Well, I assume I did follow some of his/his camel’s footsteps in the Wadi Rum in my recent trip to Jordan. My visit to the Wadi Rum was an amazing experience as I had never had been in such a landscape before. In an earlier post, I shared how I found color everywhere I went in Jordan. It is now time to focus on one of the places I explored during my trip.
The visit began at the well-set-up Visitor Center which has great information, a surprisingly good restaurant and an excellent view of the rock/mountain Lawrence himself called the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, a reference from the Book of Proverbs.
Entering the Visitor Center, one immediately is rewarded by a view of the Seven Pillars!T.E. Lawrence, his real name, became involved in the Arab Revolt in the late 1910s when the Arab peoples were revolting against the Ottoman Empire. Lawrence fell in love with the Wadi Rum area and now I can understand why. I hope sharing this adventure will also do the same for you and that you get inspired to see it in person some day!
Spending the afternoon exploring the Wadi Rum desert
We left the Visitor Center to find the vehicles that would take the group to explore the Wadi Rum well into the evening, prior to arriving at the Captain’s Camp where we would spend the night (and I will write about this in another post coming up soon).
Off we went in these pick up truck -type vehicles!Soon we got deep in the incredible mountains/rocks formations characteristic of the Wadi Rum as well as have fun running up dunes and actually witnessing a rare rainstorm in the area (mercifully not over us!)
Sand dune soon to be “hit” by us visitors!
Note the Bedouin camp
Typical / iconic landscape the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan is known for
Amazing rock formations and colors in the Wadi Rum!
Barrah Siq where the large rock in the bottom has a carving of Lawrence of Arabia; alongside a Bedouin camp
Close-up of the carving of Lawrence of Arabia’s face in Barrah Siq
This photo offers a better sense of the scale of the place
The rare rainstorm in the distance – even lightning!And then dusk began in the desert!
I thought we’d be done exploring as soon as it started getting dark and, while that was close to reality, we still got to enjoy dusk driving around – which made me appreciate the Wadi Rum in a different light, so to speak.
Sunset begins…
The magical sky at sunset
The clouds played nicely in the sunset scene
The ride is getting closer to ending as the lights come on. Still a beautiful backdrop!And the method of exploring changes the next morning!
Our ride the next morning: Wadi Rum camels!
Riding camels! Yours truly in the blue shirt (via J. Festa – thanks!)And to finish this, a shot taken by a fellow traveler about ilivetotravel in action!
Notice the tarp covering the back of our pick-up truck. And me so focused… (again, thanks J. Festa!)
May 19th, 2013
Posted by
Raul |
Asia, Jordan, Travel Journal |
11 comments
Right after my hike of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, I went on safari to Lake Manyara, the Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Crater. One of the best views during the safari was seeing the sunset… Magnificent!
One beautiful sunset!
May 12th, 2013
Posted by
Raul |
Africa, Tanzania |
2 comments
Before my trip to Jordan, I had this mental image that Jordan was mostly a desert. I knew Jordan faced the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea and I recalled from my quick visit to Petra (on a day trip from Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt), that Petra would have some reddish color to it. But it’s like, if I thought how Jordan would look like, I would have said “fairly mono-chromatic”.
OK, I exaggerate a little. But the range of vivid colors I encountered during my visit became quite apparent once I was home walking through each of the 3,000+ pictures I took during my 9 days there (yes, quite a few were duplicates as I tried different settings and angles for a given “scene”; so far I am down to around 2,000). What I found out is that that desert color was a perfect background for all the others colors to pop. And pop they did!
So, I have decided to share where I found color that caught my eye that will, hopefully, give you a glimpse into Jordan! When you are done, I would love to hear back from you on which of these photos you like the most (photos are numbered for ease of reference!).
I found color in the landscapes in Jordan…
Much as I had experienced back in 1998, I got to see the colors typically associated with deserts. But on this trip, I also saw the color of canyons and gorges. White, sand, red – all colors represented in the landscape around me as I hope the following pictures show…
1. On the way to Mt. Nebo from Mardaba – sand color everywhere except the asphalt
2. Shifting sands in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan
3. Canyon we hiked through from Dana to Feynan – great mix of white and red with specks of green on the mountains around us
4. Colorful canyon walls in Petra, Jordan!
5. More colorful canyon walls in Petra, Jordan
6. Colorful rocks in the waters of Wadi Mujib, Jordan
7. Colorful rocks in the walls Wadi Mujib, JordanI found color in the markets of Jordan…
8. Jewelry sold by folks around Petra
9. Who knew camels would be so colorful!
10. Headscarves in the traditional colors worn by many around Jordan
11. Fruits in the fruit stands in the market in Amman, Jordan
12. Colorful market roof in the Amman, Jordan marketI found color in the architecture – old and new – in Jordan…
13. Color of old ruins in the Greco-Roman town of Jerash, Jordan
14. A still-standing column in Jerash makes a great contrast with the perfectly blue sky
15. The blues of the dome of King Abdullah’s Mosque (the Blue Mosque) of Amman and the blue of the sky
16. Inside view of the dome of King Abdullah’s Mosque (built in the 1980s)
17. The unforgettable Treasury at Petra, JordanI found great blues in the waters around Jordan…
18. A sea and a sky both drapped in great blue!
19. Beautiful blues in the waters of the Gulf of AqabaI found color in sunsets over the Dead Sea…
20. Sunset over the Dead Sea in Jordan
21. Double sunset over the Dead Sea in Jordan
22. Sunset over the Dead Sea in JordanI found color in Jordanian artisans’ art…
23. The raw materials that will create beautiful mosaics are colorful on their own…
24. Mosaic art: not only the great colors but also the shapes draw me
25. Beautiful art in this colorful vaseAnd I found a colorful people in Jordan!
26. Schoolchildren visiting the ruins of Jerash – singing and showing their pride in their country – a colorful bunch!———————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Thank you to the Jordan Tourism Board for showing me all the colors in Jordan.
May 9th, 2013
Posted by
Raul |
Asia, Jordan |
34 comments
Going to Tanzania was not just about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro though that consumed most of my energy pre-trip (and, heck DURING the trip!). I had done a hike in the Transylvanian Alps in Romania last summer with Trekking for Kids (TFK) and I was so impressed, not only with the excellent logistics planning for the hike, but also with the great care with which the orphanage had been selected and the projects chosen. So going to Kilimanjaro was also about having another opportunity to help improve the lives of orphaned children via TFK. Tanzania is far and doing this trek was a not-trivial use of my time and money (though TFK is much cheaper than many outfits who organize Kili hikes). But I understood that my efforts would really make a difference on these kids’ lives and that my hike would be safe and well-planned.
I have written a few posts about the planning of my trip and the hike itself (see links at the end of this post). So I wanted to focus this post on the orphanage we worked with in Moshi: the Kili Centre.
Kili Centre welcomes its visitors!The Kili Centre orphanage
I posted in LinkedIn that I was going to hike Kili and work with this orphanage as part of the fundraising all trekkers commit to do (raise a minimum of $1,000). One of my connections replied that she had been there and that the Centre’s leader, Michael, was doing a great job with the orphanage and the kids. Though I know TFK does a thorough job vetting orphanages, it was still good to hear this. After finally meeting and spending time with Michael in Moshi, I have to agree with the assessment my connection had made. He had a great vision for the orphanage and the projects he had proposed were very well thought through in terms of sustainability, impact to the children and the future of the orphanage, and ability to demonstrate to the donors their money had been well spent.
The projects funded at the Kili Centre
The future site of the Kili Centre
The Kili Centre rents its current location but it is not adequate anymore for the needs of the orphanage or meeting its future plans to accept more children. Some of the changes that would make it more adequate may not be acceptable to the landlord so the Kili Centre needed to find, not only a new location, but a place where it can be owner of its domain, so to speak.
New Kili Centre location with Kilimanjaro covered by clouds (showing the new fence)What’s in a fence?
So Michael was able to raise funds to buy a new lot (with a GREAT view of Kilimanjaro!! though maybe this is not hard in the area given its proximity to the mountain and the height of the mountain). But this lot sat empty and ran the risk of being taken over by others. In many places in Africa, having title to land is not enough. If people squat on it, or neighboring folks start farming it, at some point one runs the risk of losing it. In addition, I heard there are rules that a purchased lot has to have something built on it in a certain amount of or, otherwise, the government can take it back. So here came an opportunity for the first and main project funded by the trekkers’ fundraising and their generous donors: building a perimeter fence around the lot.
TFK Executive Director Cindy Steuart and trekker Dave Hughart at the fence on our first visit
Progress while we were there! The finished guardhouse (shown without a roof in the prior pic)H20 – Water – A basic necessity we take for granted
Though not an immediate impact to the kids’ lives, it will clearly help the children eventually have a new place that will better serve their needs. For example the current location of the orphanage does not have running water. So water must be trucked in (at great expense due to the cost of the vehicle and gas). In the new location, not only did the project build the perimeter fence (and the gate/guardhouse) but it also connected the lot to the town’s water system!!
I was very excited to see the running water during my visit of the new site. Water is fundamental to progress in less developed locations as it is essential for good health. Without good health, the education of the children suffers. So having running water in their new location will be a real improvement in the quality of life at the Kili Centre.
One of the faucets installed connected to the water system – water, the stuff of life!Clearly, just having a fence and running water will not be enough to give the Kili Centre its new home. However, the evidence that other donors saw the Kili Centre’s plan as solid will help it in fundraising to have the wherewithal to build the different structures that will be needed.
Chicks (not for free, contrary to what Dire Straits may say)
One of the Centre’s activities that provide both a food source and income is its chicken coop. However, the Centre had been forced to sell its chickens in order to pay for the schooling of the children. The chickens had been towards the end of their productive years so the decision to sell them for meat was a good one however, it set the chicken coop back. So, some of the budget TFK had for projects went to buy chicks to “replenish” the chicken coop and assure some income and food for the Centre.
Trekkers and kids given the thirsty chicks some water upon their arrival at the KCThe kids well-being
Another item on the project list was repairing the furniture in the kids’ rooms and getting them new mattresses with new mattress covers (to make them last longer) along with new blankets. Their rooms looked great!
Refinished bunk beds and cabinetsFocus on education
As alluded to, the Centre is focused on the children getting a good education. (I wonder if the children of the Centre are more “lucky” than the children outside the orphanage given the attention paid to their studies by the Centre’s staff.) The Centre had a computer lab with learning software but the PCs were ancient and they no longer were going to be good for supporting new/additional software. TFK’s funds supported the wholesale replacement of the computer lab!
Computers being set up!The focus on education does not stop at school and academics. The Centre had identified developing a sewing “program” to teach a potential income-earning skill to the girls at the orphanage. Once kids leave an orphanage, it is important to have given them education and skills to make it in life in terms of livelihood. So the Centre had proposed TFK fund a sewing room: from setting up the power outlets to the scissors and materials, and everything in between. With the funds provided, used sewing machines were acquired, brought up to par and installed in the new sewing room!
New sewing roomWhile these are not all the projects, I hope you can see why I was so pleased that my efforts to fundraise and my “investment” of my own time and money were well worth it. But enough about the projects and on to the great kids of the Kili Centre!!!
The children
The first time we got to the Kili Centre, the children were right there waiting for us. They surrounded our bus as we arrived for the first of 4 days we would spend with them (2 before and 2 after climbing Kilimanjaro).
Cheerful welcome!That day, they had prepared a dance show for us. You could tell they loved dancing and putting on a show and, in us, they had an audience wanting to see all they had prepared. The kids who danced were definitely high energy and not shy!
Part of the welcome show put on for us!
Kids doing traditional Masai danceOur time at the Centre was mostly spent with the kids. We had brought gifts for them (they are kids after all!) and it was a lot of fun giving each of them a backpack full of goodies and also distributing items like soccer balls, frisbees, and volleyballs. Of course, we then got to use many of those things in an afternoon of just “being.” I worked along with two kids and another trekker on a challenging jigsaw puzzle that, to this day, I hate not having had time to finishing!
One night, we ate at the orphanage during a party where again the children danced and neighbors of the orphanage were invited to come. I was so proud watching the kids’ manners. They lined up by section to go get the food, took everything back when they were done, etc. Just like I noticed in Romania, the children of this orphanage were very well taught by their staff. The staff was very much engaged with the kids and I do not recall any instance of the staff just bossing the kids around. All the engagement I noticed was warm and, at times, playful. It made me feel good this was the right orphanage to have invested myself in.
TFK photo of the entire group: Kili Centre kids and staff along with the trekkers!One of the hardest moments in these trips is saying goodbye. You have developed, usually, a connection with some of the kids and you hate to leave. Unfortunately, the fourth day of being with the orphanage, I was bedridden with a nasty cold/infection that hit me once we came down from Kilimanjaro. I had forced myself on the third day to come along with the group but on the fourth day, I just slept all day. So I missed saying my goodbyes and I am saddened by that. However, I know the children now have a better home and are set up for an even better one in the future thanks to having been part of this trek.
To Michael and the staff at the Kili Centre: thank you for the great job you do with the kids and the Centre.
To TFK: thanks for another great opportunity to push myself (up a mountain) and to make a clear difference in childrens’ lives.
To my donors and supporters: thank you for your financial generosity and moral support to make this happen for the kids!
To the Kili Centre kids: keep studying hard, be good and stay cool!
Kids showing off their new backpacks and sunglasses!——————————————————————————————————-
- Preparing for the hike is more than training and gear
- The Machame Route: our way up
- 7 things you will not see me without as I climb Kili
- Day 1 of the hike (starting the climb!)
- Day 2 of the hike (getting to Shira Camp)
- Day 3 of the hike (the Lava Tower and hail)
- Day 4 of the hike (Barranco Wall)
- Day 5 of the hike (getting to summit base camp, Barafu)
- Day 6 of the hike (the ascent to the summit – Uhuru Peak)
- Interview with fellow Kili climber and Ultimate Global Explorer
May 3rd, 2013
Posted by
Raul |
Africa, Tanzania |
no comments
I have spent two years visiting Washington, D.C. for work on a weekly or every-other-week basis. I love this city, with its energy, its intrigues, its famous residents, and its power. I also love it, of course, for the many sights to be seen.
I worked near the White House and was close to a lot of key sites. One of these was surprisingly close to work: one block away (as was the IMF and the New Executive Building). It is the Renwick Gallery, a Smithsonian Museum for American art. I had walked past it, likely, a hundred times always making a mental note to go in some time. With it being free (as all Smithsonian Museums are), how could I not with it being so close?
The beautiful Renwick Gallery across from the Old Executive BuildingWell, I finally did on my last week in DC. You see, I had to first do the White House tour. That took me a year and a half to request and do so this one took longer… OK, enough excuses. It was my last week and I decided that instead of just going out for lunch, I would see the gallery.
What an excellent decision! For starters, it was small enough to do a medium speed walkabout checking out its contents.
History of a beautiful building
The Renwick Gallery is a miracle. It took Mr. and Mrs. John F. Kennedy to save this beautiful building from the demolition of old gems that most modern city planners could care less about that almost was carried out. This building, which is located right by the White House, was finished in 1861 and had been commissioned by William Corcoran to exhibit publicly his private art collection. Its architect was James Renwick who also designed the main and iconic Smithsonian building on The Mall, in D.C. In any case, right when the building was finished, the federal government took over the building for Civil War purposes. Eventually, it was returned and it housed the Corcoran collection until it could no longer hold all the art and another building was constructed. At that point this building was used and eventually purchased by the government. Thankfully, JFK and Jackie O were successful in keeping this majestic yet small structure around for us to enjoy (though the massive ugly New Executive Building was erected next to it on the corner of 17th and H…).
Towards the top of the grand central staircase looking at the big roomA new art form to learn: furniture making
When I visited, there was a special exhibit for Thomas Day, a freed slave from North Carolina who made excellent furniture for the rich families of the area in the mid-1800s (give or take). So successful was he that these families petitioned the government of North Carolina to allow a free black woman he wanted to marry to be allowed to enter North Carolina from Virginia (this was allowed apparently pre-Civil War). They liked him so much they allowed him to worship at the white church AND sit with the whites. His furniture style was unique and I learned a good bit about a topic I knew little about. Photos were not allowed so I can’t grace this post with one…
The main exhibit – American art
The museum is intended for American art. It has a massive room which is just architecturally and otherwise beautiful. There are just the right number of paintings to allow one to absorb what there is. The paintings seemed, my recollection may fail me, to be from the early-mid 1800s to the early 1900s. I discovered a new favorite painter: Guy Wiggins (1883-1962) whose impressionist work (or impressionist-like to me) really grabbed my attention.
The massive room really was worthy of admiring, paintings or not!
But it’s not all “old” stuff – at all!
Funny how stuff from the 19th and early 20th century can be considered old… Only in the USA! However, there are a few rooms exhibiting really neat art work from glass to a fish made from toys (not sure what it is… it is not sculpted, nor painted…). This part of the collection includes a couple of interesting furniture pieces, one of which really is something I could have never dreamed of (I will leave it for YOU to discover!).
Phenomenal sculpture (?): a glass dress with a silhoutette as if someone is wearing it! Brilliant.I am SO glad I finally went inside and checked it out. My kind of art museum: not overwhelming but manageable, not just one form of art but a variety, and an interesting special exhibit. Thumbs up for a nice museum in Washington, D.C. that is sort of off-the-beaten path if that is possible one block away from the White House!
April 28th, 2013
Posted by
Raul |
US & Canada, Washington, D.C. |
8 comments
Going down the mountain from Uhuru Peak began around 20-30 minutes after we had arrived in Uhuru. Such is the story of ascending Mt. Kilimanjaro for many. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could picnic up there or, at least, at Stella Point and soak in the achievement? Yes, it would be except the thin air would begin doing a number on many people so it is not recommended. Being well-led, after all the picture-taking at Uhuru, we began the process of coming down. A process that would take about 8 hrs that day (YES, that SAME day we had just walked up 8 hrs without a full night’s sleep) and about 3-4 hrs the next day. Think about it, 5 days and 8 hours to go up but about 12 hrs to come back down. In reality, altitude issue aside, Kili can be climbed within a day or two. But altitude acclimatization requires prudence and time…
Starting the descent of Kilimanjaro
We passed Stella Point without much fanfare – or picture-taking – this time. We were now on a mission to lose altitude quickly. And quickly it was to be!! I had not been prepared for what came next. We supposedly had crossed a field of scree (small pebbles) on the ascent (which I mentioned not remembering that part). Well, it was time to come DOWN the field of scree. And I was very unprepared on what technique was required here. All I knew is that it was like skiing except you had to watch out to not pop out a knee (a terrifying thought, really).
So I began to walk down the scree, putting one foot down, using my hiking pole to stop its slide (as you step on the scree it shifts down, taking your footing with it), then moving the other foot and repeating. Well, this was taking a little bit of time and other trekkers were passing me fast. After maybe 5 minutes or 10 of this, the same guide who had carried my daypack on the ascent, locked arms with me and proceeded to take me down the scree. It was an exhilarating and scary ride!! We were going very fast and we were mainly sliding downhill. At any given moment, either of us would lose his balance but Said, the guide, would ensure neither one of us fell. That continued to be true pretty much for the next 3 hours with the exception of certain patches were there were rocks and the sliding paused for a stretch. The only people moving faster down that field was a trio consisting of a guide and 2 trekkers, one of which had begun to have severe nausea and the other two were on either side of the trekker taking her down the mountain STAT. They flew past us and continued the high-speed scree-field crossing at that very fast pace. I have never experienced this mix of thrill and almost-panic at the same time. Looking back, it was rather fun.
Our approach to Barafu CampA break at Barafu Camp – just a break, not a stay
Soon enough we sighted Barafu Camp from which we had departed not quite 12 hrs before. A break was coming! This was where we were going to have lunch, change out of the warm clothes we had worn for the ascent, and replenish water bottles, etc. There was a little delay in the lunch being prepared so the stop was about an hour longer than expected.
On my way down the scree, I failed to pay attention to my feet and two-thirds of the way down, I realized I had a blister and was at risk of getting two more. I stopped, got some duct tape, and took care of things, as I learned from the Trekking for Kids lead when I hiked in Romania last summer. Once at camp, a fellow trekker had some magical thing she had gotten at REI and she SO kindly took care of fixing the blister. Whatever it is she had gotten at REI worked like magic (I have never had to use moleskin before but she said this was better). The remainder of the hike after lunch, I did not even feel my blister!!
Thanks, Melanie!!Though we were tired, we had to keep going to our camp for the evening, the Mweka Camp, named for being the first camp on that route for those who enter the mountain through the Mweka Gate. Some were asking why couldn’t we stay in Barafu to overnight. I was quite happy not staying for several reasons:
- We had arrived before noon. Staying would represent a loss of an entire afternoon of moving and getting closer to exit the mountain.
- Getting to a lower camp meant Day 7, the last day on the mountain would be a short one: a downhill hike of 3-4hrs and – bam! – off to the hotel, a great lunch, and most important: the first shower in a week!
- I hated the inhospitable environment of Barafu Camp with it being so rocky and so dusty. I was done with the dust and didn’t want to have a fall like I almost had suffered the day before when I tripped on a tent cable while minding the rocks I was stepping on.
So I was quite happy with moving on. If I had only known what was coming our way…
Rocky road to Mweka Camp
Pretty quickly the second part of our descent on Day 6 became a nightmare of sorts. Though the views were great most of the time, the terrain was rocks that you had to navigate carefully (at least those not super experienced). Some of us started feeling that our knees were being hit hard and had to slow down some. My legs were extremely tired at this point and the knees, though not hurting yet, were wearing out with every step.
The rocky way down that never seemed to endAfter a couple of hours or more, we saw in the distance a colorful array of tents. Yes! We weren’t terribly far! To which our guide quickly replied: “That’s not our camp, that is base camp for the Mweka Route ascent and we are not allowed to stay there since we are no longer on the ascent; you see that piece of metal over there (he pointed to a structure far, far away)? That’s where we are going.” Our collective jaws dropped (and almost hit rocks, I am sure). NO WAY, José! (OK, his name was Luis, not José.)
We continued our descent and, at times, it felt that that piece of metal was actually getting further away (I swear that it did look that way!). A couple of times our path became a smooth dirt trail which would thrill us tremendously only to turn a corner and resume the very rocky terrain. It was an exhausting, frustrating, and demanding-on-the-knees 4.5 hrs hike – I almost wished I was back in Barafu, resting and breathing dusty thin air at 15,000 ft+ altitude… But not quite. It helped me push forward knowing that what we were doing was the best approach.
Though exhausted, I trekked on. Or was I just considering jumping off the nearest cliff?? (This is what 6 days in the mountain look like!)The most difficult part of my climb – the descent
Most of these 4.5 hrs were the most mentally and physically difficult part for me of the entire 7 days. Yes, the accelerated heart rate on Day 4 slowed me down and made me worry. Yes, on ascent night I wondered if I would make it when I had to surrender my backpack. Yes, we were getting more and more oxygen on the descent as we went – to the point where, somewhere along these 4.5 hrs, we must have reached an altitude to which our body had acclimatized (I am sure were not adjusted to 15,000 ft though we had spent part of the day on Day 5 there). But, I just didn’t see an end to the rocky path on Day 6 and the Mweka Camp kept looking very far away any time we spotted it. It was a true test of will power for me to finish that path.
Finally, camp!
But, all good things come to an end (!), and we reached the Mweka Camp. The customary “signing of the guestbook to prove we had been there” done, we approached our tents for a final night of camping. Hot water was brought to us and I happily washed off my face and did what I could to clean myself before having dinner.
Our mess tent was a palace that night!That meal may not have been spectacular by some standards but we were exhausted and we loved sitting around that mess tent, eating and reflecting on what we had just done. I didn’t linger – I was tired and wanted to get everything ready and go to bed.
Happiness in a tentGetting off the mountain
On Day 7, we woke up all ready to go: This was our freedom day! Don’t get me wrong, I was eager to climb Kilimanjaro and enjoy the mountain. But once we had reached the summit, we were ALL about getting to the hotel and a nice shower.
We trekked down for maybe about 3 hrs from 10,000 ft or so to the Mweka Gate at 6,000 ft (3,800 m). The climate zone went to full forest again, as we had experienced on Day 1.
The clothing was lighter and so was our mood. Someone even rode the emergency stretcher that was laying about during one of our breaks…
I found my happy place: the Mweka Gate hut!
Finally, the sight we wanted to see: the Mweka Gate hut where we would sign in one last time, proving we made it to that gate AND the place where we would sit around for an hour+ to wait for the certificates that would prove we HAD climbed Kilimanjaro (though there was no book to sign at Uhuru Peak…). We were not getting those certificates just yet… Zara Tours would also be issuing one and we would receive them both that evening at the celebration with our guides and porters.
About to leave the trail!!! I found a happy place!While waiting, folks would come by selling us stuff but we knew we could get all that cheaper elsewhere.
Waiting leaning against the wall and sitting in the shade. With a beer in hand. Heavenly. (I am sitting to the right with the red t-shirt)
Trekkers from Utah wishing that the park was using a computerized system…However, one of my fellow trekkers eyed a beer seller and he looked at me and, of course, I wouldn’t leave a buddy drinking on his own. Especially after a week of no alcohol and a hike of 3 hrs… That’s when the first beer was bought. Others in the group looked at us like “really?” 20 minutes later, most everyone had a beer in their hand! And off we went to the bus, to get to the Springlands Hotel and back to being clean!!!
On the way to the hotel! (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)The descent, as you can see, was a mixed set of emotions and terrains. It is amazing how little time it takes to descend. The feeling of accomplishment once you get to the Mweka Gate is incredible. And so is the entire experience of spending 7 days on this incredible mountain, home to the roof of Africa: Kilimanjaro!
One final look up at Kilimanjaro from the final stretch of the Mweka Route… I was up THERE!!!!
April 23rd, 2013
Posted by
Raul |
Africa, Tanzania |
10 comments
Oh, time for some sentimentalism around here… After 2 years of working in Washington, D.C. I wrap up this client engagement with mixed feelings. There is more excellent work to be done. Yet, I want to be home. But it’s also hard to leave DC because I just really like this city.
Why, you may ask? Here are some reasons why I love DC – and the photos to go with them!
1. Yes, the tourist “attractions”
Not because they are tourist attractions but because of one of any number of reasons: their architecture, their history, or their contents. The monuments, the Smithsonian museums, the landmarks of the federal government – all these qualify as do other like the Holocaust Museum (a must), the Newseum (surprisingly well-done; with a piece of the Berlin Wall and an antenna from one of the World Trade Center towers), etc.
Don’t need a photo album of these… The Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial are among the most popular
Everyone wants to see the White House – and they should! I loved walking by to watch tourists. Here undergoing preparations for the Jan 2013 inauguration.
Little tourists…2. The importance of the place
I just feel the energy of this city, center of power that it is. I was far and very close to that center. Far because I have zero access. Very close because I worked two blocks from the White House itself.
Most obvious in this category: The White House. Taken when the people had the right to tour it.
The Department of the Treasury is a less obvious center of power…
The Old Executive Building on the west side of the White House3. Its history
Clearly so much history in the obvious places. But also in less obvious or lesser-known ones…
St. John’s Church across from the White House by Lafayette Square – the church of Presidents
Site of inaugural balls, residence of VIPs including pre-President JFK, and a hangout of J. Edgar Hoover: the Mayflower Hotel – my second home!
The Watergate Complex
The famous stairs from The Exorcist (that counts as history, right? film history?)
New South dormitory in Georgetown University. Never heard of it? Well, maybe not famous yet but it will be known as the place where a young ilivetotravel spent 6 weeks while in high school!4. The incredible neighborhoods
Georgetown is likely the grand-dame (or is it masculine?) of the neighborhoods in DC but the city has so many unique areas like Capitol Hill, Adams Morgan, etc. All worth walking around and just exploring and feeling their vibe. I wish I had explored even more but I definitely enjoyed walking around, especially the smaller streets with the brownstones and neighborhood places. I wonder if most tourists venture into the neighborhoods. If they don’t, they are missing out on the best part of the capital city of the U.S., in my humble opinion.
Iconic view of Georgetown in Washington, D.C. across the Potomac
Looking at Georgetown University
A little outside the old part of Georgetown
Sunsets in Georgetown are beautiful
See what I mean about sunsets in Georgetown?5. Nothing like running along the Potomac – either bank
One of my favorite post-work activities – take a look and you will see why!
Rowers on the Potomac
Looking at Georgetown and the Key Bridge
On the western bank headed towards Reagan National Airport, close to the LBJ Memorial
This runner casts a long shadow…
Great strides are inspired by the Potomac River and its views6. And the fun!
The food, the drinks, and the places to hang out!
Sitting at the Georgetown Waterfront enjoying some good stuff on a beautiful early evening
A hideout, almost dive, with phenomenal mussels! Way out of the beaten path!
The Adour at the St. Regis – thumbs up!
Drinks at my favorite bar: Le Bar at the Sofitel Hotel with its great mixologist Alan Jones
Chocolate Smore Bomb at The Oval Room – out of this world!!
A drink at The Mayflower prior to the Edgar Bar opening
The Bogart from Le Bar at the Sofitel – genius!!Au revoir, DC
While my work is done here, I am surely returning to one of my favorite cities in the U.S.!!
Hopefully none of this as I fly out – though it makes for spectacular photography!
The Capitol in the background and the Reagan National airport control tower – probably my last views of DC as I fly out
Long live the capital of the U.S.!
April 19th, 2013
Posted by
Raul |
US & Canada, Washington, D.C. |
10 comments
Here we go, the BIG day. Day 6. The day we reach and pass Stella Point on the rim of Mt. Kilimanjaro and get to Uhuru Peak, the highest point of the mountain – the highest point in Africa!!! I should say, the day we attempt to reach Stella Point and Uhuru Peak. I will do my best to convey how this climb feels like on Day 6 but the physical and mental efforts are hard to put in words.
You will notice how the middle of this post is photo-less. First, do not worry, there are pictures towards the last third of the post! Secondly, that matches what happened for me in the ascent: Much of what happened in the middle was not captured by a camera because I was too focused on going up and, for part of it, even my mind didn’t capture any images…
The goal: Uhuru PeakDay 6 consisted of four parts – it was to be a LONG day:
- From Barafu Camp to Stella Point (expected to be about 7 hours)
- From Stella Point to Uhuru Peak (expected to be 45 mins to 1 hour)
- Coming down from Uhuru to base camp (Barafu) for a brief rest and lunch (about 3 hours)
- Arriving to Mweka Camp where we were over-nighting (about 4.5 hours)
I will cover here only the ascent on Day 6 (#1 and 2 above) and not the descent that happened that day. I will cover the descent on Day 6 (#3 and 4) with the final descent of Day 7…
Leaving Barafu Camp to hit Stella Point
Barafu Camp at 15,100 ft (4,600 m) was a hard camp to like. But I could have stayed there a few more hours sleeping that night… Four of our group left at 11 PM to have an extra hour to reach the summit. The rest of us saw them leave camp and finished prepping and having a snack prior to heading out. At midnight, we left the relative comfort of this camp to do what we came here to do: tame Uhuru!
I was pumped even while wondering what would happen, how it would end 8 hrs later (ah, the fool… the end was NOT reaching the summit, but reaching our camp for the night).
What did I wear on the way to Uhuru Peak?
Though it was very cold at camp given the altitude and the time of day, we were instructed to dress such that we were slightly cold since we would warm up during the climb. So, I wore my two tight woolen tops, then my Merino wool light jacket, and my hard shell jacket (protects against wind and water though, mercifully, we didn’t have precipitation). The synthetic down jacket would wait until the breaks (when, since you are at rest, you don’t want to lose the heat your body has generated) or until it finally got too cold even while walking (which it did). In terms of my legs, I wore my long wool underwear (all the wool layers by the skin helped wick moisture away from the skin) under my convertible hiking pants and then my hard shell pants.
The only place I felt really, really cold was my toes though I was wearing sock liners and the thickest wool socks REI had. I think we had milder temperatures, if that’s possible up there, than normal as I had been told I would be exceedingly cold. Whew!
Time is a funny thing
During the climb up to Stella Point, it is amazing how time flowed. The hourly 5-10 minute breaks (a lot shorter than the breaks on prior days) provided respite from the effort and allowed for drinking some water (in one break they surprised us with hot tea! one of the happiest moments in those 7 hours!), eating a little something, and handling nature calls. That last one was a little more of a pain than it had been before because it was dark. But when nature calls, it calls. And no pee bottle here. In any case, I worked my way up by focusing on each hour’s walk. I was not looking at my watch much but when the break came, I knew an hour had passed and that was an hour off the 7 hour count…
And who said it would be a piece of cake? No one. They were right.
After the first hour of the climb, my heart rate starting racing and I was out of breath a lot like on Day 4 after we had passed the Barranco Wall. We had been climbing bigger rocks (requiring big steps) which was exactly what had caused my troubles on Day 4.
That was going to slow me down and, tonight, falling behind could mean being turned around. The guides had been clear with the first subgroup that if we got to Stella Point at the same time as them, they would have to turn around at Stella Point. It meant they would take a lot more than an hour reaching Uhuru and, having already been at that altitude an extra hour than us, it would have been too much time up there. So, I knew that if I fell behind too much in my group, that I could miss getting to Uhuru. That realization really hit me hard.
One of guides, Said, told me to give him my daypack. My heart sank. As soon as the path became less pronouncedly rocky, I told Said I could take my daypack back because I was back to “normal.” He shook his head and said he would keep it. At first, with pride stepping in, I said no, I could take it. And then I realized that it may be the worst thing I could do. I needed to save my energy for the big rocks ahead. I resumed my climb, daypackless. Boy, am I glad I did…
I believe I was the second or third person to lose their daypack. I felt this would take away from the feat should I reach the summit. I had nothing to fear. Within a few hours, more than half (including the 4 guys in this subgroup) had lost their daypacks too, including our star athlete who had run across deserts and had been carrying a daypack every day of this climb loaded at 30-40 lbs. I have to digress and mention that this guy, a dentist from northwestern Canada, would carry all sorts of candy in his daypack and, all throughout the week’s hike, would pull out a DIFFERENT bag of candy (gummy bears, sour patches, etc.) to pass around at breaks. Needless to say, Stan became everyone’s friend fast!
It is worth pointing out how carefully our guides were watching each one of us even after we surrendered our daypacks. Clearly, ensuring no one exhibited dangerous signs of altitude sickness (the ones that represent life-threatening danger). But they REALLY wanted us to make it to Uhuru as long as we were not exhibiting the serious symptoms and did everything they could to assist us.
The lights are not always at the end of the tunnel…
Though we had a full moon, we still needed to illuminate the path ahead by wearing headlamps. I remember that I would look up ahead on the trail and see what was becoming a downer for me: a long trail of headlamps zigzagging the slope of the mountain. And then you didn’t see any. That point would get closer and closer, and it felt good to know we were reaching a “milestone” of sorts. But once we reached the milestone, I would look up and see, yet again, another LONG trail of headlamps going all the way up to a point far up the mountain. After this, I decided not to look up anymore…
Sleep and memory loss – all in a Kili climber’s night!
Maybe halfway up to Stella Point, I was dozing off. No, not during breaks. This was as I moved my feet up that mountain and as my arms moved the hiking poles. The lack of oxygen and being tired had everything to do with that. And through chats post-facto, I learned others were also dozing off as they walked up. It was insane. I decided that I needed to occupy my mind but I was too tired to alphabetize countries or come up with some other mental activity.
Looking at the Southern Cross, which someone pointed out, gave me something think about (or try to look at without tripping). Some folks had music in their portable devices but I had not brought mine. I actually wanted to listen to the folks stepping on the mountain, focus on the quietness of the surroundings. I like not feeling “trapped” within myself when it comes to sounds.
A “happy” place. Say what?
Towards the end of the third hour, our lead guide, Luis, told us that we needed to be sure we were not spending our every last drop of energy in the remaining part of the climb. I thought to myself “huh?”. He said that coming down would be very hard too so it was important we managed our exertion level. I was not sure how we would do that but then I started thinking maybe he was trying to subtly tell some people to give up their daypack…
Then, he said, “guys, the next few hours are going to be very hard; find your happy place because you are going to need it”. I remember thinking, in my tiredness, “my happy place? my happy place? what IS that?? a beach? no. wine? no, wine is not a place.” I had no energy to conjure a happy spot I didn’t have previously. And then, all of a sudden, the faces of my sister’s, cousins’ and friends’ kids came to mind. Their smiley, happy faces. So I started calling roster on all of them seeing those smiley faces. I had found my happy place. And it kept me distracted easily for another hour. I say “easily” because I think it is after an hour of that that my memory goes blank…
Yes, what happened in the last 2-3 hours prior to Stella Point are a big blank. I have no idea what happened, when we stopped, what was I thinking, nothing, nada, nil. Comparing notes with others later, I am not the only one to whom that happened. We had been told the last bit before reaching Stella Point would be scree (small pebbles) so for every step forward, there would be a step back. I have no recollection of scree, of steps forward, or steps back.
And then it happened… Steeeeeeeellllllaaaaa!
So I was in some zone when all of a sudden, to my right, I see a glimmer of light on the horizon. Sunrise is beginning! It was like an injection of adrenaline straight to my heart – and mind. Watching the sun rise and trying to take good pictures became the priority as we continued walking up. I was awake!
Glorious!The sun finally broke through the horizon and we could see that Stella Point was just like 20 minutes away. It was one of THE most incredible moments in my life. You see, at that moment, I had no doubt I would make it (though how could I really tell how the higher altitude and serious lack of oxygen would hit me 20 mins later?). It didn’t matter, I just knew I was A-OK!
We hit Stella Point and I couldn’t believe how quickly it came upon us (I don’t think I could see it from the final approach). This was unbelievable. I was at over 18,000 ft and would only have one more hour up to Uhuru Peak after a short break at Stella Point. We laughed, hugged, and even teared up some.
Some of the trekkers and guides at Stella Point (I am on the far left)My eyes couldn’t believe the view outside of the mountain and INTO the mountain. Remember the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro is a crater from a long-extinct volcano.
Looking around the top of KiliImmediately the picture-taking began in front of the brand-spanking-new green sign with yellow letters (TERRIBLE design… you had to be RIGHT IN FRONT OF IT for the letters to show well in a photo). In any case, pictures were taken and then we proceeded to get to Uhuru Peak… Time was of the essence as, at that altitude, you do not want to linger despite the fact that we noticed tents in the crater. In any case, we had to mosey to the peak and we couldn’t dilly daddle. We had to move.
Uhuru Peak, here we come!
Mt. Kilimanjaro used to be covered in glaciers. Today, the glaciers are there but they are not as dominant as they must have been. They are expected to disappear completely in a few decades. Still, seeing them from a distance was impressive with the African horizon behind them.
The hour walk (or maybe 45 mins?) up to Uhuru was much easier and less steep than the prior few hours though we still went up 660 feet (200 m) or so to reach it.
Said and I headed to Uhuru PeakEveryone was in great spirits and then… we saw it – the big green sign marking Uhuru Peak!!! WE WERE THERE! Laughter, smiles, even some jumping-for-joy all around. We caught up with the first group and it was so awesome to see all of us together at the peak – the probabilities were that they would be already on their way down when we got to Uhuru or (hopefully not) that they wouldn’t reach it. So the fact that we all were there together, this group that had been together for about 10 days, was truly priceless.
One of the many celebratory photos taken: here with Liz and Len StanmoreImmediately we got close to the sign to wait our turn to stand in front of it and capture the moment in a photo. Phenomenal moment of joy for all of us. And just as happy as we were, our guides were beaming that we had all make it – asante sana, guys!
And so reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro comes to an end
The story of the descent is for another post – and the descent was painful. However, I will share one reflection here about having reached the summit… Even if I had surrendered my daypack no one moved my legs forward and upward for me, as Luis our lead guide told us once at base camp. Every step I took on that blessed mountain was my own. That is the real achievement here for each trekker: the strength of will and of body to push forward and upward when you think you don’t have it all together, when you feel the next big rock may be the one that tips the climb over for you and sends you back to camp, when you don’t know what is your “happy place”. I will treasure what I learned that early morning the rest of my life.
A very happy trekker at Uhuru Peak!Back to Day 5…
… On to the descent (coming soon!)
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Other posts about the Kilimanjaro trek:
- Preparing for the hike is more than training and gear
- The Machame Route: our way up
- 7 things you will not see me without as I climb Kili
- Day 1 of the hike (starting the climb!)
- Day 2 of the hike (getting to Shira Camp)
- Day 3 of the hike (the Lava Tower and hail)
- Day 4 of the hike (Barranco Wall)
- Interview with fellow Kili climber and Ultimate Global Explorer
April 11th, 2013
Posted by
Raul |
Africa, Tanzania |
27 comments
Ah, the final day before summit. Day 5 was taking us to the promised land of summit base camp for the Machame Route. Not a day too soon. Sure, one more day of acclimatization would have only helped. But after 4 spectacular days, now I was beginning to crave reaching the summit.
Hiking the Machame Route from the Karanga Camp
The day began as all the days with the morning routines that set us up for the day’s hike. The tedious, the necessary, and the helpful all were taken care of and we took off from the Karanga Camp at 13,800 ft (4,200 m) for a seemingly short 3.7 miles (6 km) hike up to the Barafu Camp at 15,100 ft (4,600 m) (at that altitude, short walks are challenging!). Did I mention that after all these days of sleeping bags, tents, daypack, large backpack, jackets, zippable hiking pants, rain gear, etc. one gets REALLY tired of zippers? Velcro all the way, bay-bee!!! (Thanks, Sarah for your help fixing zippers!)
Me helpfully pointing the way, like a modern Columbus. Rock on trekkers, so to speak (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)
Happy that I showed them the way (lol!), I trail with the stylish plastic bag over my daypack. Not sure why. Not a cloud on the sky. (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)
The route was devoid of vegetation. Rocks everywhere. Small rocks though. Like debris almost. And some neat views, as usual on this mountain!
Great view of Mt. Meru as the group treks on. (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)
Mt. Mawenzi, one of the 3 peaks on Kilimanjaro; it peaks at over 16,000 ft.
Our time at the Barafu Camp
The Barafu Camp was a camp of sorts for us: we were setting up as usual except we were NOT going to spend the night at this camp. You see, at night, midnight specifically, we would we leaving this camp to summit. But that, my friends, is Day 6 so out of scope for this post!
Our final approach to Barafu Camp (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)
At the camp hut to sign in. The stylish looking guy with a plastic bag, an orange jacket, a buff sipping water through a hose… That’s not me…
This camp was VERY rocky. I had to mind almost every step to not trip or step into a rock that would give way from under me. To walk around our tent to reach the vestibule on the back (vestibule is a generous term; it was a place to put our bags zipped away and protected from any rain), we had to be extremely careful.
Me trying to make my way around all the darned rocks! (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)
I woke up in the middle of one of my naps once it was dark to go to the toilet-tent and, though there was a full moon (it was beautiful especially on summit night), while minding the rocks, I missed the cable holding another tent down and I almost had my face meet a rock that would have likely broken my nose or jaw (and end my attempt to summit). Luckily as I started falling, I caught my balance and didn’t hit the ground. BIG whew. And added respect for the camp…
In any case, this camp was a little bit surreal because of the landscape. We were also on a steeper slope than we had been at any other camp. However, always looking for the bright side, some of us concluded that at least we were towards the “exit” of the camp on the way to the summit so we would save, oh, about 4 minutes once we started heading up to the summit…
Barafu Camp – see what I mean about the slope??!!
Though we were not staying overnight, this camp was very important. We were to have a nice late lunch and then do two very important things:
1. Pack/Prepare for departing for summit at midnight.
2. Resting/Sleeping whatever we could to have more energy for the climb that night and to also allow our bodies to get as used as possible to the higher altitude.
Three very happy -if tired- trekkers at Barafu. Myself with the awesome Laura and Kristin!
Being active after getting to camp was not the best thing to do as the body would not get to recover. So we were advised that whether we napped or not, that we lay down for as long as possible. Not being one to ignore advice from experts, after lunch I did all I could do to prep for that night’s departure (we were stopping at this camp after coming down from the summit) and proceeded to get comfy and lay down.
I was very pleased that I napped (can’t recall how long a nap but it was long) not once but twice with the final one leading me to wake up around 10:30 PM which was great! I was able to say bye to the first group of 4 from our group to depart (they were leaving an hour early to be sure they had ample time to make it to the summit by sunrise). Then I took care of a few things before sitting back down at the same mess tent where I had just said goodbye to our first group an hour before to wait for our own departure.
I couldn’t wait to get going… – but, wait, that’s midnight so that story is part of Day 6!
The summit beckons…
Back to Day 4…
… on to Day 6 – summit night !
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Other posts about the Kilimanjaro trek:
- Preparing for the hike is more than training and gear
- The Machame Route: our way up
- 7 things you will not see me without as I climb Kili
- Day 1 of the hike
- Day 2 of the hike
- Day 3 of the hike
- Interview with fellow Kili climber and Ultimate Global Explorer
April 4th, 2013
Posted by
Raul |
Africa, Tanzania |
18 comments
Day 4 on the Machame Route up Kilimanjaro began like every other day: get out of the zipped-up sleeping bag, figure out where the full pee bottle was to not accidentally crush it, find the camp shoes, put on some warm clothes, have some water, take any of the daily meds required, etc.
There is a morning routine to camp life in Kilimanjaro – at least I concocted one all of my own (did you feel that too, if you have climbed Kilimanjaro??). This routine quickly moved from these individual tasks to those that were about packing up and getting ready to go. While I was a little more leisurely about the first set of tasks (I woke up early enough), I usually felt rushed on the latter and somewhat worried I would slow down the group’s departure.
Once the morning routine was completed, this trekker looks like a pro!A mental and physical wall? Meet the Barranco Wall
But on Day 4 I also woke up with something else on my mind beyond my routine: the Barranco Wall. I had on purpose not read every detail about the Machame Route before I left for the trip because I figured leaving some element of surprise would be good. I didn’t want to be anticipating what came next but, instead, enjoy each moment. Then, the night before we went on it, I was told about the Barranco Wall. I was not sure what that meant but I had seen the wall on our way in from a distance and I got a little worried about what it would take. Clearly it was going to be a narrow path with the wall on one side and the “fast” way down on the other… I tried to not think about it because there was no sense in over-processing it. But I was hoping it was not wall climbing with a cliff under me!
Of all the things to have worried about, wall climbing was not it. No mental or physical wall there (does not mean there were not a couple of tricky moments!). The real “wall” was the wait to cross the Barranco Wall! See, normally trails are wide enough to walk two people side-by-side which allowed for letting porters pass you without you having to stop or get out of the way. We appreciated porters because they make the trek really possible for the hikers (more on this in a future post). So we always let them pass if we were walking side by side at any point.
However, the trail on the Barranco Wall narrowed to single file for most of it. The wall did require some times pulling yourself over rocks but always with the trail on either side of it (that is, never floating over empty space below). So porters would be trapped waiting for hikers to work their way through. Our group stayed off to the side right before the Barranco Wall started to let as many porters pass but it became rather tedious as we ended up sort of waiting for like a good 30 minutes or so.
Long line of climbers and porters entering the Barranco Wall. Me? In the waiting room to enter the Wall, I suppose!
Barranco Wall, here we come! OK, in 2 minutes. No, in 10. No in 20…Wondering what lay ahead of me, I was very ready to go and I sensed others around me were ready to go for whatever reasons of their own. We finally got going and the wall was actually quite doable. Yes, the trail narrowed at certain points to widths not comfortable for everyone but this actually did not bother me – but I still made sure I was closer to the wall than the edge 
At the beginning of the Barranco Wall, finally! (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)Given we had to go slow, I had the time to look back at the direction of the Barranco Camp and the entrance to the Barranco Wall…
Camp was in the direction of the green-roofed hut on the top left. Note that trail of trekkers and porters.
Closeup towards the almost-dry stream we had to cross to enter the Barranco Wall’s “waiting room”There is a trail post-Wall: a trail of doubt for me
The wall behind us, I felt relief that now we were going to be back on a more “normal” trail. Well, we were not quite back to one of those. The trail after the Wall required climbing over a lot of rocks (without a cliff around) and the exertion of climbing over large rocks actually left me quite winded. I could see myself lagging the group a bit more with every passing section of the trail and I was not happy. Our Trekking for Kids lead re-assured me that the extra exertion of the legs would definitely have this impact (picture, if you will, the difference between walking uphill vs. walking up the same incline using stairs: it is harder on the latter). I still was disappointed and wondered if my fitness level was not up to par and – furthermore- what did this presage about summit night?? Our hiking guide, checking in on me at the next break, told me that an accelerated heart rate is also caused by altitude and may not be a statement about fitness level. I appreciated the support of the TFK lead and our guide and mustered enough strength to get me past this stage of the trail – but just barely…
Onwards!
Mercifully, after that stage, the trail become more the normal up and down hills so I was OK on those. Occasional rocks along the way were further apart from each other so the issue did not re-surface and I once again believed I could do this. My first moment of doubt since entering the mountain had lasted maybe less than an hour but, mentally, it had been huge. So this is what people mean when they say climbing Kili is both a physical AND a mental challenge…
Along the way, the weather seemed to have taken a turn for the worse so we donned our rain gear but it really did not rain much or for long at all – whew!
Hikers walking into the cloud…We arrived at the Karanga Camp (13,800 ft; 4,200 m) after a 4 mile (7 km) hike that took around 5 hours and we were pleased it was yet another nice camp. The tents were on a little bit of a slope but after one slightly uncomfortable night on Day 2, I learned the trick to make the sleeping bag as horizontal as possible: just put stuff under the sleeping pad to even it out – simple!
Yet another beautiful camp! (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)It is worth explaining that we used sleeping pads under the sleeping bags for two reasons: one, further insulate you from the cold ground and, two, a little more comfort in sleep with the extra padding. Mine was an inflatable one (but not self-inflatable). I thought this would be an issue given the altitude and diminished oxygen levels but it actually was no trouble at all. Plus it helped me practice my pressure breathing! Folding the sleeping pad in the morning after deflating it to slip back into its tight packing sleeve was actually THE worst moment of my morning routine!
It’s all in the views…
Like many moments on this climb, neat views delight when they appear. After things the Barranco Wall waiting room, the post-wall stage that slowed me down big time and brought doubt, and the slight rain, it is the nice views that really motivate you to continue with every day and every step. Such was, for me, this view on Day 4…
The summit beckons!Back to Day 3…
… or on to Day 5!!
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Other posts about the Kilimanjaro trek:
- Preparing for the hike is more than training and gear
- The Machame Route: our way up
- 7 things you will not see me without as I climb Kili
- Day 1 of the hike
- Day 2 of the hike
- Interview with fellow Kili climber and Ultimate Global Explorer
March 27th, 2013
Posted by
Raul |
Africa, Tanzania |
15 comments
The day we were to enter the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, we first made a stop outside of the park at a Masai village. My image of the Masai before this visit was of tall, lean men wearing blue or red clothes holding a cane-like piece of wood. I knew they were a nomadic people and that they lived generally in both sides of the border between Kenya and Tanzania. However, that was the extent of my knowledge about them.
Visiting a Masai village is not the only time you can see the Masai as you see them in small towns as you traverse this part of Tanzania and as they may work in some of the places you may stay. You will also see them herding their cattle to take them to get water (like the ones we saw heading into the Ngorongoro Crater).
When we were taken to their village, I was not sure what was in it for them. I understood they lived off their cows and didn’t have many possessions since they are nomadic so I didn’t quite get it. I was not aware that some do make the best of the tourism in the area by making crafts to sell to visitors. Basically we were taken to their village so we could get a glimpse into their lives in return for the potential purchases we would make from their inventory of crafts. I am used to tours (big or small) always taking visitors to places for shopping and sometimes I can find that tedious (even if I need to buy some souvenirs). This time, I somehow did not mind.
Some of the craftsFirst, they welcomed us with some chanting and by placing ornaments around the necks of the female visitors. They also proceeded to show how high they can jump and got one of our guys to try jumping higher than them – nope, could not do it!
The group welcoming us to their village
Women greeting usI found the short glimpse we got into their lifestyle very interesting. We were divided into smaller groups so we could each visit the small home of the Masai and there talk a little bit about how they live. The warrior into whose house we went offered good information and was generous in answering our questions.
Exterior of a Masai hut
Our host and some visitors at one of his wives’ hutAmong the things our warrior shared with us:
- things are communal; they make crafts and the sales go to the entire group
- they are polygamous
- since their huts are so small, the house in which the warrior sleeps at night, any kids older than 4-5 get sent to another wife’s hut
- the warriors’ job is the safety of the group; women have a long list of things they are responsible for like building the huts, cooking, fetching water, minding the children, etc.
- some warriors get an education in a village or town so they can, for example, speak English and welcome tourists to their villages
- life centers around the cattle on whose milk and blood they depend
- they move every 2-3 months to a new place (where there is more grass for their cattle)
- when someone dies, they leave the body out in the open to be nourishment for animals; they leave some marker so people know not to build their camp there; supposedly, a few months need to pass before the area can be used again
- they live typically into their 100s (he also told us they don’t have illnesses).
After chatting with the warrior and checking out the crafts (and making purchases), we stopped at the tiny schoolhouse for their group. The kids were into showing they could read the words on the blackboard!
School building
The kids at schoolI left with admiration for a people who seem to strike a workable balance between living according to their traditions while dealing with some of modern life with common sense (like taking advantage of the opportunity that visitors can provide in terms of extra income for the group). We gladly perused their crafts and, while certainly not offered very cheaply, we were happy with negotiating some but not as much as we had done in other settings.
Masai women with the containers to store cow’s milk and bloodCurious what else others know about the Masai. Leave a comment and share!
March 24th, 2013
Posted by
Raul |
Africa, Tanzania |
15 comments
Morning greeted us at Shira Camp where we had arrived on Day 2, and we started our way up around 8:45 AM to the famous Lava Tower of Mt. Kilimanjaro (though, admittedly, I had not heard about it before I signed up for this trip…). Excitement combined with anxiety as to how I would perform at the higher altitude. Our hike on Day 3 started at 12,600 ft (3,840 m) and would peak at the Lava Tower at 15,200 ft (4,630 m). Not the longest climb we had done so far (that was on Day 1 of the Machame Route). But given the altitude, I expected a challenge.
Climb high – and then come back down? Seriously?
So, the plan for the day was to go up to 15,200 ft. I remember reading the itinerary and thinking “wow, only 4,000 ft more to go to the summit!”. And then I read we would end the day at 12,700 ft, barely above our starting point at the Barranco Camp. “Say WHAT??!!!,” I jived to myself. I quickly learned how smart this approach was.
The “climb high, sleep low” approach allows for the body to exert itself at higher latitudes with lighter air but sleep at a lower altitude where more oxygen in the air would help the body recover. As I learned, this would help the body adjust to altitude better. I am not sure one fully adjusts to the altitudes in the mountain but you are closer to that with this approach.
This view early on Day 3 certainly motivated us to tackle Day 3′s challengeThe way to the Lava Tower
So off we went, walking in semi-desert terrain. It is amazing how the terrain is so different every day of this climb. It keeps it interesting. I heard the Machame Route is actually the best to truly enjoy this diversity and, as far as I could tell, it was definitely true of the route (though I cannot personally compare it to other routes).
Some little vegetation…
… gives way to no vegetation in no time!As the day went on, the skies darkened and, at different times, fog or clouds passed us, like right after we arrived at the Lava Tower (around 1 PM). The Lava Tower, one can safely assume, is made from the rocks that the mountain spewed during its volcanic heyday. But for me, what was more important when we got there was the fact I had managed OK to get to this altitude (“OK” does not mean piece of cake; but it does not mean “barely made it” either).
Clouds coming in to the Lava Tower camp area
Celebrating arriving at the Lava Tower with my hiking buddy for the day, MelanieMaking it to 15,200 ft is a celebration worthy moment. For us, that meant a warm lunch!!!
Our dining room on the mountainEvery day, our porters would set up the tent at camp and serve our meals there (though, normally, lunch was taken on the trail during a break). The food was so good – or was it just we were starving from the exertion?? I think it was a little bit of both.
So let’s go down from Lava Tower to the Barranco Camp – piece of cake
After having succeeded in climbing to over 15,000 ft and surviving the thinner air during the one hour lunch break, it was time to go down to camp (and more oxygen density!). We felt at this point we had this covered – everyone was in great spirits, talking and laughing. We exited the Lava Tower Camp area by going between two very large rock formations and proceeded to go down.
Exiting the Lava Tower Camp areaWell, Mother Nature had a different plan for these hikers. Just after we cleared the rock formations and had proceeded down the rocky terrain some, the weather turned. A little rain and we all got geared up (covering our daypacks, putting on the hard shell pants, etc.).
The umbrella person was not one of ours, for the record. They may have just been blown away by the winds after this photo was taken…And then it started to hail.
At first, we actually kind of liked it. Cool was the word. Until it started hailing harder.
Our collective recollection now is it was hail the size of a small motorized vehicle. That day, they were the size of mansions. Upon closer examination of our pictures, the hail was the size of small pellets (my fellow trekkers may kill me for revealing this). However, this group of trekkers had been spoiled -er, blessed- with awesome weather so we can be forgiven for talking about this hailstorm for a day or two as if it had been a preamble to the Apocalypse.
See the MONSTROUS pieces of hail?? The humanity!We got to camp (still raining some) around 4:45 PM and quite a few folks had to make a run for number one or number two since we had not made any stops during the hail/rain. No one will forget our guide’s impression of one of our trekkers who was suffering more from an urgent number two run. As we discussed the day over dinner, we all kept talking about the storm. Until our guide, Luis, proceeded to tell us that the storm had lasted exactly 1 hr 47 mins and that, on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of bad weather in the mountain, this ranked as a 0.5. We pondered his point for a moment and, I believe, someone asked for the mango plate to be passed…
E.T., phone home
The Barranco Camp, where we were going to spend the night, was my second favorite camp after the Shira Camp. I think it was the sense of proximity to the summit combined with a nice setting (though not the expansive vistas of the Shira Camp).
One of our trekkers managed to get mobile network signal at this camp and offered the phone for quick calls home for anyone interested. Having a Cuban mother, I decided I had to take advantage of the opportunity to tell her I was eating well and alive (I think those are her priorities for me, in that order). She was ECSTATIC to hear my voice, that I was eating food, and that I was alive. Thanks, Annie!!
More of the scenery
Barring the summit, my favorite vistas were coming to a close. That does not mean there were not going to be other great views but the best for me had been Day 2 and Day 3, in that order. Before you close this browser window, a couple more pictures of the scenery of Day 3. Day 4 will be bringing the Barranco Wall – something that had me wondering how scary would the wall be… Stay tuned.
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Back to Day 2…
On to Day 4…
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Other posts about the Kilimanjaro trek:
- Preparing for the hike is more than training and gear
- The Machame Route: our way up
- 7 things you will not see me without as I climb Kili
- Day 1 of the hike
- Interview with fellow Kili climber and Ultimate Global Explorer
March 20th, 2013
Posted by
Raul |
Africa, Tanzania |
12 comments
