The Journey Home

This was my last glimpse of Kilimanjaro. When we woke rested, but not able to walk up/down stairs on our final morning, the sun was shining but it was quite humid and the mountain was covered in clouds again. We had breakfast and a few hours to relax in the hotel or to walk to the village where there was a little tourist shop. I wasn't walking anywhere and instead we checked out of our room and found space on the sun loungers around the pool for some well deserved chill out time, before we were due to get the bus to the airport. Everyone was getting the bus, although not everyone was heading home straight away. 3 of the group were heading off to Zanzibar for some extra beach time - and another was off on safari for a few weeks. It was sad to say farewell as you form some special bonds with people that you share these experiences with.

The bus journey wasn't quite so smooth as the way in - the driver had a need for speed and was a bit mad on the roads. However, just 20 minutes from the airport - we all felt the large bang under the bus and feared the worst - a flat tyre? Were we going to make our flight? The driver stopped, got out, kicked each tyre which seemed to be intact and drove off again - at the same break neck speed. However - we made it! We spent ages at check in as there was a problem with the machine which printed the boarding cards. Each desk had at least 3 staff sat it, but with only one working ticket machine that needed a good thump to print a single boarding card - it was a very slow process. We didn't have long after getting checked in, so said our good byes and went through something that looked like security - but was pretty questionable. We were soon back on the awful planes, with rude staff, poor customer service and no safety briefing via Mobassa back to Addis Abbaba, where we had a slightly more pleasant 7 hour wait for our connecting flight (note to all; pay the extra money and go the more direct route!). There was free wifi at the airport, so we caught up on Facebook, made "friends" with each other and generally reconnected to the 21st century! All very weird really. And at 7am on Sunday morning, John met me at Heathrow. We are now busy planning our next adventure - but together this time!

xxx

Cathy's Kili Photo's

And a massive thanks to those of you who sponsored me! Without your support, when the going was tough - I'm not sure I'd have carried on without knowing you had put your hard earned cash and faith in me.

Friday 2nd March - Day 6

The last day on the hill had come - and the world is definitely a better place after a good nights sleep. My legs were quite stiff, but I got up quietly before the others and payed a visit to a very nice toilet and sink for a quick cold wash. The storm had blown through in the night and outside it was dry, but a little blustery. Our kit was still wet from the nightmare evening before, so I dragged everything outside to give the others space (still feeling guilty for leaving Mary in the toilet) and spread out my water proofs weighed down with rocks for them to dry in the wind.

Our wonderful home for our last night on the hill with kit drying outside!

The porters then arrived at our hut, which was at the top of the hill compared to our camp (what was left of it) at the bottom of the hill with wake up tea and washy water. I couldn't believe they'd made the effort to bring it all the way to us. I took a slow walk down the hill to where our tents were as we'd left our poles and a few other items (a bag of dirty clothes!) in the tent that we couldn't be bothered to pack in our rush to get somewhere dry. When I opened the tent I found a very happy porter in his sleeping bag. I offered him "wake up tea" which he thought was hysterical! I recovered our kit and wandered back to the hut. It was quite a long way and I can't believe that we tried to run up that hill in the darkness - there were rocks everywhere too! Furthermore, as the mess tent had been blown down in the night, they served us our breakfast on picnic benches on the Veranda of some of the very large huts - it was really very pleasant. 

When I was in our camp collecting our kit, Julius came and found me. He took my hand and wanted to say thank you so much for the $50 I had given him the day before. I told him it was nothing and it was to thank him for helping me as I didn't think I would have made it without him. He kept going on about how much it meant to him and that this money would really help him and his family. I didn't think much more of it until we were at breakfast and I was telling a few of the others about my conversation with Julius. Henry, who had been working in Tanzania for a month explained to me that $50 was a huge amount of money to these guys - in fact, it was the equivalent of 6 months education for one child. I had no idea and felt very humbled.

As dinner the evening before had been a bit of a write off - we had to use the short time we had at breakfast to sort out all of the collective tips. At our briefing in the hotel before we left, we'd been given a piece of paper which advised how the tips should be broken up. The recommended amount to be given by each of us was between $120 and $140. Mary took charge, collected the money and with a few of the others divided it up. The Chief Guide got the most (I think around $80), the mountain guides $60 each, the cook got about the same and then there were smaller amounts for everyone else. When we announced that the porters all got $30 each they were absolutely delighted and started applauding. It was so touching. We also gave out some special awards - there was extra money for the 2 guys who had to empty the chemical toilets and we also gave extra to the porters who joined us on the summit night. After we'd given out the tips it's traditional for the porters to sing a Kilimanjaro mountain song - it was great to hear. There is nothing quite like the sound of African singing - always makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I took a final few shots of Kilimanjaro - it was amazing to reflect on just how far we had walked the day before. What was even more amazing was that Kili was totally white having been covered again in snow during the storm that had brought rain and high winds to our camp. I couldn't have imagined what it would have been like if we had been attempting the summit in those conditions. We had been so lucky with the weather and I counted my blessings.

View of Kili from our Camp - we'd walked a really long way!

And, with the formalities done - it was time for our final day walking. It would be approximately 6 hours and we would descend to Marangu Gate at 1830m, nearly 2000m additional descent. I strapped up my toe, took some pain killers, made sure my socks weren't pulling on it and started walking! We quickly separated into two groups - a fast one and a sensible one. For some reason - I found myself in the fast one. I wanted off the hill as my foot was very sore, but the pace was something else. After a while, a bit like the second day I found myself on my own again between the two groups and it was great to have that feeling of space and wilderness around me. We walked passed lots of others who were also descending - and a few on their way up. Two of the most interesting were a pair of Japanese gentlemen. They were keen to chat - the first chap was 69 and the other was in his 70's. They'd made it to the summit - and here was me whinging about how hard it was!

I caught up with the faster group again and they all agreed we should slow down a bit and actually enjoy the walking. We went through shrubland where there were some amazing trees that only grow on Kili, and soon were back in the rainforest. Here we were treated to watching monkeys play in the trees above us - and it didn't rain at all - it was fantastic to stay dry!

My legs were getting very sore now, and I'd been aware that by keeping my sock loose in my boot, it had rucked up and I was going to have a pretty awesome blister on the side of my foot. But it was the last day and having had some pretty spectacular blisters in the past, it's always best just to keep moving or they get really sore. So, in the mid afternoon we finally reached Marangu gate - it was so good to be down - and reflect on the fact that I'd actually achieved a goal that I'd held for many many years. It was an amazing feeling. A friend called Kath, who I'd also met with George in Patagonia was meant to be on the trip with us, but unfortunately a serious injury just a few weeks before our trip meant she wasn't able to travel. She'd given each of us a laminated card with our names on it and the words, "Pain is temporary, but the glory is forever". Never a truer word spoken.

We went through the formalities of signing out at the gate and treating ourselves to a well earned bottle of coke from the shop. We relaxed in the sun, stretching out very sore and stiff legs and waited for the rest of our group to join us. I was able to return the favour of Coke back to Mary! The gate was a bit busy, so the guides said that they would collect our certificates and bring them to our hotel. Fortunately, the transfer to the hotel was very quick as we'd effectively walked back over the mountain to where our hotel was. Our bags had been left in the car park and we identified our own bags and watched to ensure they were loaded onto our bus. It was over!

After a short journey back to our hotel - up that very bumpy track again , we were greeted by the same staff and given our bags that we'd left behind....shampoo and a clean set of clothes - heaven! Priorities were very different - for some, it was time for the bar. For Mary and me, it was a shower/bath and maybe a little nap before joining the others for dinner. My feet were a mess, but nothing I'd not been through before. My first aid kit is always prepared for such eventualities. George and Paul were in the room next door - we all had a balcony overlooking the swimming pool and as dusk set I had a final glimpse of Kilimanjaro. George popped in for me to look at her foot - and I thought I had problems! George has always amazed me - she was born with a club foot and after surgery when she was a baby, she walks quite normally now.

However, the scar tissue on her heel and foot are quite severe and these areas always blister terribly for her. I am amazed that she was able to walk at all. I helped her dress it and we joined them downstairs to celebrate our engagements! (She did end up with several visits to her local hospital on return to keep changing the dressings on her foot!).

After a quick glug of champagne and being presented with our certificates I managed to get a decent mobile phone signal and talk to John. Such a relief and great to talk to him. My next call was to my Mum, to let her know that I was safe and well and also to tell her the other big news. I think she was as much in shock as I was - and just very relieved to hear that I was OK.

After that, we were really rather boring - we had dinner and just went to bed. Some of the others stayed up until midnight drinking and celebrating - where they had the energy for that is beyond me. Mary and I were tucked up by 9pm and out for the count.

Mary, George and me - Cheers!

Thursday 1st March - Summit Day

It was midnight, it was snowing but we were determined to just get our heads down and get on with it. We had been advised to wear plenty of clothing as it would be very cold. Starting at the bottom; one pair of very thick socks or a thin pair and a medium thickness pair - I had opted for the latter. I had on my running tights rather than thermals as they wick better, some fleecy lined trekking trousers and waterproofs over the top. I also put on the gaiters my Mum had lent me, as there is a lot of scree on the summit and you particularly don't want your boots filling with stones on the way down. I then had on a long sleeve wicking top, a long sleeve merano wool thermal, a lightweight fleece, and heavier weight fleece, down jacket - all topped of with a gortex jacket (just). And then there was a wooly hat and gloves. My rucksack contained 3 ltrs of water, snacks, first aid kit, camera x 2 and some spare warm clothing - as if I was going to actually be able to get any more layers on anyway!

When we'd arrived in camp in the early afternoon the day before, I'd take 1/2 a diamox tablet (from Mary!) as nearly everyone had been taking diamox from quite early on in the trip to help them deal with altitude sickness. I hadn't really had any problems but I wanted to maximise my chances of making it to the top. After taking the first small dose, I hadn't really felt any of the side affects Diamox causes as I'd just been relaxing in camp and slept - so I took another 1/2 a tablet before we left just to ensure that I would be OK. Diamox doesn't cure altitude sickness but it helps by dealing with the adjustment of the PH in your blood. It does have side effects though - pins and needles in your face, hands and feet. I didn't get any of this sensation in my feet - but boy did I get it in my face and arms as we climbed. I almost wish I hadn't taken the tablets, but equally I can't be sure to what extent they helped me that night either.

Just as we left camp, the guide Julius came to find me and asked to take my bag straight away. He'd remembered our conversation. I clearly wasn't going to let him take my bag from the start, so thanked him and told him I would see how I felt at the next rest stop. There were 3 distinct stopping points on the 1200m climb up and the guides told us that they would assess us all at each of these points and decide whether any of us would need to go down. We were already a guide short because one had gone down with Sophie, and our chief guide never materialised on the trip due to a family issue, so one of the others had stepped up to take his place. As a result, 2 porters became "climbing porters" and came with us on the summit attempt.

The next 6 hours were just a long slog of constantly putting one foot in front of the other, again and again and again! This was interspersed with the guides singing and calling out to each other in the darkness, stopping for a few sips of water and sucking boiled sweets. We had a fantastic pace and the whole group stayed together all the way. Julius again asked me for my bag and about 1/3rd of the way up and putting pride to one side, I let him take it. I was only planning on being here once and simply didn't want to fail. Many of the other guides were also starting to take bags too - but generally everyone was in good order.

And then, a crimson glow started to appear in the sky behind Mawenzi Peak - dawn was coming.....

With the sunrise came more energy - I have absolutely no idea from where exactly, but Julius had been by my side the whole way, giving me water whenever he felt I needed it, reminding me to blow back into my Camelbak so that the water didn't freeze in the hose. We were all covered in a light frost - it must have been the condensation from our bodies freezing. And then it wasn't too much longer before we all reached Gillmans Point - the first and lowest of the 3 official summits on Kilimanjaro at 5695m. It was from here that we could see into the crater and across to the weird glaciers that sit on top of the mountain. I was absolutely over the moon to have made it to this point. My colleague at work had told me that if I made it to this point, that the true summit was totally achievable. Whilst it was still two hours away, it was relatively level and he said that whatever I did, I must dig deep and keep going. We could see the route around the crater rim in the stunning but icy cold sunshine - I was adamant I was going to make it. And after the porters handed out hot tea, leaving 3 of our number behind who had already achieved so much more than they thought possible - 10 of us started walking....again!

Porters - still singing and dancing!

And we walked and we walked. It was really hard going but the views went a long way towards taking our minds of just how tired we were. Our route took us via Stella Point, where lots of other groups summit from the other side. Our guides simply did not let us stop here, instead keeping us walking. Having spoken to another group afterwards who did the same route as us, their one complaint was that they had waited too long at Stella and found it almost impossible to get going again. We had to cross snowfields and some difficult terrain which was made all the more complicated in that our brains were not working quite as they should now. On the summit of Kili, there is 50% less oxygen in the air than at sea level. But, at around 9am - our entire group made it - and there was just a few minutes between the first person and the last. This has been a massive team effort. The views were amazing and we stopped to take the summit photo's. Those sharp eyed amongst you will notice that the summit sign looks very different to the battered wooden signs in most other Kili pictures. They'd clearly been replaced in very recent months.

We were to only be allowed 5 minutes on the summit as the guides want to get you down as quickly as possible. I took a moment to get out the card that John had given me. It was in about 3 different envelopes. Joyce sat next to me and Amanda, her tent mate took my camera to take some shots. As I worked through the envelopes, you can just imagine my total shock and surprise when I opened the final one to see a card saying "Congratulations on your Engagement!" He was asking me to marry him!! I hadn't been at all emotional at this point, but I was just totally overwhelmed and burst into tears. I don't cry very much but when the waterworks come - they pretty much don't stop for me. Amanda told Joyce afterwards that I was crying so much that she stopped taking photo's as she thought it might be bad news!

Me - having opened the card!

Me - and the card!

Me and the card - again!

OK - so for those that haven't seen my photo's yet - yes I did eventually put my card back down. We just had a few minutes for photo's and I wanted to try and share the moment with John somehow. I then put it safely back in my bag, took a few photo's, recorded a video message for John - and then we were being rushed into packing our bags and getting ready to leave.

So - the hard work was done? Absolutely not!! What followed was one of the toughest days I've had in a very, very long time. We retraced our steps back to Gillmans point before descending the scree slopes and switchbacks to Kibo camp. Apparently the reason for climbing Kili at night is because the scree is frozen so it's easier to walk on - this was definitely the case. I spent most of the rest of the day walking with Mary - and I was so fortunate she was there, as at times I honestly didn't think I was going to make it. I was pretty tired and hadn't been eating enough of my snacks. I'd been drinking a good amount of water and had carried extra too - which I'd managed to keep unfrozen. But there were others worse than me and the guides took the last of my water and some of snacks to give to someone else. My knees and legs weren't up to scree running, so it was a long and painful plod down the switchbacks and scree. I wasn't quite the last into camp - but was pretty much at a state of collapse by the time we reached our camp at Kibo. Mary held my arm as we walked as with the slightest slip, my legs went from under me. After a while two of the guides walked me into camp for the last half an hour. We were met by my good friend George who had been down for a while after descending direct from Gillmans. She quickly ran off and invested in some Coke for me and Mary - just what the Dr ordered. I collapsed into the tent for 20 minutes or so whilst I drank my Coke and stretched my legs. It was already after 1pm. It had taken another 5 hours to descend the mountain. George also told me the wonderful news that after we'd all gone on to the main summit, that Paul had proposed to her. I was over the moon - and cried again. Both of us had been talking about this trip for years, having met on a similar trip to South America and followed it up a few years later with another trek to Nepal. We'd committed to doing this trip as we were both turning 40 - and we were finishing it being engaged!

But that wasn't the day over - not by a long way! We were allowed to rest for a little while longer before we were given a hot lunch - and then had to finish packing up our kit and start a further 4.5hr walk to our camp for the evening. For some reason - we had it in our heads that it was only a couple of hours down to the lower camp. We couldn't have been more wrong - it was a very long, hard and tedious slog - and the weather was starting to change.

However, before we left camp - I went and found Julius. I needed to thank him for his help in getting me to the summit. My work colleague had told me that he had hired a summit porter to carry his bag on his summit attempt and the negotiated rate was $50. In the big scheme of things - it's a very, very small price to pay to get to the summit. I shook his hand, gave him the money and disappeared as it was time to leave.

I will confess to spending the next few hours chuntering. I was feeling much better than I had been on the final bit of the descent from the summit and was carrying my own bag, but my legs were very tired and I had quite a lot of pain in my right big toe. The descent had trashed my big toenail and it was already swollen, black and blue. I'd made sure it was cut short before we traveled as I've experienced this problem before on long descents - which is why I have no toenail at all on my left foot as it's unfortunately been permanently removed after an identical incident  - it looks like I'm going to have a matching pair! For the last 30 minutes of our walk into camp - it starting raining - and we were soaked. We reached our final camp at Horombo Huts at 18.30pm. We had been walking for over 18hrs, had ascended nearly 1200m and then descended over 2100m. We were shattered. We sorted our kit out and then dashed for the mess tent for some food.

The wind was picking up and it was raining hard. Some of the group just didn't leave their tents and come to dinner. A few of the group did - and we'd heard that Andy and Johnny had managed to secure the last vacant hut in the campsite - for $20 a bed. They told us that there were 4 empty bunks and we could join them. I wasn't going to bottle it at the last minute - I have a gortex bivvy bag and can sleep anywhere, but Mary had no problem in taking up their offer. We dashed back to our tent for her to pack her bag - but on seeing the river that was starting to make its way through the tent and it almost totally flatten in the winds - she talked me round and I packed my bag too and we legged it with our bags back to the mess tent to meet the guys to show us where their hut was in the maze of buildings further up the hill. We were met by a scene of utter chaos and devastation. The mess tent was about to be ripped from the mountain and the guys and some of the guides were hanging on to it for dear life. We were soaked through and getting battered by the wind. It was clear that the tent wasn't going to survive - as Mary was very clearly trying to get through to the guides. After half an hour, enough was enough. The guides brought some porters to carry our bags up the hill to the hut - we told them they didn't have too but they insisted. They disappeared into the darkness (they didn't have torches) and Mary and I (with head torches) tried to run after them.We made it half way up the hill until it very quickly became clear that we were still at over 3700m and our lungs and hearts were about to burst out of our chests. We stopped in a toilet hut half way up the hill as we had no idea where the porters had gone. We were exhausted, soaked, couldn't breath and were in total darkness in a toilet hut. Just not where you wanted to be having climbed the highest free standing mountain in Africa!!! Mary decided to use the facilities whilst we were there - but one of the guides came and found me and said he'd take me to the hut. I told him to come back for Mary (this is me making up for leaving her..!) We ran (still not a good idea) to the hut and I was greeted by a little piece of heaven. A perfect little alpine hut with 6 bunks, all with a mattress and pillow - and no wind or rain noise too. I quickly took off all my wet gear and stood with my torch at the tent door looking out for Mary. The camp was large and complicated and in the darkness everything looked the same. I was feeling very, very guilty. After about 15 minutes Mary arrived - I was so relieved!! After some faffing, we were all tucked into our sleeping bags - me, Mary, Andy, Johnny and Henry had joined us too. We slept so well that night - never has a bed felt so good!

There ended an epic day on so many levels. I also managed to get a text message to John from camp to say "yes please"!! Unfortunately the signal was too intermittent to allow a phone call....what a day!

Wednesday 29th Feb - Day 4

Today only happens once every 4 years - and it was an amazing day. The route today would take us across "The Saddle" from Mawenzi Peak to Kibo Camp - the starting point for our summit attempt. The walk was relatively flat by Kilimanjaro terms as Kibo Camp is at 4700m and we were starting out from 4330m. We were advised to make sure that we wore plenty of layers for the walk today because apparently there are often very high winds across the Saddle. We filled our water bottles, layered up and set off up a gentle incline to start with, before we would descend a little and cross the saddle. The views were amazing - and the wind stayed away!

Me and George taking a breather on the top of the incline

The group with Kili behind us, before crossing the saddle

Me, a porter and George with the Saddle and Kili behind.

We generally had a pleasant day of walking. It took around 6 hours to reach Kibo hut. There was quite a steep incline at the end, but we could see where we were going - and the route we would take for the summit starting later that evening. During the day, Johnny bounced around and took video messages from each of us on Paul's camera. The output is quite amusing and I'll work out how to share the results soon. There was also a crashed plan on the saddle where sadly some tourists were killed about 4 years earlier along with the pilot. At this altitude - no one could be bothered to collect the metal - no problems with metal theft up here!

On arrival at camp, we signed in yet again at the main hut. This camp is also on the "Coca Cola" route from the north - so called because you can buy Coke all the way up! Indeed - there was Coke for sale at $4 a can. Bargain, when you consider it takes at least 3 days to carry it up here.

We were shown to our tents and given a late lunch/dinner of.....sausages and chips! The food was truly amazing but unfortunately both altitude and exercise act as appetite suppressants so we were at the point where we had to force feed ourselves. We had our final summit briefing after dinner; what time to get up, what to wear, what to take etc. After that, we went to bed at around 6pm - faffed around for a little while preparing ourselves and our kit for a wake up call at 11pm. It was cold again so another set of hot pouches were used to keep us warm. I was then going to stick mine to my cambelbak pouch later as it's that cold on the summit that your water freezes. 

We were woken up after trying to get some sleep at 11pm. We had to be out of our tents and pretty much packed up by 11.30pm as we were told the porters would then come and sleep in our tents for security reasons. We were then given porridge, tea and biscuits - really hard to stomach - before we set off into darkness - and by this time it was also snowing! The light of our head torches and metronome pole pole steps of the person in front keeping us moving for the next 6 hours. 

Tuesday 28th Feb - Day 3

After our eventful night, a few of the group were feeling tired but generally we were all well and after the normal wake up tea, washy water and breakfast drill we were ready for our next day on the hill. The camp was very damp and there were pockets of sleet and snow all around us. Today's walk was fortunately going to be a short(er) one to our next camp at Mawenzi Tarn. We were told it would take around 4 hours and that after a hot lunch in camp, we would be taken for an acclimatization walk in the hills around our camp.The height of our camp would be 4330m so we were really starting to get up quite high and feel the affects of the altitude. I didn't really get any headaches or sickness but you could definitely feel the lack of oxygen in the air.

I was a little stiff after the long day before, but after a few minutes of pole pole, all stiffness went and I had quite a pleasant walk. It was quite cold and there was a lot of snow when we arrived in camp - the residue of the thunderstorm we had experienced the evening before further down the mountain. A few people had told me that the tarn (small lake) at this camp was disappearing. I can confirm that when we were there - it was very much in situ! This was the last camp where there was going to be fresh spring water and would be the last camp where we would get washy water. After today, the porters had to carry all the water we would need with them - so it was naturally all saved for drinking or cooking. I had plenty of wet wipes with me though as I didn't honestly expect to be given the opportunity to wash as often as we were.

It was nice to have some time to relax before we went for our acclimatization walk for just a couple of hours and climbed the mountains behind us.We gained another few hundred meters of altitude and stopped there for a while for our bodies to get use to the altitude before descending back into camp for dinner.

Unfortunately, it was at this point that one of our group was taken quite unwell and it was very sobering to see the affect the altitude had on her. I'd been walking into camp with Sophie when she started to say she felt a little strange. To be honest, we all felt a little light headed but for the rest of us; food, water and some time to relax sorted us out. However, poor Sophie just got worse and worse. She had terrible nausea and vomiting and wasn't able to keep any food down. At this altitude, you need every calorie possible to keep going and she was clearly getting worse as time went on. The guides and her boyfriend (Henry - also a dentist who had been working in Dar es Salam for a month) had a detailed discussion and before the last of the light faded, a mountain guide and two porters were tasked to get her down as quickly as possible. (She made it into the lower camp that evening, but was still unwell and they continued to get her down the mountain as quickly as they could. She did end up in hospital for a short time and they believe she had gastroenteritis along with altitude sickness. We met up with her at the hotel after the trek and whilst she was still quite weak, she was otherwise fine.)

We went to bed a little apprehensive that night; worried about Sophie and also about yet another storm that was circling around us. Our tents were surrounded by water and trenches had been dug yet again, but this time there was no where really for the water to go. We were lucky - the storm didn't materialise. It was really very cold though that night - the guides told us that it went down to -5 deg C. Fortunately, a work colleague who'd recently returned from Kili had recommended getting some over-sized chemical hand warmers. He said they acted like great hot water bottles - and both Mary and I can agree that they were absolutely fantastic! We opened them and chuntered for a good 10 mins that they must be a faulty batch as they didn't get hot at all - until we realised that they needed Oxygen to work (like us!) - but after a little while - they were roasting! I'd also put a couple of the smaller hand warmer variety in my socks - but had to take them out in the middle of the night as my feet were on fire! Poor Johnny and Andy in the tent next door had a terrible night though - and wore every single item of clothing they had in their sleeping bag and yet they were still freezing. The advice my work colleague had given me had made our trip so much more comfortable. Thanks PK!

Mary and I weren't at all popular the next morning when we overheard saying how hot we were overnight! However, the sunrise that greeted us all that day was something else. The storms had cleared through and we were to be blessed with a great day!

In the mess tent (Joyce in her PJ's and Mary in the pink hat)

Sunrise over the cairns - and blue sky

Sunrise - and view of the hill we climbed as part of the acclimatization walk.

Monday 27th Feb - Day 2

It continued to rain in the night, but we were pretty comfortable and warm and generally had a good nights rest. We were in bed for 9pm and were woken at around 6.30am with "wake up tea". We would be woken up with this every morning. The guides told us this was to warm up our stomachs so we could eat. About 15 minutes later we were then given "washy water" again for another freshen up. We had to pack all of our kit up before having breakfast as whilst we were eating, the tent porters would start taking them down and getting everything packed up ready to leave in good time. Breakfast consisted of lots of tea or pretty much any other hot drink you could imagine, porridge and eggs - and sometimes bacon. Amazing considering where we were. After a final visit to the toilets (which were remarkably clean camping toilets in blue toilet tents) and we were off again on what was to be a very long, hard day.

Day 2 consists of a steep up-hill section in the morning and a more gentle afternoon. We would be climbing to a lunch stop at the "Second Cave" at a height of 3450m. This was really tough going and was the only time I really questioned why I was doing this and whether I was going to make it. The guides were great and set another Pole Pole pace which was the only reason I was able to get through the day. However, the views really started to make a difference as we were able to get our first glimpse of Kilimanjaro and Mawenzi Peak where we would be camping the following night.

The rain in our camp the night before had been snow on the mountain and Kili was covered. It was stunning.


We were walking through shrub land for most of the morning which had unfortunately been quite badly burned due to fires which had swept through the area a few months earlier. However, there were still some absolutely stunning flowers and plants around and many of these were in bloom too.


We stopped for some "drinky water" and snacks at the 1st caves - and the by now, well practiced toilet drills "alfresco". All that water has to go somewhere and peeing a lot was good sign that we were well hydrated. A few hours later we reached our lunch stop where the mess tent, tables and chairs had been put up for us. It stayed dry, but was quite windy and having a hot lunch under cover was definitely needed - you'd think they'd done this trip a few times before! I was really very tired by this point, but fortunately the climb wasn't as severe in the afternoon as we headed for our camp at Kikelewa Caves at 3600m. There were 3 distinct speeds that our group walked at. There was a really fast group, followed by me and a few others in the middle, and a group who took a sensible pace that suited them just perfectly towards the rear. I could always hear them chatting away when I was struggling to breathe - so they definitely had the right balance. It was during that afternoon that I found just the perfect pace, the weather was overcast but dry and I started to relax and enjoy myself. On this walk, one of the guides walked with me all afternoon - his name was Julius and we had a good chat about what was to be expected on the summit night. It was during our chat that he promised he would help me all the way, that we would carry my bag and would make sure I made it. He was a family man and told me all about how important the job was to him to be a porter. It was really interesting to hear his story.

So - we arrived at camp in the early evening and were again met by our tent porter, washy water, hot tea and snacks. I know it sounds like we are on a holiday camp - but trust me, it's hard work and it wouldn't be possible without this level of support. It was dry when we arrived and we had amazing views up the mountain but also across the plains of Kenya (we were on the south side of the mountain at this point.). Unfortunately, what was also very clear was an immense storm was making its way across the plains - straight towards us. Huge black monsoon clouds, deep rumbling thunder and lightening was all around us - and at the altitude we were at - we were going to be smack in the middle of it. We had another good dinner and then dashed to our tents before the rain, sleet and electrical storm came in. Whilst we had been at dinner the porters had been digging trenches around our tents - clearly, they knew something bad was coming. Our tent was on a slight angle so I pulled out all the guy lines as tight as I could, built a dam from rocks at the top end where it was clear the water was going to run through. We then got into our tent and waited for the inevitable to happen. Fortunately I had my bivvy bag with me which I did get out as it just meant I would sleep easier knowing that I didn't need to keep checking whether my sleeping bag was touching the tent. Yes - I'm a bit OCD when it comes to these things as poor Mary will confirm! We also put our main kit bags towards the outside of the tents for the first time that night, and slept together in the middle of the tent. Again, we were warm and stayed very dry.

The noise from the rain was something else - and the earth actually moved in the thunder. Fortunately this only lasted until around 1am and I did doze for bits of the storm until the lightening, that was so bright, woke me up. It was like someone was shining a torch straight in your eyes. At the height of the storm, we heard the porters running around outside checking our tents and making the water channels around some of the tents a bit deeper to cope with the rain. What these guys go through to help us is nothing short of amazing.

Kili - the morning after

Camp - the morning after!

Sunday 26th Feb - Day 1

So - today was the day. We had breakfast at 7.30am and went back up to our room for more general faffing. We were coming back to this hotel after the trek so left behind a clean set of clothes and some toiletries that we definitely wouldn't be needing on the hill. Our bus was due to depart at 9am and we are all there on time, packed and ready to go.

The journey would take approx 2.5 hours and I always really enjoy watching the world go by on trips like this. As it was Sunday, there was a lot of activity with the locals being dressed in their smart clothes ready for church. The children were all dressed smartly too and carried their bibles. Many of them were walking for quite some distance. There weren't many working cars around - most were simply parked in the shade surrounded by groups of men making repairs. However, what was really popular were motorbikes. At the main junction in Marangu there were large groups of lads hanging around with some very smart looking bikes. We often saw 2 or even 3 people riding on these bikes.

The journey seemed to be over quite quickly and we arrived at the National Park gate at Nale Moru which is at a height of 1950m. Our bags were off loaded whilst we sorted out our personal items and visited the very nice purpose built "tourist toilet". We also had to go through the process of "signing in" to the national park.

We were then introduced to all of our mountain guides (they insist on a ratio of 1 guide to 2 people), our porters, our cook - and a whole host of others who would be supporting us along the way. There were 14 trekkers in our group in total - and combined with the support team - there was going to be 44 of us in total in our gang.

And that was it - we were off! The first day was a relatively gentle 4 hours walking through some farmland and the rain forest. It was a gradual and gentle climb and the guides set a very Pole Pole pace, which was a bit strange to start with, but definitely made the day very enjoyable.We had a stop for lunch in the rainforest after a couple of hours. We'd been given a packed lunch when we left the hotel - urmmm - how to describe it...well it was food and I was able to eat at least half of it. A crisp sandwich and a very small but very sweet banana, along with a few other snacks made a fairly decent lunch. We then continued walking - and then the rain started. It certainly knows how to rain over there and I was a little apprehensive to hear that the monsoon season was arriving a bit early this year. Over the years, I've turned into a bit of a fair weather trekker - too many bad experiences from snow holes to emergency bivvy's - and I'm getting old and cranky!

Porters

Porters carrying our kit

Lunch!

We were pretty damp by the time we got to camp but, when we got there, our tents were up with our luxurious sleeping mats already laid out in them. When I've done these trips before there's normally a bit of  a scrap for the best tent, but when we got to camp we were greeted by our tent porter for the trip who very kindly took our poles, opened our tent and had even put our bags inside on our beds ready for us. Just awesome (and nothing to do with trying to secure a decent tip at the end of the trip :-)!!!)

The other thing that happened on arrival at camp is that we were given a bowl of "washy washy" water. Basically, each of us was given a plastic bowl with warm water for a wash. So nice to get the sweat of the day off and to put some fresh, dry clothes on. Then it was time for tea and popcorn in the mess tent. This is all part of their strategy to get you taking on board lots of fluids. An hour or so later it was dinner. This always started with soup (more fluids!) which was always very tasty. I honestly can't remember what the main meal was (and didn't keep a written diary on the trip - so this is all from memory!) but it was normally something simple but edible; potatoes, veggies, pasta etc. However, this was a special evening. It was Johnny's 25th birthday. I had sat next to Johnny on the flight from LHR to Addis. He was an electrician from Wales and a fantastic personality. He constantly cracked me up - he had booked the trip hungover one Sunday morning. He had travelled quite a bit before, and whilst he was very fit - he'd never done anything like this in his life before - he did an amazing job of just taking the whole experience in his stride. I confess to telling the chief guide about his birthday as it's very common on these trips that the cook will make a cake. We weren't to be disappointed when a fabulous chocolate cake was brought out - iced with his name AND candles too! 

So - we were now at 2600m and had the first day under our belt. It was time for bed - and more general faffing but in a confined space!

Saturday 25th February - Arrival

We finally arrived at the Mount Kilimanjaro Mountain Resort in Tanzania at approximately 5pm on Saturday - after nearly 24 hours of travelling. We'd flown overnight to Addis Abbaba in Ethiopia where we'd had a fairly unpleasant few hours sat on plastic chairs (or the floor!) in a hot and dirty terminal waiting for our connecting flight to Kilimanjaro. What I hadn't realised was that it was not a totally direct flight - we had a stop off in Mombassa (I've never been to Kenya!), where we sat on the tarmac for an hour with no air con or water, whilst people got off and one or two got on. This was something of a chaotic flight as when we were boarding in Ethiopia the staff told us just to sit anywhere as there had been a problem with the seat allocation system. When we got on the plane, the staff we adamant that everyone should sit in their allocated seat. After a bit of chaos and shouting - everyone was indeed allowed to sit where they liked. Breakfast on the plane was.....chicken curry, but I was starving as there wasn't much food at the airport - and whilst it was on the upper end of spiciness for me - it was actually quite good.

At Mombassa there was a slightly worrying incident where a very rusty platform lift was put up against the side of the plane and a young African chap went for a walk on the wing...! Fortunately it was only another 40 minutes before we landed at Kilimanjaro airport. Before we even got into the terminal, airport staff greeted us outside and wanted to inspect our Yellow Fever cards. Technically, we didn't need this jab as we were only in transit in Ethiopia and Kenya, but there were threats to those that hadn't had jabs that they must go straight to the hospital and have the jab. I had chosen to go and spend £50 with my GP getting this done.

Then comes the standard chaos of passport control and getting a visa. Whilst you can get one before you go, most of us had waited to get it at the airport. It was actually quite quick and easy - and $50 later ($100 if you are Irish as poor Mary found out!), we were through and collecting our bags which by some miracle had all arrived and we met the rest of our fellow travellers that we hadn't met during the flights and our guide from the African Walking Company.

Most of the bags were put on the roof of the bus and a few extra inside - and we all bundled in for a 2.5hr drive to the hotel in Marangu. The roads were remarkably good for the majority of the journey and we whizzed through Arusha and Moshi. I've only been to Namibia in Africa before, but there was clearly much more poverty in Tanaznia. There were a lot more people just hanging around at the sides of the roads as apart from some farming, there is very little work here. When we reached Marangu itself we took a very bumpy track for around 20 minutes to our hotel. Some of the ravines at the side of the road were pretty steep - the best solution is just not to look - and it was definitely no worse than Nepal! We went past tiny little houses, markets, local butchers (with the days goat just hanging outside the hut ready for whatever sized chunk that could be afforded to be hacked off). The area was very lush and the hotel was in the middle of a banana (or plantain?) plantation.

The staff were very friendly at the hotel and clearly go through this exercise on a very regular basis. We were allocated our rooms, told what time dinner was and then given 30 mins or so to get ourselves ready for our briefing at 6pm. Mary and I just had to have a quick shower - the journey had been hot and dusty, and it was just what we needed to wake us up a bit. We then had a 1.5 hour briefing from our guide on everything that we could expect - and the rules for successfully climbing Kilimanjaro. These were:

1. Pole Pole (pronounced polay, polay) this means slowly slowly in Swahili and if you talk to anyone who has climbed Kili - this is something they will definitely mention. More on this to follow...

2. Proper Mountain Equipment - the guides took time to explain exactly what clothing we would need and were very clear to make sure that we had enough warm clothing and proper water proofs. It was also a good opportunity for them to rent out additional equipment to those that didn't have enough. I'm fortunate to have most kit already from previous trips - but I had been advised to hire one of their sleeping mats in advance. I brought my thermarest with me just in case, but when everyone saw the quality and thickness of their sleeping mats - and heard that we didn't need to pack them and they didn't count in our 15kg weight limit - those that hadn't booked - jumped at the opportunity. It was just luxury to reach camp every night and our sleeping mats where already put out for us ready to crash straight onto.

3. Drink lots of water - again, totally valuable information. I've always been pretty bad at drinking enough, but had bought a new, insulated camelback specially for this trip and some extra water bottles to make sure I got enough fluids. One of the effects of altitude is that it changes the PH of your blood - but by drinking plenty of fluids, you flush out the impact that this has on your body. It was recommended that we drink 4 to 5 ltrs every day. I did this and am positive this made a big difference.

4. PMA i.e. positive mental attitude! The guides constantly reinforced this on the trip. Whenever you tried to challenge them on what it was "really" going to be like, they would only answer "it's a piece of cake". Again, truly valuable advice.

So - there endeth the briefing and we dashed of for dinner which was a help yourself buffet for $15 in the restaurant. We stocked up on bottled water from the bar - and Mary and I disappeared off to room no 2 (we'd been moved from the first one they put us in - no idea why!) where we had a choice of 3 beds and a very nice, clean bathroom. Having faffed and sorted our kit for the morning - we tried to go to sleep in the sticky air and to the sound of critters and barking dogs. It didn't take long after our journey...

Friday 24th Feb - Take off!

So, Friday 24th Feb had arrived - my bag had already been packed for a week. So much stuff to think about taking, but also making sure that the contents of my main bag weren't going to weigh more than 15kg was a real worry. Quite rightly, the porters won't carry our bags if they weigh more than that - but the weather forecast was going to be cold and wet - and I wanted enough warm and dry gear to see me through 6 days on the mountain! So after standing on the scales to work out what I weighed, then standing on them again with my bag - then having to find a piece of paper to work out stone v kg - I was confident I was just on the weight limit and ready to go.

John had also given me a card whilst I was packing - he just said it was to open on the summit and that it would make my friends laugh when I opened it. I honestly thought it was a good luck/well done thing and put it in a waterproof plastic wallet and tucked it in my rucksac.

The flight wasn't until 8pm, so after faffing around at home in the morning, I drove to where John works after lunchtime and he drove me to Heathrow. After saying our farewells, I waited around for my travel buddy George and her boyfriend Paul to arrive. They turned up just after John left and then Mary turned up a little while later. We were also waiting for Joyce to arrive - but I'd forgotten her mobile number. This was my gang of friends who were all coming too. We also bumped into Sophie (a Dentist) at the check in desk too. You could spot the people all checking in on the Ethiopian Airlines flight who were clearly going to climb Kilimanajro. All of us wearing our walking boots and overpacked daypacks - just in case our main kit bags didn't arrive so that we'd have enough kit to at least start the walk on Kili. It was apparently quite common for luggage to get lost on this route - and having now travelled on Ethiopian Airlines several times - I'm still surprised that we actually arrived at all!

As our flight was called - Joyce still hadn't arrived. Had she bottled it??? No - she just couldn't face leaving her boyfriend and had left it right to the last minute to catch the flight. Bless!