Day 4: out of the forest and into the dust.

Our second day started early as bladders needed to be emptied. We woke around 6am. Got set and headed to breakfast which today consisted of a floury porridge, egg and halal beef sausages with the usual copious helpings of tea.
We packed, loaded up on water and started trekking at around 0830. It was a misty start but after not too long, the vegetation thinned out and eventually we had better visibility too. The picture below shows what's supposed to be our very first view of the summit!


The most notable thing about this day of hiking is that it is very very dusty. The man made path is very dry and loose and so dust gets kicked up everywhere. To the point where it was seriously affecting Sabs asthma. After wrapping a scarf over her mouth she felt much better but for the rest of us, the dust filled our noses and made it very uncomfortable.



Today Ishtiaq, the oldest member of our group set of ahead of the rest of the group as he really struggled with the previous day. We trekked nearly 5 hours before lunch but we stopped at an official feeding station where our cook had prepared a hot lunch for us. It consisted of leek soup, fried chicken, boiled egg, bread, a cup cake and a juice. Very nice.



Here we also experienced a proper hole on the ground latrine too!



Finally after a good break, we plodded on pole pole for a couple of hours the effects of altitude were finally beginning to show as any over exertion got us feeling out of breath. A few people were also feeling the onset of a headache. But, whilst chatting and walking we made good pace and landed at Horombo hut.



None of the huts are just one building by the way; they are a cluster of many buildings including a registration office, a couple of mess tents, toilet blocks and 10 or 15 smaller huts which are all dorms. It's like a small climbers village with a great hustle and bustle of climbers, guides, porters and cooks.

We had the usual popcorn and tea for a refreshment with roasted peanuts as an extra. This was followed by our main meal which consisted of cucumber soup followed by pasta and the nicest beef sauce ever!

Most people pack in quite early. Ishtiaq who has really seen the effects of altitude and exhaustion tucked in very early, even without an evening meal, we all kept an eye on him.

After one final toilet break, I am also planning on hitting the sack... Or should that be bag?...



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Day 3: On the mountain

On the morning of the trek our schedule was strict. Have breakfast and bring luggage down before 0830 as that's when we leave the hotel. We all loaded up and set off. We made a few stops. First at MEM then at a couple of butchers. We drove for quite a while, maybe an hour or so, gradually ascending up and up on narrow winding roads. Finally we parked at Marangu gate which is the starting point of the Marangu (cocacola) route.
We were given our water and lunch box for the day ( beef burger with egg, fried chicken, banana and cake ) which looked delicious. We then headed to the registration office where we spent a good hour registering and waiting whilst our guides sorted stuff out.

Finally we set off and immediately headed into a forest track. It was quite level and had some gentle inclines along the way but was amazingly scenic. Mossy trees towered over the man made path and the whole route was easy going. Along the way, we caught sight of some monkeys in the trees jumping from one to the other and then at lunch time a mongoose and raven. We pressed on and finally reached the Mandara hut in the late afternoon.



It was very cosy and our dorm was above the main mess hall. After settling in, we were provided tea and popcorn... I lurve popcorn!
Not long after we had our meal which consisted of cucumber soup followed by roast potatoes cabbage fish and a vegetable broth. It was actually all very nice. We also met our cooks that evening.
We retired to our dorm for the evening and pondered on how to entertain ourselves. But ultimately we tucked in for an early night. Though it wasn't to be as a group of Irish climbers became very merry and had the loudest of sing songs. Adnaan had to clamber down the stairs and kindly request that they keep the noise down. I think they got the message and pack up for the night. And thus so did we. There was quite an orchestra of snoring in the night but some time in the early morning my bladder was the only cause of my disturbance...


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Day 2: There is something wrong

After the mammoth journey yesterday. We were thankful that we had a rest day before the climb. That to me meant sleeping to my hearts content. I woke at around 11.30 and jumped into the shower. I missed breakfast but I remembered the crackers I'd bagged from the flight and made a meal of them.



Luckily we managed to catch a fantastic cup of tea in the restaurant at the hotel. We then organised all our trekking gear and lay it out on the bed so that our guides could inspect it.
We had a meeting with them at around 1.30 in which we were introduced to Patrick, Dawus and Mahmoud, our guides. Our organiser Jackson held the briefing in which he told us just general stuff about the climb, what will be provided etc. The best thing I learnt was that the huts will have powerpoints. My blog might be saved!!



Mahmoud did our inspection. What a nice guy. He climbs Kili twice a month on average but others like Patrick climb more often. Our gear inspection went great. Mahmoud went through all of it and said "my god you are well prepared... You are ready to kill the Kili!"
Immediately after this. Me and Harune went to the MEM office where we finally met Mohammed O. Shabhay. He is an absolutely amazing chap. So warm hearted. We went to sort out our safari arrangements and Ishtiaq and Nasser joined us as they were also interested. However, they couldn't change their itinerary on flights. We however got our safari so that we drive out the same day we come off the mountain and also spend time in lodges. This way we get more game driving and we stay in better accommodation. Fantastic.

Tahseen and Adnaan had arranged something very special for the afternoon. A visit to an orphanage.

THE ORPHANAGE
We were supposed to meet up at 4pm but with the ridiculously slow service at the hotel restaurant, this got pushed to 5pm... We did order beef steak for lunch! We all set of and drove through some really run down areas till we reached what seemed like an educational compound. It was all well laid out inside with trees, gardens and play areas. We met Sulaiman the head of the orphanage who lead us to a group of girls sitting ouside one of the buildings. We sat down on some benches they set out for us.

We looked at them and they looked at us.

Adnaan who is experienced at visiting orphanages broke the ice. He gave them all salaam then asked various questions like 'do you all like it here?' and 'can anyone recite some Quran for us?' and toyed with them as to reciting long and short verses of the Quran. Then one of the girls started reciting in the most beautiful of voices. We were in awe. Then they sang some nasheeds in english, Arabic and Swahili!
We then went for a tour around the various buildings. On our way back, we spotted some girls playing skipping. The type with two girls swinging the rope and one jumping. We egged each other to go and join in. Eventually we all walked up and asked to join in. Ray was first up. It looked promising but all went tits up when he failed epically and didn't make one jump. Harune was up next and seriously dropped the gauntlet by making something like 50 jumps in a row! Safia was up next and did pretty well too. Then it was my turn. I missed on or two and it was looking pretty bad but then I made it... I was jumping the rope, it didn't last long but long enough for me to keep my credibility. We then decided to teach the a playground game... The hand clapping one. They took to it really well and it was great for bonding with the kids.

By this time, the rest of the group came back and joined in the fun. We gathered all the kids and took pictures. We then went to the car and bought out some books, pens, rice and stuff that we bought for the orphans. They took to the pens particularly well!

Finally we departed from the orphanage and most of us were quite emotional as we had learnt much from the trip. It really bought home the essence of what we were doing the trek for.

We got back freshened up and then went to get some food at the restaurant. All I have to say is that the service in Tanzania is exceptionally slow. But it's something beyond comprehension. We waited over one hour for our food which they cooked from scratch ( one steak for Harune and three spicy chicken wings for Sab, Ray and me) but when the food finally came out, it was cold. How does that happen?? it seemed as if they made the food after 40 minutes and then left it for 20 minutes before serving it.
The restaurant closes at 9 but by the time we finished out our food it was 10pm. Too late for a cup of tea according to the waitress but we got one of the cooks to make us some. She got told off by the waitress but we got out tea !

Some of us then retired to the top floor where there is a swing seat. We sat for quite some time chatting as we knew it was the last night of relaxation for some time. Finally at nearly 1am I am finishing my blog so that I can call it a night. Alarms are on for 7am so that we can start the first day on the mountain.

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Day 1: Crunch time

The day of days has arrived. I woke for morning prayer and stayed up. I treated myself to fried egg bread n beans and a quality cup of coffee. Then sorted out bits of paperwork. The kids rose for their first day at school so it was uniforms, lunches and breakfast... an old routine I really haven't missed for 6 weeks. I dropped them off, picked up Shaz and headed to her college for her enrolement then Asda for more photos but to no avail, the machine was dead.

I can't believe.. or actually I can. Me and Harune made a last mad dash into town to buy bits from Cotswold outdoors (waterproof bags and energy stuff). We also got money exchanged.

We had to dash back because our bro-in-law Tahir had taken time off work to bid us farewell. That done, I rushed home and finalised packing. Lo, Harunes friend came by around 4pm to pick me up. I bid farewell to my family as they weren't coming over to mumndads. As I got in the car, Ishaaq started his crying. It was heartbreaking to see but we had to go. We filled up with Petrol and checked tyre pressures etc and were off to the parents house.




There all my family awaited us. They weren't too happy about waiting a long tine but hey ho. We said a prayer and said our goodbyes. We were finally on our way... Oh after picking Mo up that is!

Obviously, leaving Birmingham at nearly 5pm meant that it was inevitable that we would get stuck in commuter traffic, but after grinning and bearing it for a while, we were full speed in the direction of Manchester Airport.

We were supposed to be there at 6pm. We got there at 7pm. We met the rest of the team, yes we were last. It was very good to finally put faces to names. Especially Adnaan.



[the rest I have to keep as brief as possible as sooo much happened... if you wanna know more, ask.]

We got through customs fine. Still did last bits of shopping boarded and set off.
Meals on board were great. I had a smoked salmon starter and massive lamb steak. We got to Dubai and went in the hunt for a Maccie D's. We all had a big Mac meal for breakfast.



We also picked up some Monte Christo and Romeo y julieta cigars. Back on track we boarded for Dar es Salaam. It was still Emirates but the plane was slightly older. Our lunch consisted of fish and rice or chicken and rice for Harune. I tried to get as many drinks down me as possible! Water, juice, coffee, tea and more water. Also my hopes for Arabic revision disintegrated as I watched Fast 5, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Greatest Movie Ever Made and some of Toy Story 3. We got to Dar es Salaam and it was amazing. We were finally in Africa! Dar es Salaam is a special one. There was a mad dash for the visas and as much as we planned. We were last in the queue!



We were walking through odd corridors and alley ways. It didn't look anything like an airport. At one point we walked straight into a police interrogation room!

We made our flight on time though. The plane was much much smaller this time on one of Tanzanias own airlines.



We got a can of drink and some cashews but the journey was only an hour or a bit longer.
We arrived in Kilimanjaro airport at night and had Tahseen meet us there. It was more or less a walk through as we didn't need to remove our boots at the check desks like every other time since leaving Manchester. We must have removed our shoes at least 10 times!
The guys at MEM had cars ready. A people carrier and one of their 4x4 safari vehicles. I jumped at the chance of trying one of these out. We got to the hotel and it was very pleasant. Our rooms were clean and massive.



The place is new and modern. But we threw our gear in and jumped back in the cars as we had a meal booked at one of the local restaurants.

I have one work to say... STEAK!

Our meal was meat ball starter, followed by an amazing steak
hat came sizzling and with chips. This was followed by a fruit salad, marble cake and desi cooked tea. We were knocked out.



Back to the hotel, we dipped our toes in the swimming pool and realised it's too cold, then most people retired. Rooni, Sab and Ray were playing blackjack and are now learning speed whilst I sit and update the blog whilst listening to dodgy African music on the television. It's been one long day...



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It's the final countdown

Well, after leaving Lancaster my week has been jam packed with work and celebrations of all sorts. Most of the last bits of shopping are done.

I went out last Sunday with Harune (and Imran... Other brother) for Eid and Kili shopping but it was the mundane bits like shoe laces and sleeping bag liners.




Oh. That's a picture of all the bargain purchases from Blacks.

The flag is also totally ready. Check this out



I'm very excited. It looks more amazing then I could have hoped. I have a great picture of my boys holding this flag but I might not be able to post it because they are in school uniform.

Wednesday was Eid celebrations and a fantastic day all round. It came at a good time really because I got to spend some quality time with the wider family. It usually spills over on to Thursday too. However, Thursday was my birthday 33rd to be exact. I still went round visiting all the extended relatives. Though I'm not really a big birthday person, I insisted on having a cake... With all 33 candles on it!





I can't even remember which day we went now but me and Harune finally tracked down our malaria tablets for an affordable price. I've seen them sell for nearly £4.00 a tablet but Superdrug were selling them at £2.28 a piece. Hardly a bargain but cheaper then anywhere else. So £54 each for those. I also got hold of Diamox, the altitude sickness tablets but I'm not sure whether I'll take these or not.





I started my Malarone this morning though. It's a good feeling because the trip is fully in motion now!





On Friday the Birmingham climbers all gathered at my parents house to go over equipment, preparations and transport to the airport. It was good to meet everyone, especially Ray and Ishtiaq who I met for the first time.

This weekend I have a list. A very long list and I'm working through it. Fixing satellite dishes and printing photos. I might even get out and celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary!

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Farewell Lancaster

As I sit here in the waiting room of the Birmingham Eye hospital listening to a phone ringing continuously in the background I think back to yesterday. It was my last day in the office before the trip. I have booked of the next week as there is a bank holiday, Eid, my birthday (yippe!) any anniversary celebration I can muster up and packing for Africa.

It was a seriously action packed day at work. Started off with a non-stop full-on managers meeting, then Jummah at lunch time (the last one of Ramadan so a biggie), back to writing a report and tying up all the loose ends before I go. An enjoyable day all round and it was nicely filled with good banter with Paul (aaahh your first mention) and Sarah (is that three??)

The day carried on for a bit though and I ended up leaving the office at 7:30pm. I Had to flee from the office to get back home so that I could open the fast on time. It was a strange and special feeling enabling my 'out of office' on my email, I guess I'll have 50.000 emails to get through when I get back!

The only snag in the whole day was that my left eye decided to flare up. During the course of the day it became redder and redder then more and more painful. It happens to my eye every now and again so I think this might be gods way of making sure I have a fresh batch of medication to take with me if it flares up in Africa! I have wondered what altitude, low temperature and low pressure would do to my dodgy eyeball.



So, report done and sent, consultation emails sent out, leaving email sent out, out of office on and so it was time to turn off the 'ole faithful machina and cycle home.

The eye? Well it got worse and worse during the evening. At Magrib prayer, my eye and nose were pouring like Niagra falls, during Tarawee prayers, they abated somewhat to make it bearable but I came home, stuck a teabag on my eye (it does work) and knocked out on the sofa. Missed all the benefit of the 27th night... (night of power... Google it).

So this morning I made a plan to get things done. There is a list that lurks in my phone today and I am hellbent on getting all of it completed...

... If I can ever get out if this waiting room...



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Black Magic and Yarnfield Flag

Went shopping in Blacks today. Woah, the place looked like Primark. It was having quite a big clearout and there were boxes full of bits. After rummaging around, I found:

- Lifesystems Suncream spf 15, 25, high mountain, and high altitude so I got all of them for £1 each

- Lifesystems Mozzie killer plug with refills, £1 each

- Billabong board shorts £5

- Oneill board shorts £5

- Berghaus waterproof trousers for Ismail £10

- Wind up torch for Is'haaq £1

- Sun hat £5

- lip balm... 10p

and a cable tidy thing for my iPhone cable...£1

I could have bought a lot more things but I was quite controlled!

THE FLAG
Shaz was nice enough to pick up some white material for the flag as the blue on ethat I bought originally wasn't the right colour. I've given it in with very specific instructions of how it should be put together and will pick it up tomorrow morning so we shall see how it's looking!

In other news:

I got my car back! way happy with that. I also finished my Groupon Chiropractic sessions and have one booked for when I return I think I'm gonna need it then!

Anyway, it's 1.25am and I'm battered... don't you people give me a rest?!!