Kili Aborted

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After returning from our day in Arusha, we learned that our meeting with our guide for Kilimanjaro started in 10 minutes.  It was the first indication that there was severe a lack of communication.

Mike & his box lunch          

At the meeting, we learned that our PRIVATE trip of 5 had turned into a group of 15.  The African Walking Company could only go on the information they were given unless directed to change things by Peak Planet. This news was a little upsetting to all of us as we had paid for a private trip.  Even more frustrating was that we were almost sent up the mountain without any of our dietary restrictions being communicated to the African Walking Company—2 vegetarians and 2 gluten free.  Thankfully, by dinner that night, Peak Planet had cleared up the confusion and the African Walking Company was scrambling to organize a private trip for five people with dietary restrictions.

Tammy enjoying life in the front seat.

The next morning we were up at 8:30 to head off to the mountain.  We had about a two and half hour drive to reach the entry point.  Much of the drive was through agricultural fields with tons of maize and sunflowers (for sunflower oil), with a smattering of a few small villages.  It was quite beautiful and provided our first views of Acacia trees and a cloud-covered Kilimanjaro.

Entry point to the park. Those are porter bags!   

Our stop at the Kilimanjaro Park entry point gave us our first real glimpse of the shear scale of what these guided climbs entailed.  For example, for the initial 15-person climb, 60 additional people were scheduled to come along (guides, cooks, and porters).  There were three companies present, several buses, heaps of gear, and all the assorted porters and guides. 

As we drove through the park, we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Colobus monkeys in the forested areas that inhabit the lower elevations.  The dirt access road, despite reports of being extremely rough, wasn’t too bad.  We soon reached the trailhead to start the climb.

This is the trailhead and the porters.

After a brief introduction to our lead guide, Jonas, and assistant guide, Digland, we were on our way.  Digland lead the way, forcing us to walk “polé polé”.  We were also warned that while the porters had lingered behind at the trailhead they would be trotting past as we hiked.  That was definitely true.

Dina (red), Abby, Mike, & Tammy with a cloudy Kili.

The Shira Plateau is basically like hiking through coastal scrub that you’d find in San Luis Obispo as far as the eye could see.  As we walked, Kilimanjaro, initially covered in clouds, was revealed.  It was really quite striking.

We eventually made it to camp.  The term, camp, does not do justice to the village of tents that made up “camp”.  Because we were recently split from a larger group, things were running a little slow. But soon after choosing tents, we received our water for “washy washy”.  After a quick rinse, our cook tent was up and soon tea, coffee, and water were available.  The best part of this period was that drinks were followed quickly by popcorn, fresh, warm, salted popcorn.

By the time dinner rolled around, it was later than expected.  We were all starving and Adrienne’s mild headache had begun to worsen.  Dinner was fish, potatoes, bread (including gluten free), and vegetables.  Unfortunately, Adrienne’s headache induced nausea kept her from eating a great deal.  She quickly went to bed.

Mike & Tammy in the dining tent.

Each evening, all hikers were asked for complete honesty in describing how they felt.  Adrienne described her headache and nausea, immediately alarming Jonas.  He asked her to drink, take some painkillers and said that he would check on her in a few hours.  This cycle was repeated twice with no improvements, only a worsening of Adrienne’s health.  At 3AM, it was clear Adrienne would not be able to hike the next day and that she should be evacuated.  Adrienne then began vomiting, confirming the decision.  Big thanks to Abby for helping us repack and Mike and Tammy for sending us off.  Dina joined the evacuation to help a barely lucid Adrienne navigate the Tanzanian healthcare system.

The view from the dining tent.

The evacuation was a wobbly hour-long hike by headlamp to a road.  Here we had to wait.  Adrienne was freezing despite layers of down, hats, and the like.  Digland, who had escorted us out with two others and a porter, pulled Adrienne’s sleeping bag out to try to get her warm.  Thankfully, it worked and she fell asleep on the rocks.  When the transport arrived, we had to fit on a small front seat of a pickup truck, while Digland and the porter road in the back with our gear.  This road was ROUGH.  We couldn’t imagine what it would have been like in the back, but, as it was, Adrienne had to demand a stop to continue vomiting.  We’re not sure if it was headache or motion sickness that prompted that round.

It took another transport transfer to get us back to Arusha.  Thankfully, during that time Dina convinced Digland that Adrienne needed sleep more than the hospital.  We had heard horror stories of Tanzanian hospitals.  He agreed to take us back to the hotel. 

Our Kilimanjaro dreams were over. 

There have been tears and frustration over it.  We know it was out of our control. Kilimanjaro had been a goal for a long time.  We are disappointed and trying to make peace with it.  We have been forced to face it, though, because our hotel is filled with people about to climb or just down from the mountain.  Our first full day at the hotel was spent finding activities to fill the six days we had planned to spend climbing.  We will definitely see more of Tanzania and are glad for the opportunity, but I think we’d both rather be on the mountain.

Jambo! (Now the fun begins… Arusha)

Our first full day in Arusha and the blog gets a bit longer.  We were joined by Mike, Tammy, and Abby.  Using a guide that Mike and Tammy had found, we headed out on foot to Arusha.  Peter, our guide, ended up being critical not just for navigation, but for keeping the many vendors that cater to tourists at bay (mostly).

Road from our lodge to Arusha

Our hotel (lboru Safari Lodge) is located at the end of a dusty road lined by various shops and homes.  Building style is mostly concrete bricks with a mix of mud and cow dung covering. 

Sidewall of one of the homes

Being in developing countries, especially those where the local population is as friendly and seemly happy as they are here, makes you consider your own home.  It makes you incredibly grateful, as well as question all the noise and energy spent on things that, in the end, just don’t matter.

As we walked, children would stop, wave and call, “Jambo!”  They were absolutely adorable.  Dina has already asked if there is any way to bring one home with us.  What we did not know at the beginning of the walk was that later there would be Tanzanians who wanted to adopt Dina right back.

Peter tried to give us some language tips.  We had no idea how much we would need them later.

 

Peter, our guide, and avocados (huge avocados) for sale

We walked the main road joining the crowd. We stopped by a few street vendors including Maasai sandals, which were repurposed tires.  Later in the day we actually saw Maasai in the sandals (Adrienne was initially doubting Peter’s claim).  

 We then headed into central Arusha to the clock tower Peter claimed was the “center of Africa”.  If you thought it would be a little further to the west, you’re not alone, but it was the North-South center.  Peter proudly named it as the midway point between Cairo and Cape Town.

This is where the excitement began and it was all Abby and Mike’s fault.  They pulled out their money and began negotiating with the vendors that feed on tourists.  While Mike and Abby did obtain three paintings that are quite beautiful, their purchase meant we had an entourage for the rest of the trip.  This group even waited outside the restaurant where we ate lunch and outside the Tanzanite museum.  Dina was unwilling to be rude and became separated from Peter. She became their target. 

Grains

Our final stop in Arusha was definitely the highlight, the market.  You could find everything there from grains, to veggies, to fish, to live chickens.  Here is where it got nuts.  Our entourage decided that they wanted a slice of the guide fee and began pointing and directing.  This was particularly true once Dina got her camera out.  They would lead her around pointing at what she should photograph.  Eventually, the walkways got very narrow, meaning there was no room for us, our guide, and all the guide want-to-bes. 

Dina, some of her self-appointed "friends," and chickens!

Fish, yes fish

Having escaped the market, we began our walk home and Dina’s “fans” let their true intentions be known, they wanted money.  She innocently told them, “I thought you wanted to be my friend.”  At which point, the four of us cracked up.

Veggies

The items in the market, especially the grain aisle and fish area were very cool from the crowd to visually stunning displays – huge stacks of dried sardines; dried, waxy looking catfish; every grain imaginable in wicker baskets; and much, much more.

   

Walking back to the lodge

Kiswahili words of the day

Asante – thank you

Hapana, Asante – no thank you [this was critically important]

Hakuna matata – ok, no problem

Karibu – welcome [When asked if she knew this word, Adrienne said "yes" thinking they were referring to a large animal with antlers found in Canada - ha!]

On Our Way

We used frequent flyer miles to get to Tanzania, which meant several layovers.  We had fears of missing connections, meaning we chose LOOONNNGG layovers.  First it was a 12 hour flight to Frankfurt, with a 7 hour layover, and then 8 hours to Addis Ababa, with a 3.5 hour layover in Ethopia, and then a final 2.5 hours to Kilimanjaro Airport. It was as exhausting as it sounds.  

Our first round of waiting in airports, SFO.

Frankfurt airport is a labyrinth.  We had heard that you need at least 2 hours to make a connecting flight.  It’s true (good thing we had 7 hours to burn).  The highlight was the coffee. Would

Addis Ababa was an adventure for those used to airports in the west.  First, we arrived and stuffed on to a bus (‘stuffed’ is intentional and accurate).  We then entered a holding area with a single guy directing traffic based on connecting flight destinations (if you were lucky enough to see him and know this was his role).  This sounds much more orderly than it really was.  Bus after bus kept arriving to deposit passengers and eventually the waiting area was packed full, only to then would we be loaded on to another bus to drive 100 yards (yes, it would have been MUCH faster to walk).  The boarding process was similar, with more stuffing-- narrow staircases and crammed buses. 

That said, it was amazing people watching.  You see good diversity in most international airports, but in Addis Ababa it was the diversity of the African continent that was represented with a smattering of western interlopers. 

Acclimatization in the Sierras

Morning above Onion Valley

Though we are in Tanzania (wonderful and amazing, but that is for a future blog post), we decided to not skip the first stage of our trip, acclimatizing in the Sierras.  Due to Adrienne’s procrastinator ways, we did not make it to Onion Valley until after 1AM. For those of you that have been to the eastern Sierras, it will come as no surprise that we woke to a gorgeous view.  The eastern Sierras are truly a magical place.  We had three beautiful hikes and four nights to begin adjusting to altitude.  We spent our final day visiting Mammoth Lakes and Mono Lake.  A few observations from our trip:

Kearsarge Pass - one entrance into Kings Canyon NP

Kearsarge Pass, overlooking King’s Canyon National Park, is gorgeous; we will be back for a much longer backpack, or, better yet, an extended trip on the PCT.

We did get dirty too.

In addition to HUNGRY and stinky, most through hikers on the PCT seemed both friendly and lonely.   It’s pretty customary to say a cheerful hello on the trail, but not as typical to stop and have extended conversations.  The PCT folks wanted to chat, particularly ‘the Storyteller’ as he’s been dubbed on the trail.

It is not supposed to be 90+ degrees at 10,000 feet, BUT it was and we have sunburns to show for it.  It also prompted us to invest in sun hats for our trip.

Mono Lake is as interesting as advertised and must be in all of the European Guidebooks. There were no other Americans, but we did see tourists from France, Germany, Scotland, and more. Dina has been wanting to visit for years, unfortunately we hit the lake mid-afternoon with terrible light for photography.  We will certainly be back.

What's in a name?

We've had a difficult time coming up with a name for our blog.  We considered using a Japanese term, but realized that we’d more than likely screw it up.  We also weren’t clever enough to come up with a title that encompassed Tanzania, Turkey, and Japan. 

What we’ve settled on is Gigi & Boris’ Great Adventure.  Who the heck are Gigi & Boris, you ask?  Well, when Adrienne was a little girl, she didn’t just have one imaginary friend, she had a gang – Gigi, Boris, and the Skiers.