Our trek began at the Machame gate at about 5100 ft. elevation. In the States, this would bring to mind pictures of Denver, but near the equator this is lush tropical rain forest. We ascended through this beautiful forest, home of monkeys & unique vegetation like the Kilimanjaro impatiens flower, found nowhere else in the world. Unfortunately, there is a reason they call it a rain forest. Our dirt & tree root trail turned into a muddy torrent. By the time we reached our 1st camp, however, the rain had stopped & we dried out. Our "crew" consisted of a guide, assistant guide, cook & 11 porters. The porters carried camping & cooking equipment, as well as some of our personal belongings, so that we only had to carry light packs.
As soon as they found out we were from Texas, Steve & I became known as "the cowboys". We tried to live up to the Texas mythos. I sang them some country-western songs about Texas. They were highly amused. I tried to learn some Swahili which was fun. For example, if you want to say something is "cool" (as in "neat"), you say "poa". If it is really cool, you say "poa sana". But if it is really,really cool, you say, "poa kichizi kama ndizi". This, roughly, as I understand it, means "cool & crisp as a banana". Go figure. Anyway, they speak pretty good English, so I thought I would I would teach tham some Tex-Mex Spanis h. So, every morning our walk would begin with a hearty "vaminos muchachos". This amused them greatly as well.
Our 2nd day we left the forest & entered the heather & moor land. Trees become shrubs as the elevation increases, & vegetation becomes sparse. It has its own beauty as well. At higher elevations, one enters the alpine desert, with occasional tufts of grass & hardy flowers. .the landscape takes on an almost lunar look. Actually, with all the red lava boulders, it reminded me of the photos sent back from Mars. The middle days of the trek consisted multiple ridges & valleys, & helped us acclimatize to the high altitude. I was fortunate in experiencing no altitude-related problems, the most feared difficulty of climbing at high altitudes. I also suffered no foot or knee problems. The only problem I had was a cold I'm sure I picked up on the airplane. This left me sneezing & with an annoying runny nose. Actually, after 2 or 3 days on the mounta in & sleeping in a tent with your friend, losing one's sense of smell is not entirely a bad thing.
We are back in Arusha, & tomorrow will begin a 3 day safari in the parks of northern Tanzania. I look forward to seeing you all & appreciate your thoughts & especially your prayers. Hopefully I will have some photos to show you.
With love,
Ted the cowboy
FEB 2003 |
Marjanna--
A report on the trip is in order. I realize Ted updated you during the trip so I'll skip the details. The climb was spectacular. The Machame route is certainly better than the Marangu route. The guide service was solid, food was better than expected. They made every effort to satisfy any request. The list they provided was excellent for packing. If a client will follow it in detail, they should have no problems on the mountain. Leopard tours was also solid. They were on time, the driver was friendly and made effort to answer questions and find the animals or birds your wanted to see. The lodges were superb. Overall a great trip. If I changed anything, I would not rush the safari tours as closely together as we did.
Thanks for the help and information. Your batting 100% with our trips. My most sincere appreciation.
Steve White
Feb 2003 |
