Friday, October 20, 2006
OCT 2
After a 40 min. morning walk by the ocean, we boarded a mini-bus back to Stonetown. We then had lunch in the Old Fort (it could not be seen from the street, so it was OK). In the afternoon I explored the markets and souks of Stonetown. The were crowded, but not as crazy as Morocco. The focus was more on food than on other goods. It was interesting to see all of the different tropical fruits and spices. Spices were quite cheap. Saffron was less than $1 USD per ounce. No all of the shops were open due to Ramadan. I also checked out the fish market. Did not look the most hygenic (cats and flies), but the size and varitey of fish was amazing. In the evening we went to the fish stalls for dinner. Another amazing fish dinner for less than $5 USD. We ended the night with a beer at the bar in the African House. The bar is open air and over looks the Indian Ocean. No clouds, so lots of stars.
OCT 3
Today we took the 7 AM ferry to Dar es Salaam. We did not receive the best treatment. Foreigns definitely pay more and have to deal with more red tape. Upon arriving in Dar, we walked to the bus station to buy tickets for the 4th. Then we took a cab to our hotel, the Movenpick Royal Palm. After a month in guesthouses, it was nice to go to an actual hotel...a 4 star none the less. We had lunch and relaxed. Conor got an hour massage for $35 USD. I went to pick Tamara up at the airport. She had some trouble getting a Visa (they only take US Dollars...and it is $50), but we got the money and went back to the hotel. We ate a late dinner, had ice cream and some beers.
OCT 4
Woke up early and had a great buffet breakfast. It was included in the price of the room. Then it was the 10 hour bus ride to Arusha. It was a unique start, we left on time and the bus was half full! We made a few stops along the way, but the bus never filled up. One of the more enjoyable trips. The scenery was spectacular (Pare Mtns.). When we got to Arusha, a driver from our tour company (Good Earth) was there to meet us. He drove us to our hotel, Le Jacaranda (named after a tree with a purple flower). It was nice and clean and had a good resturant. We ate dinner there and met with our travel representative. It was early to bed because we were to start our Kili climb the next day.
OCT 5
The first day of the climb. We ate breakfast (buffet), got our remaining gear (sleeping bags, fleece pants, headlamps,boots, etc.) and boarded a mini bus headed for the mountain. Along the way, the guide picked up his team of porters for the trip. It was 2 hour drive to the registration. Here we signed in and picked up the rest of our team. In total there 10 guys to support the three of us. There were porters, a cook, and 2 guides. They carried all of our gear (except we each kept a backpack for water, rain jacket, etc.). We then drove to our trailhead. We were to take the Rongai route. It started on the drier, northern side (Kenyan side) of the mountain. The start was on the boarder, so we did not go to Kenya. We started hiking at 3 PM and went for 3 hours to our camp (first cave). We started at an elevation of about 4800 ft. The trail and camp was not empty. There were 2 other groups, so we were never out of sight of a hiker or porter...and this was the least traveled route on the mountain. The hike started in a pine forest and then the trees got scrubbier as we went. At first there were kids asking for money or pens or anything, but they were soon passed as we went along. We camped in tents and had our own dining tent for meals. It was not roughing it, but the trail was dusty, only pit toilets and it was going to be 6 days. As soon as the sun went down we were in bed.
After a 40 min. morning walk by the ocean, we boarded a mini-bus back to Stonetown. We then had lunch in the Old Fort (it could not be seen from the street, so it was OK). In the afternoon I explored the markets and souks of Stonetown. The were crowded, but not as crazy as Morocco. The focus was more on food than on other goods. It was interesting to see all of the different tropical fruits and spices. Spices were quite cheap. Saffron was less than $1 USD per ounce. No all of the shops were open due to Ramadan. I also checked out the fish market. Did not look the most hygenic (cats and flies), but the size and varitey of fish was amazing. In the evening we went to the fish stalls for dinner. Another amazing fish dinner for less than $5 USD. We ended the night with a beer at the bar in the African House. The bar is open air and over looks the Indian Ocean. No clouds, so lots of stars.
OCT 3
Today we took the 7 AM ferry to Dar es Salaam. We did not receive the best treatment. Foreigns definitely pay more and have to deal with more red tape. Upon arriving in Dar, we walked to the bus station to buy tickets for the 4th. Then we took a cab to our hotel, the Movenpick Royal Palm. After a month in guesthouses, it was nice to go to an actual hotel...a 4 star none the less. We had lunch and relaxed. Conor got an hour massage for $35 USD. I went to pick Tamara up at the airport. She had some trouble getting a Visa (they only take US Dollars...and it is $50), but we got the money and went back to the hotel. We ate a late dinner, had ice cream and some beers.
OCT 4
Woke up early and had a great buffet breakfast. It was included in the price of the room. Then it was the 10 hour bus ride to Arusha. It was a unique start, we left on time and the bus was half full! We made a few stops along the way, but the bus never filled up. One of the more enjoyable trips. The scenery was spectacular (Pare Mtns.). When we got to Arusha, a driver from our tour company (Good Earth) was there to meet us. He drove us to our hotel, Le Jacaranda (named after a tree with a purple flower). It was nice and clean and had a good resturant. We ate dinner there and met with our travel representative. It was early to bed because we were to start our Kili climb the next day.
OCT 5
The first day of the climb. We ate breakfast (buffet), got our remaining gear (sleeping bags, fleece pants, headlamps,boots, etc.) and boarded a mini bus headed for the mountain. Along the way, the guide picked up his team of porters for the trip. It was 2 hour drive to the registration. Here we signed in and picked up the rest of our team. In total there 10 guys to support the three of us. There were porters, a cook, and 2 guides. They carried all of our gear (except we each kept a backpack for water, rain jacket, etc.). We then drove to our trailhead. We were to take the Rongai route. It started on the drier, northern side (Kenyan side) of the mountain. The start was on the boarder, so we did not go to Kenya. We started hiking at 3 PM and went for 3 hours to our camp (first cave). We started at an elevation of about 4800 ft. The trail and camp was not empty. There were 2 other groups, so we were never out of sight of a hiker or porter...and this was the least traveled route on the mountain. The hike started in a pine forest and then the trees got scrubbier as we went. At first there were kids asking for money or pens or anything, but they were soon passed as we went along. We camped in tents and had our own dining tent for meals. It was not roughing it, but the trail was dusty, only pit toilets and it was going to be 6 days. As soon as the sun went down we were in bed.
# posted by Adam @ 10:03 AM 
