Kilimanjaro- Day 2

Our first morning waking up on the mountain was confusing and startling. Nick- our waiter woke us with a "hello girls", tea in "bed" and hot water bowls for washing. We sluggishly came to, fumbled around our unfamiliar backpacks and got ourselves ready for the day.  We managed to make it to the mess tent for our first breakfast, which was shockingly massive.

 We started with fruit and porridge, which was very tasty and just like a smoother and sweetened oatmeal.  We thought this would conclude our meal so we filled up on this only to soon find out there was more.  Eggs, toast, and sausages came out next on a large, intimidating plate.  We knew we would need the energy for our hikes ahead so we forced down as much of the food as possible.  Upon finishing, we took some photos and continued on to leave Forrest camp and the rainforest portion of our hike.

Our chief guide, Frederick (who we called baba- meaning "dad" in Swahili), and our assistant guide, William (who we called Willie, of course) were such good sports with all of our photography.

The ecosystem visibly changed quickly as we began to enter the Mooreland.  The hike was 6 kilometers and very interesting and beautiful.  We stopped half way through and had lunch of fried fish, cheese and cucumber sandwiches, vegetables, and salad, all at a table and chairs (carried by our porters) on the side of the mountain.  We ate until we were thoroughly stuffed, stretched, and refilled our drinking water for the remainder of the day.  All of the porters sat with us, waiting for us to finish, so they could then eat and pack up the equipment.  Despite their delayed start, it wasn't long before they steadily passed us on the path with friendly "mambo", "Jambo", "wadada watatu", and high fives along the way. 

 

After we got in the path, the very steep climb didn't seem as intimidating.  We were intrigued by the strange plants and birds that lived at such high elevations.  The further we got, the closer we approached a ceiling of clouds. 

It wasnt long before we reached the clouds and we walked through them to our next elevation.  I recall yelling at Stephanie, "it feels like clouds!" Because that was the best i could describe it.  The clouds were light, yet wet with a slight chill, but mostly refreshing feel.  As strange as it sounds to say, they felt like a breath of fresh air.  We took many photos on the hillside with the clouds below and behind us and felt very proud of this accomplishment.

We continued on and as we neared the end of the challenging hike, we, for the first time, caught a glimpse of what we were aiming for.  The weather had lifted and we could finally see the peak of Mt Kilimanjaro for the first time since we arrived in Tanzania.

Although the iphone doesnt don't justice, the photos snapped on Stephanie's camera are quite impressive.  The nearly 6,000m mountain stood impressively against the horizon and wasnt to leave our sight for the next 6 days.

 Riding on this excitement we reached Shira camp which was located in a plateau. We were able to use the long exposure on Stephanie's camera and captured some amazing photos of the stars that night, out of our own curiosity and in support of the Reach for the Stars campaign. Temperatures significantly dropped and we were exhausted after two challenging, but exciting days and decided to go to bed early.  We were anxious for the days ahead and to get closer to the mountain peak.