Arusha

Flight

Exit Belgium's airsapce and enter Netherlands' at 10pm

My Kilimanjaro trek was to begin on 10 June. I decided to reach Arusha on 7 June so that I would have adequate time to get used to the environment and to find my bag should it get lost. On 6 June, I took the 8pm flight from Madrid to Amsterdam, with the intention to sleep in the airport lounge and to catch the 10am flight from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro the next day.

The night before I left for Amsterdam, I found that there was a hotel (Yotel) right in the transit area in the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol so I chickened out from sleeping in the lounge and opted for the room instead. The room was small but bigger than those in the capsule hotels in Japan. It had everything that I needed – internet, television (first time I've watched tv in a month!), shower, towel. The table could be neatly folded away and the chair folded and hung on the door. The only thing I could not understand was why the lights were pink. Given that there were so many rooms in such a small place and people going in and out, it was surprisingly quiet.

On the flight from Amsterdam to Arusha, I sat next to Natalie, a Dutch, who was on her way to Moshi to do her research on malaria for 2 months. We talked about travelling, how her research took her to many parts of the world, where I should travel to, malaria, my medication for malaria (which was only a generic drug for malaria and everything else). We laughed at how I was still speaking my baby Spanish in Amsterdam and on the plane when everyone was speaking in perfect English to me. Thanks Natalie! You were great company!

We flew over the Sahara Desert. The environment looked so harsh, it felt like flying over the moon or mars. Yi Hui, could you remind me again as to why you walked across the Gobi Desert? During that walk, did you wonder a million times why you were torturing yourself? Are you crazy, girl? : )

Sahara Desert

Arrival

We arrived in the Kilimanjaro Airport at about 7.30 pm. It was kind of chaotic clearing the customs. Everyone seemed to be queuing in however manner they wanted. I did not need a visa but the lines for customs clearance were slower than the line for visa (which needed more paperwork). After clearing the customs, I waited forever for my bag and started to worry that I was in the wrong airport (there were people holding papers written with names  before the custom clearance and I did not see mine), that my bag had gone missing (with the long layover in Amsterdam) etc. Then I realised my bag was sitting on a conveyor belt that had stopped nearby. What a relief!

When I stepped into the arrival hall, I saw my name on a paper. Hallelujah! Mshana had come to pick me up from the airport. As we drove into Arusha town, we passed by the lights from the airport and from tanzanite mines. Otherwise, the road was pitch-black. A million stars lit up the sky and it was really beautiful. Despite the darkness, there were many people riding bicycles and women walking alone without lights. Hmmm...

Lodging

I arrived at Outpost Lodge safe and sound. I had chosen the lodge because it was in a quiet area but close enough to town and had wi-fi network. Surprisingly, 12 out of the 17 climbers from the same trip chose to do the same. My room was big. Lights were dim (small flourescent tubes were used and on top of that, unremovable lamp shades which made the room even dimmer). There were warning messages in the room and bathroom to remind one to save water and electricity and not to wash clothes and I was quite worried that the hot water would run out when I showered.

I finally had a good look at the lodge in the morning. It actually looked good, with a resort feel and lots of plants and flowers. There was a pool and next to it, a tap which birds frequented.

Food

I wanted to walk into the Arusha town centre but the lady at the reception frowned upon it. Hence, I contacted Mshana to bring me to somewhere local for lunch and then into town to get what I need. He brought me to a street across from Mt Meru Hotel, to a bar called VIP Lounge. We said hello to the chef and he ordered lunch.

Except for the furnishings, it would have been the same as the bars anywhere else – there was the usual bar counter, pool table and dart boards.
 
The only difference would have been the grills at the bar counter to protect the barman from robbery.

Before the food arrived, one of the waitresses came with water for us to wash our hands (we were going to eat with our fingers). I think I got the VIP treatment because I had a warm water poured from a kettle to wash my hands (as opposed to cold water from a pail). There was also a tiny piece of soap on the lid of the kettle which was turned upside down.

Our tomato (with chili) salad, soggy fries and ugali arrived. A waiter brought out the nyama choma (grilled meat) we ordered (lamb) and cut it in front of us. The ugali is a cornmeal ball and Henry Stedman, author of “Kilimanjaro, The trekking guide to Africa's highest mountains”, described ugali as “usually served in a single cricket-ball sized lump and has the consistency of plasticine”. I thought it was very similar to the ketupat that we have back home and is a good match for grilled meat (much like ketupat and satay).

Barbecued lamb (sorry, we finished the ribs)

ugali

I liked everything except for the soggy fries. Even though I ate with my fingers, I think the alcohol content in the beer killed all germs so I did not have any stomach upsets.

Town

After lunch, we drove into town, changed some US$ into Tanzanian shillings, got my postcards, bottled water and chocolates for the trip.

I had a crash course on swahili from Mshana and the locals were quite amused when I used swahili for greetings and to thank them. There were people on the streets peddling artworks, accessories and football jerseys. They very much left me alone when I smiled and said “no, ahsante sana”. (The next day, I would hear how Gloria and Anna were pestered and how Jack was threatened with death. Phew! Lucky me!)

The town was tiny and I could not believe that I would be stuck in a traffic jam. 

Drogba

Arusha Declaration Monument

 

Gloria and Anna

Gloria

On the eve of the trek, I was in the cafe at Outpost Lodge writing my blog (I could not get any wi-fi network in my room) when I heard 2 ladies talking about Kilimanjaro. One of them brought out the itinerary that I had also  received. I went over to introduced myself and found that they were going on the same route as me. They were Gloria, from the USA and Anna, from Poland. We thought it was going to be a group of 8 hikers so we were quite happy to have found each other.

Anna

Jonas

The chief guide for my group, Jonas, came to brief us in the evening and to pass me the items I have rented.

We found out that 17 people have signed up for the Rongai Route with Team Kilimanjaro and we would be split into 1 group of 7 and 2 groups of 5 trekkers. Gloria and I would be in the group of 7 and Anna would be in another group.

Jonas, dead tired, after 7 days of torture from us

Jack

When I went back to my room to get money to pay Jonas, I met Jack, a British from Brighton, who was staying in the room next to mine. He had just came back from the same Rongai trek with Team Kilimanjaro the day before. Gloria wanted to discuss about tipping so I asked Jack to share his experiences with us. 


Jack's group was made up on 4 people and he showed us the photographs he took. He recalled how his teammate, a girl, who had no symptons of acute mountain sickness and did not take diamox, had collapsed at the Gilman's Point. They had to force a lot of energy gel into her, she recovered and they ran up to the peak and down again.

It was great to hear a realistic first-hand account but I thought I was going to freak out soon with too much nervous energy. For the 1 millionth time I had wondered if I am fit enough and if I was crazy and paid money to torture myself. Jack tried to boost my confidence but I remained nervous. I NEED TO GET ON THE MOUNTAIN. NOW. PRONTO!