become reality.

The mood in camp is very jovial and the porters are just as excited to get home. Before heading back we are stopping in Moshi for a traditional Tanzanian lunch in honour of the porters and guides and I think they are all looking forward to it – along with a Kilimanjaro beer or Coke.

Although we are slow moving from the long day yesterday we still manage to be on our way by 7:15am. The porters pass us quickly and we are left to our pole pole pace down off the mountain. Generally down is at a quicker pace however each one of us has an issues; blisters, sore toes, bad knees etc. which makes us a bit pokey.

By 9:00am we arrive at Mweka Camp at 3010m and stop for a facilities break. Sian and I are thrilled as their is actually a toilet with a proper seat instead of a squat – very much appreciated as squatting means possibly not being able to get back to standing when you have sore knees!

At 12:30pm the “walking wounded” arrived at Mweka Gate and sign out of the Parks. Our bus arrives and their is a flurry of activity as the porters load the bus. Once loaded we hand out new T-shirts to everyone and take group photos. Now the best part of the morning; the porters sing the Kilimanjaro song, Jambo Bwana (I think that is what it is called). Jim and I video tape the full song, we clap and cheer and jump on the bus for our ride to Moshi and lunch!

We pull up to a side street in Moshi and enter the Restaurant. We are all seated and served our drinks. I was so thirsty I drank down 2 orange Fantas – always the best when in a foreign country. The porters were very animated and just as happy as we were to be off the mountain (as beautiful as it is).

Our buffet lunch is ready and we were invited to head to the buffet first. We said no, I should be Amy (ladies first – the Tanzanians are very proper in the regard) and then Ema! It was time he was served instead of him serving us. This brought a huge grin got his face and cheers from the group. Everyone else took turns and we went last – they had all worked so hard making our trip the best.

Pleasantly full it was now time to give the porters their tips and wages. There were lots of cheers, happy smiling faces and laughter when I said they can’t spend it all today! It was a great afternoon.

We clamoured back on to the bus, said farewell and Asante Sana (thank you very much) to those that lived in or near Moshi and then departed for Arusha. Two hours later we arrived at the Snow Crest Hotel and again there was a flurry of goodbyes, Asante Sana and then they were off.

Silvano the afternoon doorman welcomed us back and the 4 of us all but ran to our rooms for our long awaited showers!

I stood in the shower for what seemed like an eternity and then went down to the lounge to check emails and have an evening snack. I didn’t see anyone else from the group so assumed they were all enjoying the showers and proper beds! I went up to my room around 10:00pm and watched some TV before crashing into a wonderful sleep.