Day 2 - on our way to Shira Cave, 3900m
04/04/12
Machame Hut to Shira Cave
Day 2 is mostly about covering altitude, going up 900 meters from first camp.
We go through a different scenery and this day involve a bit of rock climbing and we have to put our poles to the side as we need both our hands go forward. After a few hours we had covered quite a bit and finally reached our lunch spot, and we were all happy for that, felt like a great achievement. We found a big rock to sit on with the greatest views of Mt Meru and from the path below where we just had come from.
Me with Mt Meru in the background
We noticed that we had a bird stalking us, first waking us up at 6am in the morning at camp and then constantly being around us. Dean named him Alfried, which funny enough ended up being what the porters thought Dean's name was.. Alfried and his mates are clearly used to people and got very close to us.
We had a big lunch and both me and Jan felt sick afterwards. This is more than I eat for a big dinner, and how we had to continue walking too.. After another couple of hours of climbing/walking we arrived to Shira Camp, our home for the night. By then, I felt fine again.. typical.
When we got to the top, the mist disappeared and Mt Kilimanjaro gave us the honor to show itself to us. Huge, but not as far anymore.. Still very mysterious and powerful, teasing us with its presence, even if mostly behind clouds.
Up on 3900m, I felt the altitude even more, and now the headaches started to become a pounding sound in my forehead, increasing whenever I squatted or moved too quick.
As we arrived to camp at 2pm we had some time to spend and we all ended up in the kitchen tent with the porters and had a nice chat with them, getting to know them a bit better.
Raffa, on our our porters started to teach me their Kilimanjaro welcome song "Jambo", and I was rather determined to learn it..
As I like all the rest of the team was very impressed by the porters, how they carry so much on their heads and more or less sprint up the mountain, I asked them to teach me to carry things on my head.
We started porter school with a toilet roll, then a case of biscuits, followed by a water bowl. By then I was ready for the main test: the log of wood! By this time, the porters were quite amused by my efforts and were taking pictures of me. I was proudly announced "Tanzanian Mama" when I got back to them after balancing the log on my head during a little walk around camp.
Finding a secret treasure
Me, Jan and Ben took a little walk around camp and after checking out the little cave we noticed a new built little house a bit away, so we headed over there. This nice little house turned out to be a fresh (!) toilet! One cubicle with a toilet seat even.. We were lost for words. We decided to keep this secret within the group, as it was a super luxury.
Buffaloes
In the evening, I planned my peeing a bit better and went before going to bed. As it was pitch dark outside, I just went behind a big rock.
As I starting doing my business, I could hear the herd of buffaloes coming towards me! Dunk, dunk! I turned my head the other way, and then the herd was coming from a different direction. Were we getting demolished here, or what was going on? I realized after a few seconds that I could relax, I wouldn't be run over by buffaloes with my pants down behind a rock, it was just the headache pounding harder in my head. Hey Altitude, nice getting to know you better!
We ended the day with a nice dinner again, and went to bed to rest for tomorrow's walk to Lava Tower on 4700m, and then back down to Barranco Camp at 3900. This is the acclimatisation day where we get up higher and go down again, which will make it easier for us to get used to the thinner air.
Nite nite from Shira Cave xx
Machame Hut to Shira Cave
Day 2 is mostly about covering altitude, going up 900 meters from first camp.
Me with Mt Meru in the background
We noticed that we had a bird stalking us, first waking us up at 6am in the morning at camp and then constantly being around us. Dean named him Alfried, which funny enough ended up being what the porters thought Dean's name was.. Alfried and his mates are clearly used to people and got very close to us.
We had a big lunch and both me and Jan felt sick afterwards. This is more than I eat for a big dinner, and how we had to continue walking too.. After another couple of hours of climbing/walking we arrived to Shira Camp, our home for the night. By then, I felt fine again.. typical.
When we got to the top, the mist disappeared and Mt Kilimanjaro gave us the honor to show itself to us. Huge, but not as far anymore.. Still very mysterious and powerful, teasing us with its presence, even if mostly behind clouds.
Up on 3900m, I felt the altitude even more, and now the headaches started to become a pounding sound in my forehead, increasing whenever I squatted or moved too quick.
As we arrived to camp at 2pm we had some time to spend and we all ended up in the kitchen tent with the porters and had a nice chat with them, getting to know them a bit better.
Raffa, on our our porters started to teach me their Kilimanjaro welcome song "Jambo", and I was rather determined to learn it..
As I like all the rest of the team was very impressed by the porters, how they carry so much on their heads and more or less sprint up the mountain, I asked them to teach me to carry things on my head.
We started porter school with a toilet roll, then a case of biscuits, followed by a water bowl. By then I was ready for the main test: the log of wood! By this time, the porters were quite amused by my efforts and were taking pictures of me. I was proudly announced "Tanzanian Mama" when I got back to them after balancing the log on my head during a little walk around camp.Finding a secret treasure
Me, Jan and Ben took a little walk around camp and after checking out the little cave we noticed a new built little house a bit away, so we headed over there. This nice little house turned out to be a fresh (!) toilet! One cubicle with a toilet seat even.. We were lost for words. We decided to keep this secret within the group, as it was a super luxury.
Buffaloes
In the evening, I planned my peeing a bit better and went before going to bed. As it was pitch dark outside, I just went behind a big rock.
As I starting doing my business, I could hear the herd of buffaloes coming towards me! Dunk, dunk! I turned my head the other way, and then the herd was coming from a different direction. Were we getting demolished here, or what was going on? I realized after a few seconds that I could relax, I wouldn't be run over by buffaloes with my pants down behind a rock, it was just the headache pounding harder in my head. Hey Altitude, nice getting to know you better!
We ended the day with a nice dinner again, and went to bed to rest for tomorrow's walk to Lava Tower on 4700m, and then back down to Barranco Camp at 3900. This is the acclimatisation day where we get up higher and go down again, which will make it easier for us to get used to the thinner air.
Nite nite from Shira Cave xx
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