Mexico City, Zihuatenejo - December 2016

Rather than spend Christmas in Sacramento we (Nancy, Erica, Joe and Arden) decided to spend Christmas in Mexico.  We spent 4 days in Mexico City and then 4 days on the coast in Zihuatanejo.  As usual we all traveled different routes, myself arriving late on Saturday night from London via Houston.  A bit of a long trip but I survived.  

For the first couple of nights we were in a hotel in the La Condesa area of Mexico City.  A nice neighborhood to the south west of the old part of town (Centro Historico). 

After a much needed sleep, the others were going out to Teotihuacan to visit the pyramids there.  As I had visited the site a few years earlier and as it is quite a drive out of the city, I decided not to go and stayed back in the city.  I wanted to visit the Anthropology and Art Museums on the edge of Chapultepec Park which was quite nearby our hotel.

The La Condesa neighborhood is quite nice and it is pleasant and safe to walk around.  The first stop for me was the Museum of Modern Art.  It is in a nice corner of the larger Chapultepec Park with some nice sculptures in the surrounding area.  The gallery itself was not that impressive - not so much a permanent collection but three or four exhibits by people I hadn’t heard of and to be honest wasn’t overly impressed by.  I am sure at times it has good exhibits.

Interior Courtyard of National Museum of Anthropology

I moved on up the road to the National Museum of Anthropology.  This is quite a large museum in an impressive building with a wonderful interior courtyard with gardens and a fountain.  The building was more memorable for me than the exhibits.  The exhibits are wonderful but there are so many of them from every era of human development in Mexico that after a while I was overwhelmed and couldn’t tell my pre-Columbian from my Toltec from my Aztec or Mayan.  It was just overwhelming to take it all in in one visit.

Los Voladores de Papantia

After leaving the museum I wandered around and found these costumed guys spinning around a large 150ft pole suspended by ropes around their the feet.  They were upside down and slowly rotating and descending while all the time one guy was beating a small drum and playing a flute (and rotating upside down).  I found out later that they are the Voladores de Papantla - their performances are on the internet.  It looked a bit contrived for the tourists and visiting Mexicans, but everyone, including me, enjoyed it.

Ladder with Pink Balloon

Moving on I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art (or the Museo Tamayo as it is also known as).  This was smaller and a much nicer space than the previous art museum with a great collection.  Lots of stuff that I really liked and just the right size to cover without getting an aching back, which usually afflicts me in larger art galleries.  I was mistaken by the ladder leaning against the wall, thinking it was some maintenance going on, when actually it is “Ladder with Pink Balloon” by a Mr Ortega.  I didn’t notice the small pink balloon at the top of the ladder.  I could truly have created that piece.

Angel of Independence

I walked back into town along the impressive Paseo de la Reforma past the Fountain of Diana the Hunter and the statue of the Angel of Independence.  It is likely one of the more important streets in the city and it’s as impressive as any major street in any modern capital.  Back to the hotel I walked alongside the old relic of the Aztec Aqueduct that runs along Avenida Chapultepec.

The next day was Monday - a day when most museums, galleries and the like are closed in Mexico City.  So faced with that we thought we would walk through the large park - Chapultepec Park - that was adjacent to our neighbourhood.  That was easier said than done and we walked quite a ways only to find that the park also was closed on Monday (unless you were a cycle commuter and then you had access for your commute).  The next mission was a market so we Ubered over to the Coyoacan Market and wandered around there for a while.  Uber turned out to be a great service for traveling around Mexico City - no fussing with money, no wondering if you are being taken by a circuitous route, no worry about unmetered taxis, no security worries as the driver is clearly identifiable and visible to you and the entire world - and what is more, it is incredibly cheap.

Coyoacan Market

A nice church in Coyoacan, the Parroquia de San Juan Batista (parish church of San Juan Batista I think) with wonderful paintings and a gilded altar.  The Catholic Church certainly does a nice job of creating a peaceful cool retreat from the bustle of the city outside.

Parroquia de San Juan Batista

We had checked out of our hotel earlier in the day and in the afternoon we Ubered over to another hotel in the Centro Historico.  This was the Gran Hotel de la Ciudad on the Zocalo square.  A hotel we had stayed in before on a previous trip to Mexico.  This is a beautiful old building, once a very fine department store now converted to a hotel.  In the old part of the town which was built on an old lake bed there is a lot of subsidence and buildings lean and tilt.  One of our rooms was noticeably on an angle and it was an uphill hike to the bathroom.  The hotel also has a wonderful stained glass roof that is worth visiting the hotel just to see it.

Stained Glass Ceiling of the Gran Hotel de Ciudad

The Zocalo Square was all decked out in its Christmas finery with lights on all the surrounding building, a huge fake Christmas tree, an ice skating rink and some sort of ice slide that you slid down in a big rubber inner tube (that looked like a lot of fun).

Zocalo and Cathedral at Christmas

In the late afternoon we walked down Avenida Madero, the pedestrian precinct off the Zocalo, which even on a Monday was thronged with people.  We had cocktails and beers in the Casa de los Azulejos (House of the Blue Tiles) which is now occupied by a Sanborns restaurant and store.  There is a very nice mural by Orozco in the stairwell by the entrance to the toilets - what a wonderful building.

The Orozco Mural in the Casa de los Azulejos

On the way back to the hotel we stumbled across a bakery - the Pasteleria Ideal.  What a wonderful place.  There are piles of cakes and buns everywhere and the way it works is you pick up a large tray and a pair of tongs and then help yourself to whatever you need.  Then you go to a counter where a lady itemizes your selection and gives you a ticket.  You take the ticket to a cashier and pay and then return to find your purchases wrapped or boxed ready for you to carry home.  The whole wrapping procedure is done with such skill and efficiency that it is worth a visit to see that operation even if you don’t really like the Mexican pastries - which some of our party were not too impressed with (admittedly they sometimes look better than they taste).  To add to the delights of the bakery there was an exhibit of elaborate iced cakes on the second floor.

Cake Exhibit at Pasteleria Ideal

The next day we visited the Cathedral on the Zocalo - a very impressive building indeed.  I always enjoy visiting the old colonial churches and sitting in the cool and quiet while marveling at the ornateness and the scale of the wealth of artifacts everywhere you look.  The full name of the church is the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven and it is the largest cathedral in the Americas.

Roof of the Metropolitan Cathedral

While the ladies went to Mass in the Cathedral, the heathen men walked around the city.  We returned after the Mass and we all took the Bell Tower tour of the Cathedral.  We had done this before and it provides a wonderful view of the old city.  You are taken up a spiral stone staircase up to the rooftop level and get to hear a little history of the bells installed in the various towers.  Then you get to wander around on the domed roof for a while.  It is remarkable that you can walk on the top of this roof that must be quite old (parts of the cathedral were built in the 16th Century), even more remarkable when the building is on a subsiding lake bed in a known earthquake zone.

Diego Rivera Mural in the Palacio de Bellas Artes

Moving on we were going to visit the Palacio National, also on the Zocalo square, where there are some fine Diego Rivera murals.  Alas this was not to be the case as the Palace was closed for some official function -  police and men in suits were everywhere.  So on we walked by a circuitous route to the Palacio de Bellas Artes.  This is another fine building - Art Nouveau on the outside and Art Deco on the inside.  It is noted for its fine murals by Diego Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros and others.  Diego repainted here a mural similar to the one he did for the Rockefeller’s in New York and which they took offense to and destroyed - lots of communist icons - Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, etc.

The Zocalo at night

In the evening we dined at a restaurant behind the Cathedral, La Casa de las Sirenas with some friends from Sacramento (the Wassermans) who were also visiting the city.  The Zocalo Square was quite splending when lit up at night.

The next morning we left the city for the coast.  Another Uber to the airport and a short one hour flight to Zihuatanejo (a smallish resort south of Ixtapa).  The cold that had been haunting me since I arrived in Mexico was now taking hold and I welcomed the chance for a more restful beach location, though the heat and humidity were not so welcome.

View of the bay at Zihuatanejo

Alas there was no Uber in Zihuatanejo so we took a very expensive taxi from the airport to the place we were renting. The place we were staying was an Airbnb that was on the hill behind the town.  It was a beautiful condominium with three levels, three bedrooms, a small infinity pool on the top level and a great view of the bay below. 

We spent 4 days here, including Christmas Day, returning to the USA on Boxing Day.  We spent a fair amount of time on the beach and in the ocean with the occasional trip into town and a trip to a nearby beach that turned out to be not quite as good as the beach in town.  While I was suffering from a cold I spent most mornings in the cool of the condominium reading by the pool while everyone else went off to wander around town.  A nice few days rest even if I wasn’t feeling well.
Many more photos are here.

Safari in Tanzania - July 2016

Following our epic climb up Kilimanjaro we (Nancy, Erica, Arden and myself), went on a 4 day Safari in Tanzania.  We were in Moshi after our climb and with barely time to rest the next morning we left for the Kilimanjaro Airport to catch our flight to Lake Manyara.  It was a toss up whether the flight made any sense for us as the flight was a couple of hours late and the distance to Manyara was only about a 3 hours drive.  Still we took the small prop plane (Coastal Aviation) for the 30 minute flight out to Manyara.  

The airport at Manyara was perched on top of the escarpment of the African Rift Valley.  At the airport we were met by our guide for the trip, Elias.  The entire trip was organized through the group Tusker but they sub-contracted the safari portion out to a company call Hoopoe Safaris. Again we were alone on the safari, just the four of us. We had a Toyota Land Cruiser with 4 seats in the back and a pop-up top to facilitate the wildlife viewing.  From the airport we set off down to Lake Manyara National Park - a small park in the valley below the Rift escarpment surrounding Lake Manyara.  

Our Guide - Elias

Our African Safari wildlife viewing started with the most uninspired of sightings - a local freshwater crab - barely visible beneath a rock in a small stream bed.  It was not what we were expecting in the way of African wildlife but, of course, that was only the start.  It got better as we progressed, very much better  Animals were everywhere - lots of baboons, warthogs, elephants, giraffes, and antelope - progress was slow as we seemed to stop at every turn to observe something new.  We watched an elephant destroy a tree - a wonderful animal but what damage they can cause to the vegetation.  

We had a packed lunch in a small picnic area alongside what appeared to be a Mormon family doing missionary work locally - that's just what Tanzania needs. One of that party was a young girl with blue hair - I made a wise-crack about spotting a blue haired human - which at least I found funny. Carrying on the tradition from the mountain, there was way too much food in the packed lunch.

Olive Baboon

We went out to Lake Manyara and saw lots of interesting birds - Yellow-billed Storks in great numbers, the weird looking Hamerkop, the beautiful little bee-eater.  To the ladies annoyance the guide discovered I had a love of birds and so he would stop for every single bird in sight. I loved it but I think the ladies would perhaps have liked to pass by some of those more mundane sightings.

Bee-eater

We had a long day traveling around the park and we were all quite tired by the time we left for our hotel/camp. It was a great first day and, despite the freshwater crab, a great introduction to the wildlife of East Africa.

As we left the park we drove up the side of the escarpment and then headed off the highway for a few miles of dirt road to reach our hotel for the night - the Kirurumu Lodge.  Although the lodge was a long way off the main road it was quite luxurious - perched on the edge of the Rift Valley escarpment with great views and wonderful individual cabins.  We availed ourselves of a beer as the sun set and then had dinner in the restaurant.  It was a pretty good meal by Tanzanian standards though we were “treated” during the meal to the local Masai tribesmen doing a song and dance routine - basically a lot of chanting with each Masai taking turns to spring up vertically in the air.   They like to jump, the Masai.  I struggle with those kind of local ethnic displays just for visiting tourists - they are so artificial.

Next morning we had the chance to walk around the bush area adjacent to the hotel.  We followed our Masai guide as we walked on a loop for a couple of miles.  The area is sparsely populated but we did walk through a family’s small homestead - pretty basic mud huts and dirt floors, a huge way away from the luxury that we had stayed in the previous night which physically was just around the corner.

How the other 95% live

After our hike we continued on to the Ngorongoro Crater (via the town of Karatu).  At the entrance gate to Ngorongoro there were 20 or 30 similar Land Cruisers all doing their permitting and paperwork for entry to the park.  It took quite a while for Elias to sort things out so we had plenty of time to kill observing the other human species waiting alongside us.  I actually met someone I recognised from Sacramento - Michael Carrol (someone I had run with some 10 or 15 years ago).  It is a small world.

Cape Buffalos

On gaining entry to the park we drove around the east side of the crater before descending down into the crater at the Lemala Ranger Post.  Once down on the floor of the crater we were treated to all sorts of wonderful sights - Grant’s Gazelles, Hartebeests, Wildebeests, Cape Buffalo, Thompson’s Gazelles, Elands, Bushbucks, Waterbucks, Ostriches, and way in the distance a Black Rhino.   Everywhere you looked there was something interesting to see.

Wildebeest

We saw our first lions - a small group of them lying around on the ground paying no attention to anything or anyone around them - apparently totally oblivious to our presence though I didn’t want to test that.  The males are quite lazy and the females are the more active ones who look after the kids and get the food. At this point we got a flat tire and Elias skillfully set about changing it. I wandered around outside under the pretense of watching for lions while Elias was busy changing the tire. The lions weren't interested in us, there being much easier (and likely tastier) prey wandering all around.

Lioness and Cubs

We stopped for lunch near a small lake where we saw hippos or at least hippopotamus noses and eyes as the popped up from time to time to take in air.   After lunch we spotted more lions, this time a lioness with a couple of cubs - very cute.

Grey Crowned Cranes

The birds of course were spectacular too - Grey-crowned Cranes, Kory Bustards, a Sacred Ibis, the most wonderful Superb Starling, Shrikes, Rollers, Weaver Birds, etc.  The list was long.

The appropriately named Superb Starling

We drove around for the rest of the afternoon seeing more wonderful things - Giraffes, Elephants, Jackals, Hyenas….

An old solitary Elephant

At the end of the day we headed up the west side of the crater wall to our camp for the night, the Kirurumu Pakulala Tented Camp.  This was a more primitive camp than the previous night and everything was housed in large green tents - it looked like a military camp.  However, the facilities were great - each tent had a bed and then at the back a shower, toilet and washbasin.  If you wanted a shower they would heat up water and then someone would pour it into a tank behind the tent so that you had running warm water.  The person would then wait dutifully by the back of the tent in case you needed more water. We were the only 4 in the entire camp, leaving us to wonder how they make money.

The food also was pretty good - a nice 3 course dinner.  As night fell it got quite cold.  I think we were at around 7,500 ft on the crater rim.  Fortunately for us when we got to our tents we found we had hot water bottles in our beds - one of the most comfortable and cosy nights I had spent for a long time.

Oldupai Gorge

After breakfast the next morning we headed out towards the Oldupai Gorge where Dr. Leakey found traces of early man (Oldupai is the correct spelling but because of some mistake many many years ago it is often referred to in the west as Olduvai Gorge).  At the Oldupai Gorge they were in the process of building up a more substantial visitor center but there was a fairly primitive museum and a viewing area.  The discoveries they made there are, of course, quite amazing but the site is not all that spectacular and the museum was pretty basic.  They had a plaster cast of a section of fossilized footprints of the early hominids and that was quite remarkable but the exhibit of the Japanese man’s bicycle on which he retraced the steps of early man as he spread around the world - that we could have done without.  This is such an important site that they really need to do a better job.  Construction is going on so perhaps they are planning to do that.

Masaii Youth

We continued on to the Serengeti National Park.  At the entrance to the park, as before there was a long wait at the gate whilst our guide did the paperwork to gain entry.  The entry to the park is on the main road through the park from Arusha to Lake Victoria.  This must have been the road I crossed by bus back in 1973 when I was traveling in the area - it is still a dirt road but the buses looked a little better than the ones I rode in. I do remember being in the front seat of the bus next to the driver with a great view of the plain and all the animals wandering around. That was an epic trip.

Elephants

In the Serengeti we had even more wonderful sights - more elephants (groups of 40 or 50 of them), giraffes, leopards, lions, elands, topis, dikdiks, hippos, Thompson’s gazelles everywhere and, of course, a wonderful array of birds.

Giraffe - the most elegant mover

The camp for the night was the Kirurumu Serengeti Camp.  This was on a site called Moru 5 - there are a series of Moru sites around a region in the south of the park and they rotate the camps among these sites so that they don’t overuse a particular area.   Again it was a tented site with the same bed in front, shower, toilet and washbasin in back.  Again we were the only 4 people in camp.

We enjoyed a beer by the campfire watching the sun go down over the plain.  The camp was located among rocks, in a rocky rise called a kopje, and was really quite wonderful.  Since there were wild animals around the folks that ran the camp made a big deal about getting escorted from our accommodation tents to the dining tent and not to go wandering around in the bush.  We thought this was a bit overly dramatic as the distances were not too far.  However, in the night you could hear lions roaring somewhere out there and that made us more wary.

Zebras

Next morning we got up early and set off at sunrise to see what we could see at that time of day.   We did see a couple of cheetahs stalking some antelope up a hillside.  They were being backed up by hyenas following along to see what action they might get involved in.   As far as we could tell, it was not a successful hunt.

Leopard lazing in a tree

One way of spotting leopards in trees is to look for their tails. These hang straight down in a fashion that clearly distinguishes them from the branches of the tree. Otherwise their camouflage is pretty effective.

While driving alongside a small river bed, we did spot quite a rare cat - a serval.  The serval looked like a rather large house cat crawling in the reeds and grasses at the water’s edge.  He or she was very well camouflaged.  Apparently they can jump over 6 ft and pounce on their prey.  They are quite secretive and we watched for quite some time but he/she wouldn’t show him/herself again.

There were new birds too today - the scary looking secretary bird, the colorful hoopoe, and the equally colorful and quite majestic saddle-billed stork.

Secretary Bird

Saddle Billed Stork

We stopped for a packed lunch/breakfast on top of a large kopje overlooking the plains below.  Again there was so much food we couldn’t even get close to finishing it all.  I bumped into Michael Carrol again here - I guess we are all following pretty much the same route through the parks.

Lioness

In the afternoon we saw more of the same large animals - elephants, giraffes, Thompson’s gazelles, etc.  The most impressive thing on the bird front was a pair of brightly colored Lovebirds - they were spectacularly beautiful.

Lovebirds

We headed back to camp for a siesta before taking another trip out in the late afternoon/evening.  We didn’t see anything new on this trip but we were still excited to see the elephants, giraffes, gazelles, antelopes, etc.  We were also getting much better at identifying the various antelope varieties and the birds.

Lions lazing in the shade

Later that night a solo American joined our camp - we had first bumped into him on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro where he appeared to be struggling a bit.  We found out later that he had never camped or hiked before in his entire life - he just jumped right in at the deep end and went up Kilmanjaro - that may be foolish but you have to admire it.

We were woken the next morning early with the news that a rhinoceros had been seen near our camp so we all piled into the Land Cruiser and went off in search of it.  We prowled around for an hour or so but the rhino must have gone into hiding and we didn’t see it.   During our stay the rhinoceros was the only large animal that we didn’t get a close look at.  We saw one far away in the distance in Ngorongoro but we never saw one close up.

Back in camp for breakfast we were startled by the waiter scurrying into the dining tent shouting “Lion, Lion”.  We all jumped up as a lioness casually strolled between the dining tent and the kitchen tent and through our camp site.  It was within 10 feet of us but it didn’t seem to pay any attention to us at all.  We, on the other hand, were transfixed and hardly took a breath until it exited into the brush.  Apparently they did not have a gun in camp and I suppose they just figured there were more of us than a solitary lion could handle and there were certainly much easier food sources for the lion out there on the plain.  The camp attendant's desire to accompany us as we moved around camp now made much more sense.

A Leopard munching on a Thompson's Gazelle

This third day in the Serengeti was to be our last.  We drove to the north-central part of the park.  Again all the usual suspects were abundant.  We did stumble across a leopard up a tree with a freshly killed Thompson’s gazelle.  The leopard was making a meal out of the poor gazelle and seemed to be totally oblivious to our presence below the tree.  I took lots of gory pictures of the leopard shredding the gazelle’s carcass - this is really life on the African plane - for many animals it is a dangerous existence with often gruesome and fatal consequences.

The Hippo Pool

The Hippo Pool

We visited a pool where there were simply dozens and dozens of hippos.  They were all lying side by side in this shrinking pool of muddy stinking water snorting and flicking their tails to wash water over their backs (presumably to keep them cool and insect free).  The whole place was quite smelly but what an amazing sight.  The hippo’s tail is apparently quite strong and muscular.  It is quite short relative to its body but with it the animal can flick water over its entire body.

Bateleur Eagle

The coolest bird of the day was the colorful and impressive Bateleur Eagle.  

In the middle of the afternoon we headed for the airstrip near Seronera  to catch our flight back to Kilimanjaro.  Not far from the airstrip was a visitor center/museum that had a display of life on the plains and the various stages of the annual migration routes.  After you have seen the real thing we didn’t really feel that the museum was that inspiring.  The museum was also a little shabby and run down.  We could have passed that up.

Airport at Seronera, Serengeti

At the airstrip there were a couple of small planes (one of them a flying doctor taking a patient to hospital somewhere).  We boarded our Coastal Airways plane (a single prop Cessna) for our 1 hour flight back to Kilimanjaro.  Before we took off, a jeep drove down the dirt runway to make sure there were no animals in the area that could interfere with our take off.

At Kilimanjaro airport we were again met by the Tusker representative and driven back to our hotel in Moshi, the Bristol Cottages.  We dined in the hotel that night and didn’t really feel like going out on the town (there’s not much town to go out on anyway).

The next day we really only had the morning to wander around before the ladies left on an afternoon flight (Qatar Airlines through Doha).  I had a later flight just after midnight (Turkish Airlines through Istanbul).  We did have a fine coffee and cake at the Union Coffee Shop.  Perhaps the best place we found to just hang out in Moshi.

It was a wonderful safari, it was a wonderful Kilimanjaro climb, and we were all very happy with our Tusker tour company and their sub-contractor for the safari Hoopoe Safaris.  I won’t be back to climb Kilimanjaro but I would come back to explore more of Tanzania.  

There are more photos of the safari here and if you want more birds their photos are here.

Mt. Kilimanjaro Climb - July 2016

In mid-July 2016 we took a trip to Tanzania with the goal of climbing Kilimanjaro and then following it up with a more relaxing safari in the Serengeti.  The “we” were Nancy, her two daughters, Erica and Arden and myself.  We signed up for the trip with a tour company (Tusker) who were based in the USA, in Truckee, California of all places, just a few miles up the road from Sacramento.  We didn't choose them because they were close to home, we chose them because they could provide a trip that fit all our timing needs. We were extremely happy with the company and would certainly recommend them to anyone heading that direction.

I had always wanted to climb Kilimanjaro ever since an aborted attempt to climb it by myself in 1973. I have no doubt that my earlier attempt would have been destined for failure even if the police had not taken me off the mountain for failing to get the required permits and engage guides and porters. I was seriously ill equipped for such a climb at that time but then I had youth on my side.  This time I no longer had youth working for me but I was a better prepared equipment-wise and at least fully permitted.

I flew out from the USA early to spend a week in the UK before traveling down to Tanzania. Then after I had recovered from jet lag, I flew from London to Tanzania via Istanbul. I arrived in Istanbul a week after the terrorist bombing at the airport.  All appeared to be business as usual when I landed in Istanbul and there were no problems with the transfer to my Tanzanian flight.  I flew into Kilimanjaro International Airport which is the airport positioned between Arusha and Moshi that serves the safari and Kilimanjaro climbing industry in Tanzania (that industry is a significant earner for the Tanzanian economy).  I landed in the middle of the night and patiently joined the queue to get my $100 visa to enter the country.  $100 is, of course, a significant cost but I checked the tourist visa requirements for a Tanzanian visiting the US and for them there is a $160 application fee and an interview at the consulate is needed prior to issuance. That has to hurt way more than my $100 visa issued on entry at the airport.

With my visa in order and despite the early hour I was met outside the airport by the tour company representative who whisked me off to my hotel in Moshi (the quite adequate but not too luxurious Parkview Hotel).  

Moshi is the closest large town near to the base of the mountain and it appears to be the location for all the Kilimanjaro climbing tour companies, of which there are many.  It is not a particularly pretty town, being a bit shabby and dusty, though it is quite bustling with activity.  The center of town can be walked in an hour or so. I walked around the old railway station but alas the train doesn't run there anymore. It was encouraging to see churches, mosques, and hindu temples all within close proximity of each other - Tanzania so far appears to be one of the more stable countries in Africa.

Moshi Market

Nancy, Erica and Arden came in via Qatar the next afternoon (Sunday).  We had a quiet evening as they wrestled with their jet lag after a very long flight from the west coast of the US and we spent most of the time trying to get our equipment organized.  Climbing a mountain from tropical rain forest up to snow capped peak requires a lot of different clothing and equipment, not to mention all the additional gear for a follow on safari.  We all had a lot of stuff to sort out.

The next day Monday, our guides for the climb (Elyakim and Stanford) came over and gave us a briefing on what to expect on the mountain.  They checked out our gear in great detail to make sure we had everything we would need.  Any items we didn’t have could then be hired or purchased in Moshi. In the afternoon, we wandered around town some more and in the evening we had a meal at a "reasonable" Italian restaurant (you don't come to Tanzania for the food) before retiring for the night.  If the truth be known, we were all a bit anxious about our ability to complete the climb - 19,000ft is not an insignificant altitude and from Moshi the mountain looked absolutely immense.

Machame Gate - start of the trail

Tuesday morning we set off early for the trail head.  We were climbing the Machame Route - a 7 day trip that allows a reasonable amount of time to acclimatize on the ascent.   We would be 6 days climbing up, and then 1.5 days coming down. The downhill route is a much shorter and more direct route.  When we arrived at the trailhead it was drizzling with rain so we geared up with our wet weather clothing and anxiously awaited our depart while our guides did all the paperwork at the Park office. There were several other groups starting at the same time and all of which looked better equipped than we did.  

I was surprised to find that for our group of 4 people we had another 24 individuals assisting us - 2 guides, a cook, a waiter, a camp manager, a safety guy (who carried a stretcher and inflatable pressure bag), and 18 porters.  It seems excessive but apparently it is quite normal.  All we carried ourselves was a day pack with extra clothing, water, food for the day, and whatever we needed until we got to camp.  The porters carried everything else along with food, water, tents, etc. Each porter could carry a load not exceeding 25 kilos (55lbs) and each of their loads was weighed as we left the trailhead.

On the trail in the Rainforest Zone - Elyakim, Nancy, Arden, Erica

The first day’s hiking was not the best - we were in the rain forest and it was misty and dripping with rain so we were warm and damp as we climbed.  Being in the forest, there were no real views and the trail was uphill the entire day.  There was never any respite for the relentless uphill slog.  It was however a reasonable grade and the trail itself though quite slick in parts was very well maintained and surprisingly clean considering all the traffic it gets.

We stopped for a box lunch and had our first introduction to the quantity of food we were going to be presented with on the climb. One of the philosophies of our tour company was that a well fed and well hydrated climber has a better chance of making it to the top so we always had plenty of food available to us. We probably only ate half of the packed lunch.

There was some question about the distance we had to cover the first day - one map said 18 km and another said 11 km. Thankfully, I think it was more like 11 km but we were  walking for about 6 hours which was quite enough for the first day.  As we got higher we got out of the damp forest and the rain stopped making it a lot more pleasant.  Arriving in the first camp, Machame Camp, we found it to be quite crowded and busy.   There were a lot of groups each with a lot of tents and we were all quite tightly spaced.  Our group of tents were very good - a couple of 2 man tents for ourselves, another 2 man for our guides, a cook tent, a dining tent, a toilet tent (essential) and then a few larger tents for the porters - all expedition grade equipment.  

Machame Camp

We were now above the cloud level and as the clouds cleared from around the mountain in the early evening we could see the summit ahead of us.  It looked very, very high and a long, long way away.  We had started from the trailhead at 5,900 ft and the Machame Camp was at 9,300 ft - 3,400 ft of gain.

DInner was served and we had the first of our wonderful meals on the trail.  We always had a 3 course dinner with a very excellent soup course, a meat based main course and some sort of desert.  Our cook who went by the name of Tosha did an excellent job in the cook tent with just a couple of propane burners.

Paella - one of the fine food offerings every night

After dinner our guides gave us a briefing on what to expect the next day and then proceeded to check our health.  Each night and morning they measured our blood oxygen content and listened to our lungs and asked a bunch of questions about how we felt.  That gave us a bit of confidence in that we were still healthy enough to proceed.  I should also say that by this time we were all taking Diamox to aid in the symptoms of altitude sickness.  We were also taking Malarone for Malaria as Moshi is a malarial area.  The Diamox makes you pee a lot, not an easy thing at night in a tent, and the Malarone makes you have weird dreams.

The next morning we were the last out of camp and the previously crowded camp was almost deserted by the time we left, just a few porters packing up the remains of their equipment.  The porters then rushed on ahead to pitch camp at the next level while we continued upwards at a more leisurely pace on what was a fairly pleasant trail.  They called this the heather zone - low scrub and bushes and a bit more open than the lower rain forest zone.  It was of course up the whole way.  

Shira Cave Camp

We again were pretty tired when we reached our camp for the night - Shira Cave Camp.  The day's hike was about 5 km and the elevation gain was 3,000 ft up to the 12,300 ft. level.  The air was getting thinner all the time.  Nancy had a few issues early on in the day with nausea that were perhaps related to one of the medications, but other than that we were all feeling pretty good.  

The Lava Tower

Day 3 on the trail took us up to the Lava Tower, a plug of lava that is quite a landmark.  Lava Tower Camp is at 15,100 ft and it was the highest any of us had ever been.  Surprisingly we were all feeling fine - no headaches, no nausea, just a little out of breath.  We reached the Lava Tower at lunchtime and our cook had set up shop to provide us with a wonderful lunch of soup and pork fajitas.  The food was really very, very good, but, instead of taking a nap after lunch, we had to press on to the next camp for the night - not so easy on a full stomach.  Lava Tower was the highest point for the day and the afternoon’s hike to Barranco Camp was mostly downhill to 12,800 ft.   Barranco was a very nice campsite with plenty of space and magnificent views of the mountain.  The mountain still looked a long way away and it was very, very high.

On the Trail

Each night at camp we had to sign into the register at the warden’s office.  You had to enter your name, country of origin, guide name, trekking company, etc and your age.   Each night I checked to see who was the oldest on the mountain - it was me, and Nancy was the oldest female.  I don’t know if that’s something to be proud of or not. Shouldn't we know better by our age.

View from Barranco Camp

Next day (Day 4) the way out of Barranco Camp was up the Barranco Wall.  This was perhaps the most technical bit of the entire climb.  It was a scramble up the steep side of a cliff.  The hand and foot holds were large and there were plenty of them but you did have to pay attention.  Of course the porters all made it up the Wall with no problems while carrying heavy loads on their heads or shoulders - no fancy packs for them just big duffel bags or baskets - and no fancy boots or clothing either - most were clad in cast offs from earlier foreign climbers.

Scrambling up the Barranco Wall

This day was relatively short, only 6 km and other than the Barranco Wall not too much up hill.  There were lots of the weird and wonderful trees and plants along the way - the Senecio Kilimanjari, the giant lobelias, the pretty white straw flowers whose name I do not know.  

Senecio Kilimanjari

We all welcomed the early sighting of our next camp, Karanga Camp, in the near distance only to find that we had to scramble down a deep and steep valley and up the other side before we reached our tents.  A perfect place for a zip line across the valley. Karanga Camp was at 13,100 ft. and was another more spacious camp but still with intimidating views of the summit looming in the distance.  We were all feeling fairly breathless by now but we had no other ill-effects of the altitude like headaches or nausea.

The view from Karanga Camp - its still a long way up

Our guides made a big deal about being well hydrated and were always chiding us to drink.  They wanted us to consume 3 to 4 liters of water each day.  That is a gallon of water and that is a lot to consume.  I would try and slug down a liter at breakfast and the a couple on the trail and maybe half a liter at night.  Rarely did I succeed in the full amount. That and the diuretic effects of the Diamox did not bode well for an uninterrupted night's sleep in the tent and the simple act of getting out of the sleeping bag and tent at that altitude left me breathless.

Aristide, always followed us with the stretcher and pressure bag

The next day (Day 5) was a short day only 3.5 km up to Barafu Camp at 15,300 ft.  This would be our highest camp and the next day we would attempt the summit.  We had been having doubts as to whether we could make the summit as it always looked so distant and high but as we were still altitude symptom free we were feeling somewhat optimistic when we arrived in Barafu.  That is until Arden started feeling ill - headaches, nausea, feeling like she might pass out.  She was not having fun and she did not look good.  The guides brought her into the warmth of the cook tent and gave her oxygen and we tried to console her but she was obviously troubled.  That night Nancy slept in Arden and Erica’s tent leaving me all alone and frankly I did not think Arden would continue up the next day.

From Barafu Camp it was still a long way away

The reason that Day 5 was a short hike was that many or even most people ascend to the summit in the night to arrive on top as the sun rises.  We had decided earlier not to do that and ascend in the daytime, and with Arden not feeling well it only reinforced that decision.  I did get up in the middle of the night and saw a long stream of lights making their way up the hill.  That was a wonderful sight from down below, but I don’t think that the sunrise on the top would be much different to sunrise at 15,000 ft and the cold and dark climb could not be all that pleasant.

On day 6, the summit day we were due to get going on the trail by 6:00 am and to my surprise everyone was feeling, if not perfect, at least better than the night before so the summit was on for all of us.  It was still dark and cold as we got ready to leave and the sun came up just as we left camp.  It was a steady fairly steep uphill climb and we were walking slowly, very slowly, taking breaks every hour.  With the altitude and the steep climb it was so easy to get completely breathless and so slow and steady was the only way to do it.  The swahili for slowly was “pole pole” and it became the mantra as we ascended.   Around 9 or 10 we saw the first people descending the mountain. Presumably they had made it to the top for sunrise, though there was at least one poor man who was moving very slowly down and he looked terrible - perhaps he abandoned the quest before the summit.  I saw a statistic after I got home that said only 64% of 7 day climbers reached the top.  That number seems a little low but obviously there are those that don’t make it.

On the way to the Summit from Barafu Camp

The steep part of the climb to the summit finishes at the rim of the crater, a point called Stella Point which is at 18,900 ft. I guess I hadn’t been paying attention to how far we had climbed so it came as a complete surprise when we popped out at the crater's edge.  From there it was a gentle rise for about a kilometer to the summit at 19,300 ft.  Arden was again not feeling great so a little oxygen was administered to get her to the summit.

On the Summit - 19300ft

When we got to the top there was only one other group of three climbers there so there was no waiting to get summit photos like there must be for the sunrise summit.  I heard there might be 30 or 40 people there queuing up for photos in the early morning - not something I would want to do in the extreme cold. We snapped the required photos of us looking oh-so-happy and then really didn’t spend too much time at the summit.  It was 2:00 pm and we had a long way down ahead of us.  

The Snows of Kilmanjaro

There is certainly some snow and a few small glaciers at the summit though the amount of snow and ice is decreasing as the years go by. We didn’t have to walk on snow at all - the trail was completely clear.  The crater at the top is quite spectacular and there is even a camp in the bottom of the crater for the more adventurous climbers.   Not many people seem to stay there.  

On the way down my boots started to give me a bit of trouble and although the going was easy and quick it was a little painful for the feet.  The ladies were assisted on the way down by the porters and apparently this was quite a ride - they were each grabbed on the arm by a porter and then they both took off downhill at almost a running speed. I couldn't understand how quick they were moving, usually with my long legs I can get down quite fast but I could barely keep up.

When we arrived back in Barafu Camp, there was a celebratory welcome from all the guides and porters - a kind of song and dance routine.  All well and good but at that moment all I wanted to do was collapse in the tent.

After a small meal we were back on the road again by about 5:30 pm.  Onward downhill by a more direct route to the next camp - Millenium Camp at 12,500 ft.  That is quite a descent, some 7,000 ft in just a few hours.  On the way down we were passed by a stretcher party hurtling down the trail with an injured porter (not one of ours).  The stretchers with handles at either end and a wheel in the middle don’t look like they give you a smooth ride down but they certainly move fast.  We learned later that the injured ported had fallen while transporting water up the hill to his camp.  

It was dark when we came into Millenium Camp - our last camp on the mountain.  We were exhausted and probably would have collapsed into our tents but as usual they had prepared another meal for us.  When we did retire we were completely exhausted but quite pleased with our efforts.

Our Porters on the way down from Millenium Camp

The next morning (Day 7) we had the usual fine breakfast and then left for the trailhead and our transportation back to Moshi.  We passed into the Tropical Rainforest zone and things got damp again but it wasn’t cold enough to make me put on waterproofs.  On the way down we went through Mweka Camp where we were passed by the young Australian group on their descent.  We had seen these folks several times before on the way up and they were always a quite boisterous and fun group.  On the way down they were all clad in animal suits - zebras, lions, giraffes.  Very weird - how on earth did they have the room to pack those things up the hill and they certainly didn’t look like the most comfortable of hiking gear for the warm climate.

As we got lower down and closer to the trailhead, we did see some Blue Monkeys.  The only non-bird wildlife that we saw on the entire mountain.  As far as birds go, up higher, we were always accompanied in camp by the White Necked Ravens.  These impressive birds are great scavengers of the debris left behind after camp or after lunch on the trail.

Finished

At the gate, our entire porter team were there to welcome us once again.  We signed out at the Ranger Station and wearily climbed into our van for the short ride back to Moshi and the Bristol Cottages Hotel.  What a relief to shower and clean up.  What a great trip.  We were all feeling quite proud of our efforts.

Elyakim

Stanford

We are very grateful to our guides Elyakim and Stanford, our cook Tosha, our waiter Hassan, Aristide, our trusty safety guy who carried the stretcher at all times, our camp manager Charles and all the other anonymous porters that carried our load to the top and back.

On a more sobering note, we learned later that the day after we summited a young South African Rally Driver, Gugu Zulu, died while attempting the summit.  

Here are some more photos of the climb.