Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Last updates to come
Well by now we're all home -- I battled two bus rides and four separate plane rides (for a total of 33 hours of travel in three days) and finally made it home yesterday (the 23) around noon. I still owe the blog an update on Rwanda and the Congo before I forget all that happened, and I'm in the process of uploading all my pictures onto a photo sharing website so everyone can check them out. More to come!
Monday, September 15, 2008
Uganda (Rachel)
The bus ride from Nairobi to Kampala (stopping in Jinja) was long and uneventful, over unpaved roads most of the way, passing the most beautiful landscape we'd seen so far on the trip. Western Kenya is beautiful, but I was surprised at how developed Uganda was. We arrived in Jinja in the evening, and after avoiding getting ripped off by a taxi driver who complained about "muzungus" (white tourists) the whole time, we settled in at Nile River Explorers, the backpackers' we stayed at for two nights in Jinja. We ordered some food, had a couple of beers, and went to bed early.\
In the morning, the boys went white water rafting (I can see Andrew's screen and he's writing all about it) while I went to see the source of the Nile river with another traveler in the hostel. On the way, we stopped for the Ugandan street food of choice, the rolex (no clue if that's how you spell it), which is an omlet (eggs with veggies, including avocado if you're lucky) wrapped in chapati (fried bread, like Indian roti). The source of the Nile was ... anticlimactic, especially after we learned that you have to take a boat to actually see it. Luckily, I got some good info about how to get a cheap boat, and I passed that along to Justin and Andrew, who went the next day. After Daniel and I took a boda boda (motorcycle taxi, sorry mom!) back to the hostel, I hopped in a truck to go mountain biking around town while I waited for the boys to be done rafting. As I rode about 20 miles around town, everyone called out "hey muzungu!", and one man asked me to marry him and bring him to America (I said no). After a couple of hours biking, I headed down to see Bujagali falls (which the boys rafted down), then off to the campsite to read a book. The boys got back around 5 and we had dinner before heading back to hang out at the backpackers. That night, Andrew went out with some people from the hostel while Justin and I retired early with our books.
The next day, I went kayaking on the Nile while the boys went to see the source on a boat. The minute I met the instructor, I informed him that I would not be going upside down in the kayak. His response was, "as an instructor, I'm supposed to try to push you to do it even if you're scared," and I said "thanks, but seriously, no." I proceeded to paddle around in circles (somewhat unintentionally) for three hours while he taught other people how to roll over, and I was perfectly happy with that. Later that evening (after I dragged Justin on a boda boda rolex run), we headed off to Kampala on the free shuttle sponsored by the hostel. I sat right in the middle of a group of Christian missionaries heading to Sudan to build a church, and they spent a good part of the trip trying to save me (I knew I was in trouble when one guy asked: "Rachel, let me ask you a question: as a Christian, how do you think you're going to get into heaven?"). When I heard them asking Andrew the same questions, I figured they just do this to everyone. Awkward!
We arrived very very late to Red Chili Hideaway (our backpackers in Kampala) and spent two hours wandering the dark streets of Kampala searching for rolex or something else to eat for dinner. We eventually took boda bodas to a restaurant and ate french fries, but I stopped and got a rolex on the way home (I'm turning one dimensional).
The next morning, we got picked up early for our 8+ hour drive down to Kisoro, our starting off point for our silverback gorilla trek the next day. We have all been very excited about the trek, though it made us sad to reach this point in our trip because it means it's almost over! Our driver picked us up with the fourth member of our group, a Czech man living in Paris named Ivan. We took the long, long drive to Kisoro, arriving at the Traveler's Rest (our hotel, and Dian Fossey's second home while she was studying gorillas and writing Gorillas in the Mist) early in the evening. After dinner and a few drinks by the fire, we turned in.
We woke up early and headed out for our 90-minute drive to the park, then headed in with our group of four trekkers, plus four more. We hiked (mostly downhill) for about two hours when our guide told us that the trackers had found the gorillas. A few minutes later (after walking up a few vertical, muddy slopes and slogging through inches-deep mud that almost took my shoes off), we were standing in a clearing and a silverback walked out of the bush. To say that the 90 minutes that followed were incredible would be an understatement. We saw sixteen gorillas, including two babies, eating leaves, hanging out in trees, beating on their chests, caring for their young, and -- almost -- interacting with us. We took about 500 pictures between the three of us and left completely amazed. The trek back was exhausting, all uphill, all muddy, and we were all drenched in sweat from the incredible humidity, but it was an amazing day. After dinner that night, we crashed early.
The next morning, after heading in town so the boys could get their boots cleaned, we headed out of Kisoro and toward Lake Bunyonyi, a three hour drive through the beautiful green rolling hills of southwest Uganda. We arrived at Bunyonyi Overland Resort and relaxed for the rest of the day, drinking beers on the patio overlooking the lake, when a friend we had met on the bus from Nairobi to Kampala walked up. Bec is an Australian living in London, volunteering at a local school for a month. She sat down with us (hi Bec!) and we hung out all afternoon and through dinner.
This morning, Justin and I went canoeing on Lake Bunyonyi, starting with a paddle out to Punishment Island, a tiny island where Idi Amin used to send unwed pregnant women to die (pleasant, right?). We then headed to an island resort, where -- after some troublesome maneuvering -- we parked our canoe and headed up for drinks and lunch. After lunch, we headed back and ran into Andrew paddling out to see the islands. We came back to the hotel and headed out for dinner at Acadia, a gorgeous new (but empty) hotel with fantastic views of the lake.
We've had a fantastic time in Uganda and we're sad to be leaving tomorrow. The people here are incredibly nice, and the children are adorable (they wave at us and shout "hi muzungu!" as we drive/walk/ride by). We've had some great conversations with some of the people we've encountered, and all the places we've stayed have been fantastic. Tomorrow, we're off to Rwanda (though we have no idea, as of 10 pm, how we're going to get there) for some more adventures, but in a week we'll be on our planes back home! Yikes!
Rachel
In the morning, the boys went white water rafting (I can see Andrew's screen and he's writing all about it) while I went to see the source of the Nile river with another traveler in the hostel. On the way, we stopped for the Ugandan street food of choice, the rolex (no clue if that's how you spell it), which is an omlet (eggs with veggies, including avocado if you're lucky) wrapped in chapati (fried bread, like Indian roti). The source of the Nile was ... anticlimactic, especially after we learned that you have to take a boat to actually see it. Luckily, I got some good info about how to get a cheap boat, and I passed that along to Justin and Andrew, who went the next day. After Daniel and I took a boda boda (motorcycle taxi, sorry mom!) back to the hostel, I hopped in a truck to go mountain biking around town while I waited for the boys to be done rafting. As I rode about 20 miles around town, everyone called out "hey muzungu!", and one man asked me to marry him and bring him to America (I said no). After a couple of hours biking, I headed down to see Bujagali falls (which the boys rafted down), then off to the campsite to read a book. The boys got back around 5 and we had dinner before heading back to hang out at the backpackers. That night, Andrew went out with some people from the hostel while Justin and I retired early with our books.
The next day, I went kayaking on the Nile while the boys went to see the source on a boat. The minute I met the instructor, I informed him that I would not be going upside down in the kayak. His response was, "as an instructor, I'm supposed to try to push you to do it even if you're scared," and I said "thanks, but seriously, no." I proceeded to paddle around in circles (somewhat unintentionally) for three hours while he taught other people how to roll over, and I was perfectly happy with that. Later that evening (after I dragged Justin on a boda boda rolex run), we headed off to Kampala on the free shuttle sponsored by the hostel. I sat right in the middle of a group of Christian missionaries heading to Sudan to build a church, and they spent a good part of the trip trying to save me (I knew I was in trouble when one guy asked: "Rachel, let me ask you a question: as a Christian, how do you think you're going to get into heaven?"). When I heard them asking Andrew the same questions, I figured they just do this to everyone. Awkward!
We arrived very very late to Red Chili Hideaway (our backpackers in Kampala) and spent two hours wandering the dark streets of Kampala searching for rolex or something else to eat for dinner. We eventually took boda bodas to a restaurant and ate french fries, but I stopped and got a rolex on the way home (I'm turning one dimensional).
The next morning, we got picked up early for our 8+ hour drive down to Kisoro, our starting off point for our silverback gorilla trek the next day. We have all been very excited about the trek, though it made us sad to reach this point in our trip because it means it's almost over! Our driver picked us up with the fourth member of our group, a Czech man living in Paris named Ivan. We took the long, long drive to Kisoro, arriving at the Traveler's Rest (our hotel, and Dian Fossey's second home while she was studying gorillas and writing Gorillas in the Mist) early in the evening. After dinner and a few drinks by the fire, we turned in.
We woke up early and headed out for our 90-minute drive to the park, then headed in with our group of four trekkers, plus four more. We hiked (mostly downhill) for about two hours when our guide told us that the trackers had found the gorillas. A few minutes later (after walking up a few vertical, muddy slopes and slogging through inches-deep mud that almost took my shoes off), we were standing in a clearing and a silverback walked out of the bush. To say that the 90 minutes that followed were incredible would be an understatement. We saw sixteen gorillas, including two babies, eating leaves, hanging out in trees, beating on their chests, caring for their young, and -- almost -- interacting with us. We took about 500 pictures between the three of us and left completely amazed. The trek back was exhausting, all uphill, all muddy, and we were all drenched in sweat from the incredible humidity, but it was an amazing day. After dinner that night, we crashed early.
The next morning, after heading in town so the boys could get their boots cleaned, we headed out of Kisoro and toward Lake Bunyonyi, a three hour drive through the beautiful green rolling hills of southwest Uganda. We arrived at Bunyonyi Overland Resort and relaxed for the rest of the day, drinking beers on the patio overlooking the lake, when a friend we had met on the bus from Nairobi to Kampala walked up. Bec is an Australian living in London, volunteering at a local school for a month. She sat down with us (hi Bec!) and we hung out all afternoon and through dinner.
This morning, Justin and I went canoeing on Lake Bunyonyi, starting with a paddle out to Punishment Island, a tiny island where Idi Amin used to send unwed pregnant women to die (pleasant, right?). We then headed to an island resort, where -- after some troublesome maneuvering -- we parked our canoe and headed up for drinks and lunch. After lunch, we headed back and ran into Andrew paddling out to see the islands. We came back to the hotel and headed out for dinner at Acadia, a gorgeous new (but empty) hotel with fantastic views of the lake.
We've had a fantastic time in Uganda and we're sad to be leaving tomorrow. The people here are incredibly nice, and the children are adorable (they wave at us and shout "hi muzungu!" as we drive/walk/ride by). We've had some great conversations with some of the people we've encountered, and all the places we've stayed have been fantastic. Tomorrow, we're off to Rwanda (though we have no idea, as of 10 pm, how we're going to get there) for some more adventures, but in a week we'll be on our planes back home! Yikes!
Rachel
Uganda (Jinja, Gorillas, & Lake Bunyonyi)
Uganda is awesome! For all you nostalgic folk, I'm sorry to say it is nothing like Idi Amin's Uganda. But for any traveller, I think its an absolute amazing destination.
After taking our 12 hour bus ride from Nairobi to Jinja, we settled in at the Nile River Explorers Backpackers. For all you Ugandan geographically ignorant folks, Jinja is located at the ource of the Nile River. Yes that one! The next day, Justin and I went whitewater rafting on the Nile on some of the most challenging rapids (Grade 5) in the world. For all you rafting on the delaware river in the poconos with Camp Chenawanda that's like a category 0.5. George Washington has nothing on us. Anyway, we went through about 12 rapids in all (about 4 category 5s, 4 category 4s, and 4 category 3. Our first big rapid was the 50/50, where apparently 50% of members in the raft typically fall out. That just so happened to be Justin and myself as we went overboard into the fortunately very deep water. I found that experience a little fun, but that's just me. After swimming in the Nile (for some stretches we went 30 minutes without rapids) and surviving a whole host of rapids, we finally came upon "the Bad Place," a category 5 rapid, where a 200 foot stretch of the Nile was all downward sloping gushing white water. Fortunately we exited our rafts before the Bad Place to avoid the even worse place (a category 6 rapid - unnavigable by raft). As soon as we got back in the raft, looking down at the Bad Place, we knew we were fucked. Immediately after Paulo (our Ugandan national rafting star guide) released us from the shore, we flew down the rapid, thrown 180 degrees with the whole raft flipping from right to left. Justin was sent hurdling under the raft gasping for air. After finally getting out from the boat, he was rescued by a kayak, and then summoned to rescuse some other girl from going into the rocks. After someone fell on me I tumbled under water, ingesting the Nile on not one but two occasions, as i got up for air only to be sucked back down by another rapid. After being told to swim to the rocks (like that was happening), a kayaker finally rescued me. I know it sounds scary, but it was awesome!!! I had so much fun. And the important thing is that we all survived and no one was injured.
Rachel hung around town that day exploring all that Jinja has to offer and Lake victoria. The next day Rachel went kayaking on the Nile (see Rachel's post), while Justin and I had some awesome chapati and hired a guide to give us a boatcruise to the source of the Nile. After exploring the source, we stopped at a new and really beautiful restaurant and soon to be guesthouse called Ginger on the Nile (you heard it here first, this will be the place to stay in Jinja in 2 years). We ate lunch, drank a few beers, and just enjoyed the scenery.
Then we took a ride to Kampala with some Christian missionaries from Texas. Rachel and Justin fought off attempts to save them and just accepted that they were going to hell. I had a nice heart to heart conversation with a fellow American, where we discussed religion, Nietzsche and the fallacy of global warming. (There really was no point in arguing with him, as he believed that the earth actually cooled over the past decade, but I would not relent). I also naturally had to defend the good name of my hero Al.
The next day we left for SW Uganda, home of the mountain gorillas. The drive to Kisoro, showed the best of what Uganda has to offer. I must say Ugandans are the friendliest people on the planet! Everywhere we went, people would wave to us and say hi or mzungu ("white person wandering without purpose") give me money, but in a nice way. The children are so cute, jumping up and down, flailing their arms, and even chasing the car. As we drove further into SW Uganda, rolling hillsides and lakes appeared everywhere. It was so picturesque, truly the "Switzerland of Africa."
We stayed at Kisoro Travellers Rest, a very nice hotel, where Dian Fossey (one of the original mountain gorilla researchers) used to stay. The next day we went visiting the gorillas! After trekking through a very muddy rainforest for about an hour and a half we were told we were only 20 minutes away. Unfortunately that meant we had to climb up a vertical muddy wall (which I almost fell down). Finally, we came upon the gorillas. First, we encountered the lesser Silverback, who was eating only 10 feet away from us. When we came to check out another path, Safari, the boss silverback, crossed right in front of us out in the open just staring at us for a minute. He was extremely impressive, but not afraid of us at all, and didn't seemed bothered by our presence as he passed only feet from us. He then let us watch him eat for almost half an hour, with us only about 5-10 feet away. His facial features were remarkably human, and his eyes demonstrated similar human emotions and states of thought. After chomping through what seemed like the whole forest, he moved out of the way, allowing us to observe three gorillas hanging out in the trees. We walked a little further, where a large female gorilla descended from the tree, standing only 10 feet from us. It was pretty amazing just staring into her eyes, wondering what would be her next move. Fortunately she waited for us to leave. Since our hour was ending with the gorillas, we moved on, only to spot about 8 gorillas, mothers, juveniles, and infants all hanging out together on the forest floor. The baby was so cute and tiny (He actually looked like Eric as a baby). We watched as the baby, no more than 6 months old, attempted to climb a tree vine with his mother carefully watching below. Finally after an hour and a half (more than we ever imagined we'd be able to have with the gorillas), we exited, only to find 2 more gorillas (a blackback and the lesser silverback) out in the open. All in all we saw 16 of the 18 gorillas in the family. The walk back was extremely tiring, but about 2 hours later we made it to the top. It truly was an incredible experience.
NOTE: If you want to go visit them, go soon! We heard rumors that the governments of Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC are planning on increasing the price of the permits from $500 to $1000-$1500. Possibly by next year!
The next day we set off for Lake Bunyonyi, possibly the most beautiful lake in Africa. The lake is scattered with maybe as many as 50 islands, some large enough to serve as homes and hotel resorts.
I wasn't feeling too well yesterday (not sure exactly what it was, could be food poisoning, could be the water (which I've made a point not to drink), but anyway, I felt like poop. I'm feeling better now, but I'm definitely looking forward to coming back home and not worrying about what I'm eating, except for Thai House II in northern Miami Beach or the cinnamon raisin bagels in Jason & Heather's freezer.
Today, we went canoeing around the islands, going out to "Punishment Island", where unmarried pregnant women were dropped off to die under Idi Amin's regime. Fortunately, a lot has changed since then. President Museveni has done a lot of great things reformingUganda, and it is impossible to see any of the scars left by Idi Amin, at least on the surface.
I also had the added pleasure of helping 4 Ugandan children carry large buckets of water up to their home on the hillside. I couldn't believe that these kids (aged 3 to 7) had to lug such heavy buckets every day, and probably multiple times. They thanked me by playing the drums and performing a dance for me, which I joined it. It was extremely cute, and easily my favorite Lake Bunyoni experience.
That's it for now, hope to give another posting before the end of the trip. If not, I look forward to speaking to you all when I return to the States on September 22nd.
-Andrew
After taking our 12 hour bus ride from Nairobi to Jinja, we settled in at the Nile River Explorers Backpackers. For all you Ugandan geographically ignorant folks, Jinja is located at the ource of the Nile River. Yes that one! The next day, Justin and I went whitewater rafting on the Nile on some of the most challenging rapids (Grade 5) in the world. For all you rafting on the delaware river in the poconos with Camp Chenawanda that's like a category 0.5. George Washington has nothing on us. Anyway, we went through about 12 rapids in all (about 4 category 5s, 4 category 4s, and 4 category 3. Our first big rapid was the 50/50, where apparently 50% of members in the raft typically fall out. That just so happened to be Justin and myself as we went overboard into the fortunately very deep water. I found that experience a little fun, but that's just me. After swimming in the Nile (for some stretches we went 30 minutes without rapids) and surviving a whole host of rapids, we finally came upon "the Bad Place," a category 5 rapid, where a 200 foot stretch of the Nile was all downward sloping gushing white water. Fortunately we exited our rafts before the Bad Place to avoid the even worse place (a category 6 rapid - unnavigable by raft). As soon as we got back in the raft, looking down at the Bad Place, we knew we were fucked. Immediately after Paulo (our Ugandan national rafting star guide) released us from the shore, we flew down the rapid, thrown 180 degrees with the whole raft flipping from right to left. Justin was sent hurdling under the raft gasping for air. After finally getting out from the boat, he was rescued by a kayak, and then summoned to rescuse some other girl from going into the rocks. After someone fell on me I tumbled under water, ingesting the Nile on not one but two occasions, as i got up for air only to be sucked back down by another rapid. After being told to swim to the rocks (like that was happening), a kayaker finally rescued me. I know it sounds scary, but it was awesome!!! I had so much fun. And the important thing is that we all survived and no one was injured.
Rachel hung around town that day exploring all that Jinja has to offer and Lake victoria. The next day Rachel went kayaking on the Nile (see Rachel's post), while Justin and I had some awesome chapati and hired a guide to give us a boatcruise to the source of the Nile. After exploring the source, we stopped at a new and really beautiful restaurant and soon to be guesthouse called Ginger on the Nile (you heard it here first, this will be the place to stay in Jinja in 2 years). We ate lunch, drank a few beers, and just enjoyed the scenery.
Then we took a ride to Kampala with some Christian missionaries from Texas. Rachel and Justin fought off attempts to save them and just accepted that they were going to hell. I had a nice heart to heart conversation with a fellow American, where we discussed religion, Nietzsche and the fallacy of global warming. (There really was no point in arguing with him, as he believed that the earth actually cooled over the past decade, but I would not relent). I also naturally had to defend the good name of my hero Al.
The next day we left for SW Uganda, home of the mountain gorillas. The drive to Kisoro, showed the best of what Uganda has to offer. I must say Ugandans are the friendliest people on the planet! Everywhere we went, people would wave to us and say hi or mzungu ("white person wandering without purpose") give me money, but in a nice way. The children are so cute, jumping up and down, flailing their arms, and even chasing the car. As we drove further into SW Uganda, rolling hillsides and lakes appeared everywhere. It was so picturesque, truly the "Switzerland of Africa."
We stayed at Kisoro Travellers Rest, a very nice hotel, where Dian Fossey (one of the original mountain gorilla researchers) used to stay. The next day we went visiting the gorillas! After trekking through a very muddy rainforest for about an hour and a half we were told we were only 20 minutes away. Unfortunately that meant we had to climb up a vertical muddy wall (which I almost fell down). Finally, we came upon the gorillas. First, we encountered the lesser Silverback, who was eating only 10 feet away from us. When we came to check out another path, Safari, the boss silverback, crossed right in front of us out in the open just staring at us for a minute. He was extremely impressive, but not afraid of us at all, and didn't seemed bothered by our presence as he passed only feet from us. He then let us watch him eat for almost half an hour, with us only about 5-10 feet away. His facial features were remarkably human, and his eyes demonstrated similar human emotions and states of thought. After chomping through what seemed like the whole forest, he moved out of the way, allowing us to observe three gorillas hanging out in the trees. We walked a little further, where a large female gorilla descended from the tree, standing only 10 feet from us. It was pretty amazing just staring into her eyes, wondering what would be her next move. Fortunately she waited for us to leave. Since our hour was ending with the gorillas, we moved on, only to spot about 8 gorillas, mothers, juveniles, and infants all hanging out together on the forest floor. The baby was so cute and tiny (He actually looked like Eric as a baby). We watched as the baby, no more than 6 months old, attempted to climb a tree vine with his mother carefully watching below. Finally after an hour and a half (more than we ever imagined we'd be able to have with the gorillas), we exited, only to find 2 more gorillas (a blackback and the lesser silverback) out in the open. All in all we saw 16 of the 18 gorillas in the family. The walk back was extremely tiring, but about 2 hours later we made it to the top. It truly was an incredible experience.
NOTE: If you want to go visit them, go soon! We heard rumors that the governments of Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC are planning on increasing the price of the permits from $500 to $1000-$1500. Possibly by next year!
The next day we set off for Lake Bunyonyi, possibly the most beautiful lake in Africa. The lake is scattered with maybe as many as 50 islands, some large enough to serve as homes and hotel resorts.
I wasn't feeling too well yesterday (not sure exactly what it was, could be food poisoning, could be the water (which I've made a point not to drink), but anyway, I felt like poop. I'm feeling better now, but I'm definitely looking forward to coming back home and not worrying about what I'm eating, except for Thai House II in northern Miami Beach or the cinnamon raisin bagels in Jason & Heather's freezer.
Today, we went canoeing around the islands, going out to "Punishment Island", where unmarried pregnant women were dropped off to die under Idi Amin's regime. Fortunately, a lot has changed since then. President Museveni has done a lot of great things reformingUganda, and it is impossible to see any of the scars left by Idi Amin, at least on the surface.
I also had the added pleasure of helping 4 Ugandan children carry large buckets of water up to their home on the hillside. I couldn't believe that these kids (aged 3 to 7) had to lug such heavy buckets every day, and probably multiple times. They thanked me by playing the drums and performing a dance for me, which I joined it. It was extremely cute, and easily my favorite Lake Bunyoni experience.
That's it for now, hope to give another posting before the end of the trip. If not, I look forward to speaking to you all when I return to the States on September 22nd.
-Andrew
Kenya (Rachel)
Well we're back online here in Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda, but more about that after we do a little catching up!
Kenya was amazing. The night after the last blog, we went for some traditional Kenyan nyama choma (bbq, mostly goat) at a place in town. The boys ordered 3 kilos of goat meat to share and I ordered fish and french fries. Three hours (and a few beers later), we headed off to the infamous Florida 2000. This place is a nightclub over a gas station, complete with sketchy tourists, their young Kenyan "girlfriends" (if only for the evening), and more neon lights than the entire town of South Beach put together. We had some beers, danced a bit (Andrew made friends with a group of Chinese tourists and danced with most of them, including one man's wife at his suggestion), then sat down for the "cultural show." Kevin had told us about the show, but every time he said "cultural," he laughed a bit, so we weren't quite sure what we were in for. The show consisted of six Kenyan dancers recreating dances from different areas of the world. It's hard to explain what made it so funny -- Kevin summed it up best when he called it "tasteless but harmless." We were cracking up the whole time, but most of the people were watching the show intently.
After having shown us a good amount of Nairobi, Kevin organized a trip for us to go with a big group of his friends (some from work, some other fellow ex-pats) to Lake Nakuru, a game park famous for its lake populated with thousands of pink flamingos. We left in the morning and caravanned the three hour drive, stopping to pick up some Massai blankets at a shop overlooking the (gorgeous) Great Rift Valley. When we got to Lake Nakuru, we had the first of many encounters with monkeys when we saw some climb into another person's car and steal some fruit. We got to our lodge, the Flamingo Tented Camp, and Justin, Andrew and I were shocked at how much nicer it was than some of the places we've stayed on this trip. We were greeted at the gate with cool towels, given fruit juice, and fed a fantastic buffet lunch that included custom-made naan (delicious!) before we headed out on our first game drive. The boys had been disappointed that we hadn't seen any rhinos in the Serenghetti, but we were spoiled in Lake Nakuru! We saw about two dozen rhinos in the first game drive and we stopped to take pictures of the beautiful flamingos (not too far from a skeptical-looking cape buffalo standing nearby). We brought wine to have "sundowners" (cocktails + sunset = sundowners), so we went to Baboon Cliffs to enjoy our drinks. Enter the baboons. We left the windows open, and the baboons were itching to get in to the car. Ginny, one of the girls we traveled with, stood up to one of the monkeys and was nearly attacked. When Justin had to go into the car to get a wine glass, one of the baboons stood on the windshield, angling to jump in when he opened the door. But the best moment was when one of the girls left her wine glass in a gazebo and a baboon walked up, picked it up (over a lot of vocal -- but no physical -- protest), took a sip and tossed it away. After that, we decided to cut our losses and head back to camp.
That night, we had dinner at the camp, but I wasn't feeling great so I decided to head back to the tent halfway through dinner. The waiter stopped me as I was walking out and asked what was the matter; when I told him I wasn't feeling well, but it wasn't the food, he leaned in and whispered: "I hope you are not starving yourself." I thanked him for his concern, turned down his very kind offer to bring me toast, and headed back to the tent, laughing. When I got back to the tent, I saw that they had left hot water bottles under the sheets to keep the bed warm, and needless to say I didn't make it back out that evening. Everyone else had drinks and hung out on the porch chatting, and we all had a great time. After another game drive in the morning, we headed back to Nairobi.
The next morning the boys went to hike Hell's Gate gorge, outside of Nairobi, while I ventured into downtown Nairobi to buy our tickets for the bus from Nairobi to Kampala, Uganda, for the next morning. When I was done, I headed to the cute bakery near Kevin's house and read a book while I waited for the boys to get home. When they arrived, we dropped Andrew off at the UN Environmental Program and Justin, Kevin and I headed for lunch at the Riverside Cafe, a gorgeous restaurant with a little lake with cute ducks. The next morning, we headed out early for our 12+ hour bus ride to Uganda.
Kenya was amazing. The night after the last blog, we went for some traditional Kenyan nyama choma (bbq, mostly goat) at a place in town. The boys ordered 3 kilos of goat meat to share and I ordered fish and french fries. Three hours (and a few beers later), we headed off to the infamous Florida 2000. This place is a nightclub over a gas station, complete with sketchy tourists, their young Kenyan "girlfriends" (if only for the evening), and more neon lights than the entire town of South Beach put together. We had some beers, danced a bit (Andrew made friends with a group of Chinese tourists and danced with most of them, including one man's wife at his suggestion), then sat down for the "cultural show." Kevin had told us about the show, but every time he said "cultural," he laughed a bit, so we weren't quite sure what we were in for. The show consisted of six Kenyan dancers recreating dances from different areas of the world. It's hard to explain what made it so funny -- Kevin summed it up best when he called it "tasteless but harmless." We were cracking up the whole time, but most of the people were watching the show intently.
After having shown us a good amount of Nairobi, Kevin organized a trip for us to go with a big group of his friends (some from work, some other fellow ex-pats) to Lake Nakuru, a game park famous for its lake populated with thousands of pink flamingos. We left in the morning and caravanned the three hour drive, stopping to pick up some Massai blankets at a shop overlooking the (gorgeous) Great Rift Valley. When we got to Lake Nakuru, we had the first of many encounters with monkeys when we saw some climb into another person's car and steal some fruit. We got to our lodge, the Flamingo Tented Camp, and Justin, Andrew and I were shocked at how much nicer it was than some of the places we've stayed on this trip. We were greeted at the gate with cool towels, given fruit juice, and fed a fantastic buffet lunch that included custom-made naan (delicious!) before we headed out on our first game drive. The boys had been disappointed that we hadn't seen any rhinos in the Serenghetti, but we were spoiled in Lake Nakuru! We saw about two dozen rhinos in the first game drive and we stopped to take pictures of the beautiful flamingos (not too far from a skeptical-looking cape buffalo standing nearby). We brought wine to have "sundowners" (cocktails + sunset = sundowners), so we went to Baboon Cliffs to enjoy our drinks. Enter the baboons. We left the windows open, and the baboons were itching to get in to the car. Ginny, one of the girls we traveled with, stood up to one of the monkeys and was nearly attacked. When Justin had to go into the car to get a wine glass, one of the baboons stood on the windshield, angling to jump in when he opened the door. But the best moment was when one of the girls left her wine glass in a gazebo and a baboon walked up, picked it up (over a lot of vocal -- but no physical -- protest), took a sip and tossed it away. After that, we decided to cut our losses and head back to camp.
That night, we had dinner at the camp, but I wasn't feeling great so I decided to head back to the tent halfway through dinner. The waiter stopped me as I was walking out and asked what was the matter; when I told him I wasn't feeling well, but it wasn't the food, he leaned in and whispered: "I hope you are not starving yourself." I thanked him for his concern, turned down his very kind offer to bring me toast, and headed back to the tent, laughing. When I got back to the tent, I saw that they had left hot water bottles under the sheets to keep the bed warm, and needless to say I didn't make it back out that evening. Everyone else had drinks and hung out on the porch chatting, and we all had a great time. After another game drive in the morning, we headed back to Nairobi.
The next morning the boys went to hike Hell's Gate gorge, outside of Nairobi, while I ventured into downtown Nairobi to buy our tickets for the bus from Nairobi to Kampala, Uganda, for the next morning. When I was done, I headed to the cute bakery near Kevin's house and read a book while I waited for the boys to get home. When they arrived, we dropped Andrew off at the UN Environmental Program and Justin, Kevin and I headed for lunch at the Riverside Cafe, a gorgeous restaurant with a little lake with cute ducks. The next morning, we headed out early for our 12+ hour bus ride to Uganda.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Nairobi (Rachel)
Man, are we having fun in Nairobi. Let me try to remember everything we've done over the past two days ...
Our last day in Arusha, we went to the Rwanda genocide tribunal (the ICTR) in the morning to watch the proceedings. After an hour-and-a-half delay (during which we went to the library and marveled at all the American law journals collected there), we finally got to hear some testimony. The witnesses are hidden behind a curtain, but we could see the defendant and his American counsel clearly. We heard the witness's testimony about the events of April 7, 1994 (the day the genocide started), and left feeling quite somber and sad after about an hour. We headed back to the Impala Lodge (the nice hotel we stayed in our last night) to catch the shuttle to Nairobi.
The first two hours of the shuttle ride were uneventful as we passed through northern Tanzania toward the Kenyan border. We saw lots of Massai people leading their cows, sheep, and goats across the road and I cowered in horror as our driver came within inches of the animals and their handlers. We got to the border and had an uneventful crossing (contrary to some of the stories we'd been hearing, and much to our relief), then continued driving through Kenya for about 30 minutes before the entire bus was filled with the delightful smell of a burning clutch. We stopped off, but apparently the driver decided to keep going (after he got all the people hurrying to the airport out of our bus and into another one), and we almost made it to Nairobi before we broke down on the side of a dark, dusty, and unpaved road. It wasn't long before the driver got another shuttle, and we were ONLY an hour late meeting Justin's friend, Kevin, at the Silver Springs hotel.
Kevin took us to Mercury Bar, a very nice bar in a cute area of Nairobi. We had lots of appetizers and he introduced us to our new favorite African beer, White Cap. After we were done, we headed to Kevin's beautiful house inside a gated community with about 8 houses (in Nairobi, "gated" means gated, walled, electric-wired, guard-dogged, and with 6 locks on each door to the outside). Kevin's house is huge and beautifully decorated, and Kevin is an incredibly gracious host. We sat on his beautiful back porch in his yard and drank some more beer, then went to bed.
The next morning, Kevin had to work, so he arranged for a driver to take us around Nairobi for the day (told you he was a good host). We started off the morning at -- those of you who know me will know how excited I was about this -- an ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE. It's run by a trust that saves baby elephants orphaned by poachers, and for an hour each weekday visitors are allowed in to watch the baby elephants (there were about 8 of them) play in the water and with each other. The elephants were completely and utterly adorable, but one elephant just stood there, not socializing, trying to eat rocks. I decided his name should be changed to "Dumbo," but I felt like a jerk when the handler told us that he arrived at the orphanage only 4 weeks ago, and he was still grieving the loss of his family, who were killed by poachers. :( There's nothing wrong with this guy, he just had a little trouble standing up once he lay down --
After elephant viewing time was over, we headed out to see the baby rhino and the warthogs (my favorites!) that hang around the elephant sanctuary. We didn't see any rhinos on safari (apparently there are only 16 in the entire Serenghetti and another 20 in the Ngorongoro area), so we were excited to see a couple of them up close (though I felt really sad at the one depressed baby rhino whose mother had recently abandoned him). I petted and hugged a warthog (HIGHLIGHT!) and we headed off.
Next stop: Kitunda glass factory. We drove for about an hour down rocky, dusty, unpaved roads (getting stuck a couple of times) and pulled into the most eccentric place I think I've ever been. There were sculptures everwhere, horses, donkeys, and camels roaming around, and a "beware of Rottweiler: do not run" sign in the entrance. The only way to accurately describe this place is Willy Wonka-esque. We walked around and saw the workers blowing glass, toured the shops, and were amazed by all of the cool stuff at the factory.
We left the factory and headed off to the place Kevin recommended for lunch: Le Rustique. This place was adorable -- a huge outdoor space that was like the restaurant's backyard, with a few little shops in it. We ate some delicious food, had beers (and milkshakes), then headed back to Kevin's for a little rest before going out for dinner. When Kevin came home, we headed out for Ethiopian food with a few of his work friends (it was delicious!), then went to Casablanca, a fun bar in Nairobi, where we sat indian-style and drank beers before heading home to bed.
This morning, we decided to continue our tour de animals at the safari walk, which one of Kevin's friends recommended because -- for the right price -- you could pet a cheetah. We walked around, saw lots of cool animals (including albino zebras and a unicorn ... ok, a deer-like creature who got in a fight, but it was still cool), and Justin told our guide that I had been dreaming of petting a cheetah my whole life (...). He got the handler who unlocked a gate and took us through the back of the cheetah enclosure, then (to my total shock) let the cheetah in a smaller cage and invited us in. The guy was a little pushy, telling us to lie down next to the cheetah, and I had just started petting her when she growled at me! I jumped up in horror but he told me that she was just PURRING. I was petting a purring cheetah. We took lots of pictures, and petted her for a long time (she was like a housecat, she would roll over on her back to get us to scratch her tummy), then headed out (after paying our guides, of course).
After the safari walk, we went to the giraffe sanctuary to continue with the theme of this part of the trip. We got to feed giraffes out of our hands (and mouths -- the guy got us to put pellets between our lips and the giraffes kissed us, I'll try to add a picture) and kiss and hug them. It was a pretty amazing experience.
After the giraffes, we went to see the Blixon (?) house from the movie "Out of Africa", then went to another bead factory that employs 350 women (mostly single mothers) and pays for almost all of their medical expenses. The factory was cool and we hit up the shops (again) and tried to figure out how to order all of our cups and plates from there (FedEx ships things to the US for a mere $100 USD per kilogram) when we grow up.
We headed back to Kevin's house after another delightful lunch (can't remember the name of the restaurant at the moment) at a gorgeous outdoor space with a big green lawn. Now we're at the internet cafe, waiting for him to get done with work, and we're going to go eat traditional Kenyan BBQ and go to a cultural show tonight. Tomorrow, we head to a lake filled with pink flamingoes and stay there for a night before returning to beautiful Nairobi for another few days.
Rach
Our last day in Arusha, we went to the Rwanda genocide tribunal (the ICTR) in the morning to watch the proceedings. After an hour-and-a-half delay (during which we went to the library and marveled at all the American law journals collected there), we finally got to hear some testimony. The witnesses are hidden behind a curtain, but we could see the defendant and his American counsel clearly. We heard the witness's testimony about the events of April 7, 1994 (the day the genocide started), and left feeling quite somber and sad after about an hour. We headed back to the Impala Lodge (the nice hotel we stayed in our last night) to catch the shuttle to Nairobi.
The first two hours of the shuttle ride were uneventful as we passed through northern Tanzania toward the Kenyan border. We saw lots of Massai people leading their cows, sheep, and goats across the road and I cowered in horror as our driver came within inches of the animals and their handlers. We got to the border and had an uneventful crossing (contrary to some of the stories we'd been hearing, and much to our relief), then continued driving through Kenya for about 30 minutes before the entire bus was filled with the delightful smell of a burning clutch. We stopped off, but apparently the driver decided to keep going (after he got all the people hurrying to the airport out of our bus and into another one), and we almost made it to Nairobi before we broke down on the side of a dark, dusty, and unpaved road. It wasn't long before the driver got another shuttle, and we were ONLY an hour late meeting Justin's friend, Kevin, at the Silver Springs hotel.
Kevin took us to Mercury Bar, a very nice bar in a cute area of Nairobi. We had lots of appetizers and he introduced us to our new favorite African beer, White Cap. After we were done, we headed to Kevin's beautiful house inside a gated community with about 8 houses (in Nairobi, "gated" means gated, walled, electric-wired, guard-dogged, and with 6 locks on each door to the outside). Kevin's house is huge and beautifully decorated, and Kevin is an incredibly gracious host. We sat on his beautiful back porch in his yard and drank some more beer, then went to bed.
The next morning, Kevin had to work, so he arranged for a driver to take us around Nairobi for the day (told you he was a good host). We started off the morning at -- those of you who know me will know how excited I was about this -- an ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE. It's run by a trust that saves baby elephants orphaned by poachers, and for an hour each weekday visitors are allowed in to watch the baby elephants (there were about 8 of them) play in the water and with each other. The elephants were completely and utterly adorable, but one elephant just stood there, not socializing, trying to eat rocks. I decided his name should be changed to "Dumbo," but I felt like a jerk when the handler told us that he arrived at the orphanage only 4 weeks ago, and he was still grieving the loss of his family, who were killed by poachers. :( There's nothing wrong with this guy, he just had a little trouble standing up once he lay down --
After elephant viewing time was over, we headed out to see the baby rhino and the warthogs (my favorites!) that hang around the elephant sanctuary. We didn't see any rhinos on safari (apparently there are only 16 in the entire Serenghetti and another 20 in the Ngorongoro area), so we were excited to see a couple of them up close (though I felt really sad at the one depressed baby rhino whose mother had recently abandoned him). I petted and hugged a warthog (HIGHLIGHT!) and we headed off.
Next stop: Kitunda glass factory. We drove for about an hour down rocky, dusty, unpaved roads (getting stuck a couple of times) and pulled into the most eccentric place I think I've ever been. There were sculptures everwhere, horses, donkeys, and camels roaming around, and a "beware of Rottweiler: do not run" sign in the entrance. The only way to accurately describe this place is Willy Wonka-esque. We walked around and saw the workers blowing glass, toured the shops, and were amazed by all of the cool stuff at the factory.
We left the factory and headed off to the place Kevin recommended for lunch: Le Rustique. This place was adorable -- a huge outdoor space that was like the restaurant's backyard, with a few little shops in it. We ate some delicious food, had beers (and milkshakes), then headed back to Kevin's for a little rest before going out for dinner. When Kevin came home, we headed out for Ethiopian food with a few of his work friends (it was delicious!), then went to Casablanca, a fun bar in Nairobi, where we sat indian-style and drank beers before heading home to bed.
This morning, we decided to continue our tour de animals at the safari walk, which one of Kevin's friends recommended because -- for the right price -- you could pet a cheetah. We walked around, saw lots of cool animals (including albino zebras and a unicorn ... ok, a deer-like creature who got in a fight, but it was still cool), and Justin told our guide that I had been dreaming of petting a cheetah my whole life (...). He got the handler who unlocked a gate and took us through the back of the cheetah enclosure, then (to my total shock) let the cheetah in a smaller cage and invited us in. The guy was a little pushy, telling us to lie down next to the cheetah, and I had just started petting her when she growled at me! I jumped up in horror but he told me that she was just PURRING. I was petting a purring cheetah. We took lots of pictures, and petted her for a long time (she was like a housecat, she would roll over on her back to get us to scratch her tummy), then headed out (after paying our guides, of course).
After the safari walk, we went to the giraffe sanctuary to continue with the theme of this part of the trip. We got to feed giraffes out of our hands (and mouths -- the guy got us to put pellets between our lips and the giraffes kissed us, I'll try to add a picture) and kiss and hug them. It was a pretty amazing experience.
After the giraffes, we went to see the Blixon (?) house from the movie "Out of Africa", then went to another bead factory that employs 350 women (mostly single mothers) and pays for almost all of their medical expenses. The factory was cool and we hit up the shops (again) and tried to figure out how to order all of our cups and plates from there (FedEx ships things to the US for a mere $100 USD per kilogram) when we grow up.
We headed back to Kevin's house after another delightful lunch (can't remember the name of the restaurant at the moment) at a gorgeous outdoor space with a big green lawn. Now we're at the internet cafe, waiting for him to get done with work, and we're going to go eat traditional Kenyan BBQ and go to a cultural show tonight. Tomorrow, we head to a lake filled with pink flamingoes and stay there for a night before returning to beautiful Nairobi for another few days.
Rach
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Lots of updates!
Hey all --
We added updates on Kili and Safari (written by me and Andrew, no guest blogger this time around) ;) and pictures as far back as Cape Town. Enjoy!!
R
We added updates on Kili and Safari (written by me and Andrew, no guest blogger this time around) ;) and pictures as far back as Cape Town. Enjoy!!
R
Safari (Rachel)
(beautiful Serenghetti sunset)Picking up where we left off ...
The morning after we returned from Kili, we headed off on safari with Good Earth, the same company that took us up the mountain. We piled into the 4x4 and headed off for lake Manyara, famous for its tree-climbing lions. We saw four lions in a single tree, plus lots of elephants and other animals, before we headed to our campsite, which was filled with annoying American teenagers talking all night long.
The next morning, we headed off on the 5-hour drive to the Serenghetti to start the next part of our safari. We did a 5 hour game drive, seeing lots of elephants (can you tell what my favorite animal is?) before we headed back to camp for dinner. Later that night, the hyenas that frequent the camp stole our tablecloth (and, we suspect, ate our butter, which vanished). We did another drive in the Serenghetti the next day, and stayed at the same campsite.
The morning after we returned from Kili, we headed off on safari with Good Earth, the same company that took us up the mountain. We piled into the 4x4 and headed off for lake Manyara, famous for its tree-climbing lions. We saw four lions in a single tree, plus lots of elephants and other animals, before we headed to our campsite, which was filled with annoying American teenagers talking all night long.
The next morning, we headed off on the 5-hour drive to the Serenghetti to start the next part of our safari. We did a 5 hour game drive, seeing lots of elephants (can you tell what my favorite animal is?) before we headed back to camp for dinner. Later that night, the hyenas that frequent the camp stole our tablecloth (and, we suspect, ate our butter, which vanished). We did another drive in the Serenghetti the next day, and stayed at the same campsite.
Here are some lions "on honeymoon" as our tour representative so politely put it --
After the Serenghetti, we headed for the Ngorongoro crater, an old volcanic crater that's around 270 square kilometers and is filled with animals. We saw lots of cool stuff, including a group of cape buffalos (part of the "Big Five," which includes elephants, lions, rhinos, and leopards, grouped together as the five hardest-to-kill animals in Africa) chasing a lion, which ran right up to the car in front of us, hiding and panting to catch his breath. We saw hundreds of zebras and wildebeast, and barely missed what we thought would be a certain kill -- six female lions were stalking a group of wildebeast, and one almost pounced until a car full of idiots with a bigger idiot driver broke her line of sight and she gave up (GRR).
This morning, we headed back to Arusha, where we settled in to the Impala Lodge and had dinner at the nice restaurant upstairs. The plan for tomorrow is to go to the Rwanda genocide tribunals for the morning, then head to Nairobi on the bus in the afternoon to visit Justin's friend Kevin.
More later!
Rach
Mt. Kilimanjaro (Rachel)
Well here we are again, after two weeks of being off line!
Kilimanjaro was a trying, exhausting, freezing, but rewarding experience. Day 1 we got picked up by our "Olympic Team" in Arusha and driven two hours to the entrance gate of Kilimanjaro. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to make it up the mountain, or how far I would be able to get at all. I'd heard a lot of different stories about peoples' experiences on the mountain, and I wasn't sure what to expect for myself.
We arrived at the gate at 11:00 am and spent some time registering before we headed up the mountain around 11:30. Almost the entirety of the first day we spent trudging through mud in a rainforest-like environment, filled with low-hanging vines, greenery, and moisture. The walk was a little difficult because of the mud, but we felt good. Our guide, James, met up with us after a couple of hours of our assistant guide, Francis, leading us up the mountain, carrying a huge pack, a bag with our lunches, and a box full of bread. We had our lunch and continued on, hiking for about 6-7 hours that morning before we got to the first camp, which was nice, though small, and had latrines (which we would get used to quickly).
Day two was also fun; we woke up early, had porridge, toast, eggs, and "maji moto" (Swahilli for hot water) before we headed out for another 6-7 hour hike. The scenery was a little different from the first day as we climbed above 10,000 feet, and there was more dust and more prehistoric-looking plants. We had lunch on a big rock overlooking the trail, continued on, and made camp at the next campsite, having a soon-to-be-familiar dinner of starch (white rice, pasta, etc.) with veggie/meat sauce.
Day three was exhausting, at least for me. At this point, we were in the clouds almost the entire day, and the wind was cold and biting. The temperature was around 40-50 degrees fahrenheit, but with a strong wind and the wet pangs of moisture that you get walking through clouds. Within an hour, I was feeling exhausted and frustrated, but we continued on and made it through the long hike, making camp and having our familiar dinner yet again. One notable part of day three was the extra hour we added on to our hike -- in our guide's words, "for exercise", like we weren't getting enough of that as it was -- up above 15,000 feet to acclimatize. We were all fine, and took some great pictures and relaxed before heading down a couple thousand feet to sleep for the night. Here are our tents at the campsite --
Kilimanjaro was a trying, exhausting, freezing, but rewarding experience. Day 1 we got picked up by our "Olympic Team" in Arusha and driven two hours to the entrance gate of Kilimanjaro. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to make it up the mountain, or how far I would be able to get at all. I'd heard a lot of different stories about peoples' experiences on the mountain, and I wasn't sure what to expect for myself.
We arrived at the gate at 11:00 am and spent some time registering before we headed up the mountain around 11:30. Almost the entirety of the first day we spent trudging through mud in a rainforest-like environment, filled with low-hanging vines, greenery, and moisture. The walk was a little difficult because of the mud, but we felt good. Our guide, James, met up with us after a couple of hours of our assistant guide, Francis, leading us up the mountain, carrying a huge pack, a bag with our lunches, and a box full of bread. We had our lunch and continued on, hiking for about 6-7 hours that morning before we got to the first camp, which was nice, though small, and had latrines (which we would get used to quickly).
Day two was also fun; we woke up early, had porridge, toast, eggs, and "maji moto" (Swahilli for hot water) before we headed out for another 6-7 hour hike. The scenery was a little different from the first day as we climbed above 10,000 feet, and there was more dust and more prehistoric-looking plants. We had lunch on a big rock overlooking the trail, continued on, and made camp at the next campsite, having a soon-to-be-familiar dinner of starch (white rice, pasta, etc.) with veggie/meat sauce.
Day three was exhausting, at least for me. At this point, we were in the clouds almost the entire day, and the wind was cold and biting. The temperature was around 40-50 degrees fahrenheit, but with a strong wind and the wet pangs of moisture that you get walking through clouds. Within an hour, I was feeling exhausted and frustrated, but we continued on and made it through the long hike, making camp and having our familiar dinner yet again. One notable part of day three was the extra hour we added on to our hike -- in our guide's words, "for exercise", like we weren't getting enough of that as it was -- up above 15,000 feet to acclimatize. We were all fine, and took some great pictures and relaxed before heading down a couple thousand feet to sleep for the night. Here are our tents at the campsite --
Days four and five were quite similar, with two short (3-4 hour) hikes in the desolate lunar landscape above 13,000 feet. The walks were relatively straightforward, unlike the hike of day 3 where we were clutching rocks and walking along the edge of a path with a precarious drop for a stumbling hiker. I had learned that I had seriously underestimated the mountain, thinking it would be a semi-steep walk uphill for five days. I found myself panting and, at times, gasping for breath as I did simple things (including walking to and from dinner, the latrines, etc.), and my heart rate monitor told me that my heart was beating at about 70-80% of its max heart rate most of the day.
Day six was, as promised, hell. We were woken up at 10:45 PM (technically, in the evening of day 5), fed a little bit of porridge (not too much, our guide warned us, since we'd likely puke the whole way up the mountain from altitude sicknses), and got dressed for the 6-7 hour hike to the summit. I wore: two pairs of wool socks, long underwear, fleece pants, goretex pants, a tank top, a t-shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, a down jacket, and a goretex jacket, plus gloves. I hit my headlamp and headed off to this nightmare hike.
The first four hours were uneventful, and I kept myself busy by singing to myself (it sounds nerdy, but it's hard to walk uphill at 16,000+ feet in total darkness when it's like 30 degrees outside). I had a few moments of exhaustion, but once it hit 4 am I felt like I was in trouble. The wind started blowing, and it was coming so quickly and so cold that it felt like it was taking the breath right out of my lungs. I had mockingly turned down the "ninja mask" (the hat that covers most of your face) which was a terrible decision. When we reached Shira Point (only about an hour from the summit), I sat down next to our guide, spent, and said "James, I'm so tired," not knowing how I was going to be able to make it the rest of the way up. After another hour (thankfully, it was relatively flat at this point), I saw the sign: "CONGRATULATIONS, you have reached Uhuru Peak". Pretty rewarding!
We headed back down almost immediately as we were developing headaches and the best cure for impending altitude sickness is a rapid descent. I managed to cut the 4-hour descent into an hour and 45 minutes (impressive, eh?), arriving back at camp around 9 am (surprising that you can do so many hours of hiking before most people are awake). We took a little nap and headed down to 10,000 feet (from 19,000+ feet at the summit), where we camped for the night. The next morning, with the stiffest knees and sorest muscles imaginable, we got back to the gate and headed back to Arusha.
I'm proud of myself for not giving up, especially early in the morning of day 6, and I'm glad that I spent the last few months getting in shape for this trip. The first shower after 7 days on the mountain, the first full breath of oxygen at the gate, and sending my clothes to laundry were the highlights of the last day. We had to get things done quickly before SAFARI!
More to come ...
Rach
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)