We left Kilimanjaro View Lodge yesterday morning and headed to Moshi. The drive to Moshi was interesting. We passed through small villages along the way. We drove by a little butcher shop with meat laying on the table. Hmm, I’m not too sure I can stomach that meat. Saw motorcycles with heavy loads struggle to make up the steep and rough dirt road. One got stuck right in the middle and people pitched in to help. One time we had to back up our vehicle to let a big truck through the narrow dirt road. Typical scenes we see on TV of African communities I would say. It was pretty neat to experience it.

We are staying at the Stella Maris Lodge that is adjacent to a primary school that was built by a US-based nonprofit orphan relief organization and the Tanzanian Mailistita NGO. The income from this lodge goes exclusively to running the school, paying the teachers and buying food for the children.

Lenny was heading into town and said she would help us buy a cellular data package specifically for tourists. The trip to the mall was interesting – the bottom of the car was inspected for explosives and we were subject to a quick metal detection scan just like at the airport. This is not normal procedure but the recent bombing in Kenya has people on high alert.
Apparently there is cellular signal along certain parts of the trail and even on the summit of Kilimanjaro. I guess so much for going completely off the grid! 10GB of data costs US$20. If I’m not too knackered at the end of the day we’ll probably be posting updates. Watch for a summit update – that’s positive thinking!

Moshi is one of the closest community to Mt Kilimanjaro with a population of over two hundred thousand. Our stay here is short and this morning we will start the hike.

Last evening we met our fellow travellers for the hike and the CEO of the group. CEO=chief experience officer for G Adventures, which is the adventure tour company we are travelling with. Looks like it’s going to be a fun group. We have people from Scotland, US, transplanted Irish in New Zealand and a mother and son also from BC. There are 12 of us, more roses than thorns or would it be more hens than roosters? 🙂

We learnt a new code word yesterday. Internet cafe. The Internet cafe is the toilet. If you need to use the toilet, the phrase is “I need to send a message”. Doesn’t matter what type of message you’re sending…

It is just past 6am and we’re getting ready to meet the group for breakfast and then it’s get real…

After over 24 hours of travel we finally landed at Kilimanjaro Airport at 9pm. As we were seated near the exit and walked fast on the tarmac, we were one of the first few to enter the terminal. We got our visas and passed through immigration in no time. We had to pay US$50 each for the visa with newer crisp US money. Strangely enough for Americans and only Americans it is US$100 each. With our bags we made our way out to meet the driver to take us to the Kilimanjaro View Lodge. We are staying here for 3 nights – essentially to relax and get over the jet lag which usually hits me pretty hard.

The drive to the lodge was almost 2 hours. We passed through a police check along the way and they were armed with automatic weapons. They drive on the wrong, wait, no, I mean left side of the road and there were hardly any street lighting. There were many speed bumps along the road. The last hour was all uphill on a rough and steep dirt road. The dirt road showed signs of many heavy floods and rain that have carved grooves throughout the soft surface. We were stuck a couple times on the steep stretch and the van had to back up and take a run at it. Sometimes up to 3 attempts before we inched our way up. I felt uneasy thinking that the van might back us right off the edge of the mountain. My heart was beating fast and thought that it was way too soon to end the trip crossed my mind.

When we arrived at the lodge, I think pretty much everyone came to greet us. We were showed to our hut and went to bed just past midnight. Oh, I forgot to mention that the stars were so brilliant! Stars are simply amazing to gaze at, something that unfortunately is not common for us living in urban areas due to light pollution.

Jeff slept well but I woke up a few times that night. (Hm, I’m feeling quite sleepy now.) The next morning we saw the roof of Africa, Mt Kilimanjaro just outside our hut. Wow.

What a sight to behold in person. It seems so close and not that steep. Jeff said that I will think differently when we are on the mountain.

After breakfast we chatted with Lenny who is the lodge manager to learn more about the area. The lodge is right on the border of the national park. The park boundary is marked by eucalyptus trees. Yeah strange – wondered if the trees were brought here from Australia just like in Peru… The government made it illegal to enter the national park from this area due to illegal tree cutting activities. From the lodge we can see many farmers’ fields. Lenny said that maize (corn), plums, avocados, passion fruit, coffee, bananas and potatoes are grown in this region.

As for wildlife spotting, none in this immediate area. We saw many

birds flying around though..

We did not do much that day, just a little exploration around the lodge. We ended the day with a beautiful African sunset which was apparently more spectacular than normal according to Lenny.

First day of vacation! An early wake up call and we’re off to the races! We picked up an Evo (car-share) this morning and got to the airport in good time. I am feeling a tad smug as my checked bag came in 600 grams under the weight limit! Jeff’s bag was only 7kg lighter. In my defence, I have most of the chocolate and extra food in my bag. Travel time will take us about 24hrs, arriving in Tanzania at 8:40pm on Monday. Not too sure about blog updates or even internet connectivity… We’re waiting to Board our flight in a few minutes.