Oh where to begin…the last 10 days already feel like a
dream. But my sore legs remind me that I just had a great adventure. Tuesday
November 5 I got on an Ethiopian Airlines plane headed to Tanzania. Right off
the bat the trip started well- they served me a delicious lunch on the plane
including cheese and apple juice! Walking off the plane I had the biggest grin
on my face as I looked around at all the new scenery and the hidden hulk of Mt.
Kilimanjaro. I got a taxi to the hotel I had booked and the grin widened when I
saw the lovely swimming pool and palm trees. Even just checking in I was served
chilled hibiscus juice and the people were so friendly. I immediately put on my
suit, wrapped up in the snazzy cotton bath robe and went to lounge and swim in
the pool. Heaven!
Later I went for a little walk into the village and froze
with dropped jaw when I saw Mt. Kilimanjaro in its full cloudless glory. It was
a powerful moment as I realized I had dreamed of seeing the mountain since I
was a kid- I even had a poster of it for many years. I think what makes it so
stunning is just how massive it is and the beauty of white snow gleaming in the
hot African sun. The rest of the walk I giggled to myself as I habitually tried
to say hello to the kids by speaking Amharic, leaving them totally confused. My
first impression of Tanzania was to notice all the chickens roaming around and
how the young trees were not fenced but were actually growing unharmed by
grazing animals. This made me realize how poor Ethiopia really is in comparison
even as I watched bare foot, pantless kids run around in the dirt streets.
The next day I headed into the town of Moshi with some other
travelers I had met at the hotel. They showed me around town and we spent a bit
of time hanging out at the fancy “ferengi/muzungu” coffee shop where I drank a
fruit milkshake. Later when entered back into the hotel I was thrilled to see
my dear friend Cassandra sitting at the bar waiting for me! It was such a joy
to see a friend from home and to catch up about our lives from the past year. I
was also so inspired and amazed to hear that her run around Kilimanjaro was a
success as well as her climb up the mountain! She truly is one of the
strongest, kindest people I know. Through contacts from her run she had tentatively
made plans for our safari and the next day we hit the road in our classic Land
Rover with our driver/guide Tony.
The next four days were spent driving around four different
national parks- Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire, and Arusha, all
different landscapes with amazing animals. The first day at Lake Manyara the
highlight was watching a herd of elephants 30 feet from the road munching on
spikey Acacia trees murmering to each other. We had gone with a “budget” safari
and were a little concerned when we had to have some guys push start the truck
when we had stopped at a little viewing spot. Fortunately that was the only
time because only an hour later we were sitting (in the truck) staring at lions
lounging in a tree in the afternoon heat. A male lion sat hidden in bushes at
the base of the tree and it was only after Cassandra joked about peeing at the
base of the tree did we see him. Yikes!
That first night we stayed at a fancy hotel with flowers
sprinkled on our beds and warm washcloths presented to us on arrival. Ah
luxury! And for breakfast we had a buffet of fruit, omelets and….BACON! (yes I am a little food obsessed). Oh simple
pleasures. That day we went to another place I have dreamed about – Ngorongoro
crater- 12 miles wide with fresh water springs popping up to provide water year
round to the abundant wildlife. The Masai people graze their cattle on the
outer rim of the crater and it was beautiful to see them wearing the
traditional deep red and purple cloth against their dark skin. The women had
long fancy silver ear pieces and the tall men all carried long spears. Classic!
We drove down into the crater (a steep 2,000 ft drop) and were greeted with the
classic scene of grazing wildebeest, zebra, impala and gazelles totally unfazed
by the vehicle. We also saw a hyena sleeping in a mud puddle in the road,
elephants, hippos and ostrich hanging out in a lush green grassy spring and as
a grand finale a cheetah! She was feeding on a fresh kill, panting in the heat
and alert to other predators. Again this was a potent moment for me as I have
always loved cheetahs and felt so thrilled to watch one in the wild.
Tarangire National Park had a lovely river where we saw
elephants playing in the water and took lots of photos of the beautiful and
huge baobab tree. A precious memorable moment was silently watching a group of
female elephants rest under a tree only 20 feet away. In the group was a little
baby and we watched in awe as it nursed and waddled about. Leaving the park we
stopped to buy some jewelry from a Masai womens group and I got a fun photo of
them showing off their work.
Our last day was in Arusha National park where the highlight
was giraffes, lots of them roaming the thick brush and flamingos, wading in
alkaline lakes. Flamingos are hilarious in the way they groom and bathe
themselves murmering and chattering the whole time. It was magical to watch
them fly in and out against the backdrop of the looming Mt. Meru. This mountain
is the 5th highest in Africa and has a stunning gnarled knife edge
summit.
The only reason I know it is the 5th highest is
because we decided to climb it and it had a sign at the top. Long story short (we
only knew 30 minutes in advance that we were able to pull this adventure off) at
10 am we got picked up and driven back to Arusha park to start a 3 day climb. Our
starting elevation was 1500m (4,920ft) and the summit was at 4,566m (14,980ft),
in other words lots and lots of going up. The first day we hiked through the
lush jungle passing a huge arched Ficus tree that we could walk through, and
pausing to ogle at the teensiest little chameleon I had ever seen (less that 2”
big). We got to our “camp” and were delighted to see it was newer building with
clean bunk beds and flush toilets! On guy on our support team even brought warm
water so we could wash. Pretty snazzy!
The second day we walked past the huge ash cone (a perfect
conical slope) and spotted some giraffes lurking in the bushes. We then hiked
up a long series of switchbacks climbing up a huge cliff. I had fun recognizing
the same type of vegetation I am familiar with in Ethiopia thinking how similar
it looked. We got to our 2nd “camp” early and had time to relax a
bit before climbing Little Meru to acclimatize. Little Meru was a fun hike and
I was happy that I was feeling great. (Remember that Cassandra had just run
over 250 km, AND climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, so she is in fantastic shape, where I
have just started running 20 minutes, 2 times a week.) At the top we got a
little concerned because it started raining and wondered if we would face rain
the next day.
Midnight we got up after a few hours sleep and got ready for
our big day. In my fog coming back from the bathroom I walked into the wrong
bedroom, stood confused for a minute then realized what I had done. Funny oops.
We drank some coffee, munched popcorn and headed out into the cold darkness. I
had never done an “alpine start” and thinking of hiking up a steep slope for 6
hours in the dark sounded quite daunting. But I trudged along, thankful for my
meditation practice that allowed me to simply peacefully focus on my breath and
steps. I was also very thankful to have some extra warm clothes from Cassandra –
gloves and a jacket made all the difference. After passing some sketchy steep
patches and seeing the beautiful glitter of ice crystals on the rocks we saw
the first hints of sunrise. From there on out I was beaming knowing we would
make it and immersed in the beauty of the dawning day. Mt. Kilimanjaro stood in
its glory in the distance and we could see forever- even into Kenya.
The summit was spectacular and I felt so happy to be on top
seeing such pristine beauty. We took many celebratory photos with our little
posse of an Austrian, a Brit, and our two guides. Coming down I felt great and
continued to take in all the stunning scenery. We got back to our 3rd
camp, ate a big meal, packed our bags, then continued down for our very very
long descent all 10,000 ft in about 15 miles. I was whipped by the time we got
down but still felt so jazzed at what we had just done. For dinner that night
we splurged at a fancy restaurant where I had a steak with Blue Cheese (moaning
in delight with every bite), and two glasses of wine.
My last day I chuckled as I hobbled down some stairs feeling
like an old lady. We did some shopping in town and indulged in an iced coffee
with chocolate ice cream! Oh little pleasures! I said a quick heartfelt goodbye
to Cassandra then headed to the airport for my short 2 hour plane ride, and
long 9 hour bus ride back to good ol Goba. The plane passed directly in front
of Mt. Meru and I said a contented goodbye to Tanzania. Now back in Goba it
almost feels like a dream, but a very good dream that I will never forget.
