Today is the day the true adventure begins, starting the 7 day trek up Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, and a few errands around town, getting diesel for the truck, few last minute supplies, some water, and some haggling by the locals, we were finally on our way. As they say: “This is Africa”
Drove up to the Machame gate, registered, waited around for an hour. Pole pole (slow, slow in Swahili).
Our group consisted of 5 hikers, plus guide, porters, and other staff. Some seemed under prepared, others (me?) over prepared. All I know is that at least I brought long underwear. In our group we had: Jose from Spain, William from Australia, Raoul from Canada, Riley and myself from the US. Great mix of nationalities. Ages ranging from 20’s to 50’s. Occupations equally diverse.
We spent 4 hours walking through rainforest, constantly gaining altitude. Very few mosquitoes in the beginning, and none at the end. Finally reached camp after a midway lunch that was packed prior to the hike.
A few of us did make a detour to a small waterfall near the trail, very pretty, but slippery – tempting fate on day 1?
Camp was already setup by the time we reached it. It is true luxury camping in that aspect. No need to worry about food or setup of tents.
Dinner was tasty, soup was incredible. After dinner it was early to bed. 6am wakeup.
Note: All blog text and pictures were done via smartphone.