Karibu Kilimanjaro

Hi, all. I landed in Tanzania yesterday - nearly 24hrs of travelling from home. I must say getting here was quite an adventure. After the long overnight flight from London to Nairobi I was welcomed by the beautiful scent of sweat at their airport!!! Airport which looks like the old Maltese 70's airport but hey I kind of expected that. I queued for ages at the transit desk, then found the gate through which we as well as passangers to Cairo and Istanbul went through at the same time! ok, I thought I just hope I get on the right plane!! Talking to some Americans we realised that we were on the same flight although their destination was Mwanza. So, I figured we'd be first we stopping in Kili then the same plane will fly onto Mwanza. Makes bus-riding sense !!! what about my luggage? "..you need to identify your luggage before boarding the plane" !! So, I did. When we were called to board the Kili/Mwanza plane we found our luggage strewn along the taxi way besides the small 2-propelled plane (our plane). Once we did the identification we boarded. What a ride! Glad the deafening flight was over in 50mins. At lease I got to see Kili's snow-capped peak. Now that was something. For some reason I strained my eyes hard to try to see whether there was someone on it!!!! anyways, flying adjacent to it was a shivering experience! Mount Meru was on the other side with clouds fuming like smoke from it's nostrils.

Once landed at Kili airport the big fat migration officer ordered me "Malta, Visa!" meaning I had to go to the opposite counter and do it or rather pay for it. The guy there seemed to take me a fancy and praised me being from Malta and working as manager in UK..."you must be very good, eh?!?!...." he said. Then he told me "Malta no pay for Visa so I give you Visa but I take no money!" Cool!!! :)

so, I picked my luggage (while thanking God it made it with me all the way!)and was welcomed by a man carrying my name in large letters. My driver took me to his old green Isuzu van choke-a-block with camping stuff..."that's all for the you, for climb!" he said. Great. So, he took my bag and off we set. I was alone since I later discovered that the others will be arriving the next day. I was dazed for the next two hours.

I got the feel of Africa in an instant. People walking along the long straight (and tarmaced!) road to Moshi; women carrying big loads on their heads, kids carrying banana stacks on their heads too! The air and the scenery was one colour, that of red soil. The makeshift houses; some made of stone others of wood. You could barely distinguish between houses and shops except the latter had some odd logos most of the local mobile companies (!) Poverty and yet mobile comms and internet access still making their way in these people's lives - their simple lives. Not to mention guys playing pool under an open-air hut and convicts working a field as police or soldiers watched them from the cool shade of the trees.

I had never before seen anything like this. It's like another world but part of the planet we all live on. I was getting excited. We got to Marungu then at the hotel which is a luxury stowaway in the middle of all this. The hotel as correctly described in my guide book is a "neo-classical structure" with balconies and a swimming pool too! The stuff all rushed outside to greet me when I got here - so sweet.

Well, that's was all for that day. I just slept most of what was left of it!!!

Today I managed to do some trekking :) I was eager to go round but on making my way to the hotel yest I realised I was the only white person around. You could see some kids' face. One of them just starred at me like some kind of wild cat or even worse for them!! Poor fellow, I think I must have been the first white person he ever saw in his life!!! So, one of the hotel's stuff Omari, walked me to the Kilasiya waterfall. Lovely short walk among the banana forest. Kids (if not starring at me) shouting "Jumbo! Jumbo!". Once at the fall, well, not really cause I had to make my way down..."pole pole" (slowly slowly)....and how it was so slippery esp after the rain. Eventually, got to the base with a magnificent view of this powerful gushing waterfall - wow! I enjoyed that, and my guide telling me all about his environmental project to help orphans, which was teaching people what and how to plant plants and taking care of their hygiene. He also told me all about the diff plant spices in the area and by the end of it my rucksack was camouflaged with branches and leaves. Some smelt wonderful.

I really getting excited for tomorrow, I got to meet a few of the ones who are doing the climb tomorrow. Apparently, we're 25 and will be split into 2 groups. Tonight we have our big briefing session and should set off early tomorrow. I'm off for now. Hope to catch up asap after the climb. Wish me luck everyone and keep sending me those positive thoughts and vibes my way!!!!