Kilimanjaro Day 6: Mweka Camp (10170') down to Mweka Gate (5380'). One last downhill for the legs! It had rained at this altitude the night before, so it was quite slick. Still, a satisfying conclusion to what was probably the coolest journey I've ever been on.
With the whole crew before leaving the camp:
Emmanuel (without hat) and Joshua (with green hat and glasses on top), our guides, were great, and our favorite porter was God (short for Godfred in Tazania, and a pretty awesome nickname :), in front with a hat like mine). God taught us some awesome Swahili slang and kept our spirits up when we were suffering.
At the very bottom:
Celebrating afterwards at Union Coffee, a place specializing in Wazungu, ie white people, food.
If you're thinking about doing Kilimanjaro, do it. I don't make very much money right now while in grad school, but it was absolutely worth the penny pinching and saving up. I'm not sure that I'll have another experience this rewarding. If you want to do it, contact me and I'll put you in touch with our crew. A lot of people that went through bigger companies weren't that happy with their crew and that soured their tirps, but we absolutely loved everyone helping us. These guys were all exceptional, and having a good crew made all the difference in the world.
|