Day 0 and 1 - Arriving to Moshi and starting the Trek

On July 10th we arrived to Moshi, by plane.
We arrived in the late evening flight, and the taxi driver was waiting for us. AS we get in the taxi we get the usual tourist conversation, but we quickly told the guy we were residents, living for more than 5 years each in Dar. That wasn't enough, as he kept telling us stories to get money from us. Well, we left the car and made complaint against him.
We arrived to the hotel had dinner and went to bed, we needed to have a good night sleep before getting in the mountain.
Early morning (but not so early for Tanzania), our guide (Jonas) and the company manager (Neema) came to meet us in the hotel, and Jonas briefed us about the itinerary, the challenges, the gear we needed to carry, inspected it all (including our snacks and weight on our bags). Bear in mind that each porter is allowed to carry maximum 20 kg each, and you need to add the sleeping bag and other stuff you may need to rent. We passed the test and left to the renting shop, that looked a set from a Kusturika movie. for me just trekking poles and a good sleeping bag.

(us with Jonas, our Lead Guide)

The store is amazing, you can find anything you need there.
Even more amazing was the crew waiting for us: 12 guys including 1 senior guide (Jonas, of who i will speak about shortly) and Isaac (Guide Assistant), a cook (Beatus), the toilet porter (yes there was one, and his name was Arnold) and unfortunately can't remember the rest, but the waiter was incredible as well. A pretty big team for 2 ladies.
These 12 people are responsible for our safety and well being while in the mountain. Having a good crew is an important feature for the success of your journey.
Off we went to Londorosi gate, where we registered and got the permits for 8 days, 7 nights in Kilimanjaro National Park.

(porters waiting for their turn for weighting the luggage)

All luggage is weighted and porters distribute it among themselves. It's a noisy moment, people stack in lines, tourists are impatiently eating their lunches (which is exactly the same in all lunch boxes, regardless of how high end is your package). When all was set and done, we set off  to Lemosho glades (2.250 m ASL), where we actually started the climbing towards Mti Mkubwa (Big Tree in Kiswahili). We walked for about 2,5 hours through the rain forest. I forgot to mention it before, but one of the reasons we chose this route was because it crosses several different Ecosystems, namely: rain forest, moorland, semi-desert and Alpine desert.
The trek is easy, with some slops but easy, and we made it before schedule to Mti Mkubwa camp (2650m ASL), where our crew set our camp site long before we arrive.
The first real shock for me was not to see any wild life at all, and latter i learnt that given to the increase of humans in the area, the elephants were chase away to Kenya. For now i had only a glance of what this massive tourist attraction means.

We waited in a long line to sign in to the camp, this procedure is done repeatedly every time we reach a new camp. Rangers need to control the number of trekkers at any moment in the camp.

After settling in we had our rewarding tea with popcorn and biscuits. It was really comforting and calming. 

Later we took a walk on the camp, trying to understand the dynamics, how many of us were there, which companies, etc. It was surprising to see so many people, from so many nationalities, specially from the US. Around 100 people in this camp only, knowing that this is one of the least taken routes, imagine how many people we will find in the following days. 

So our camp site, has our tent, the guides tent, the mess and the "kitchen". I soon learnt that the crew sleeps on the mess's and kitchen's floor.

We were ready for diner at 6:30, as the sun sets early and we must adapt to the natural bio-rhythm. Beatus prepared a leeks soup, fried fish and sauteed potatoes, with an avocado salad and vegetable stew. It was simply delicious, I do recommend Beatus as the best cook in the whole camp for sure.

After dinner Jonas met us and briefed us about the following day, what we needed to wear and to pack, what kind of trek we will have, measure the SO2 e heart beat. So far so good, all normal.
We went to bed at 8:00, as we needed to get up at 6:00. I took me a while to fall asleep, but it's normal effect of the altitude.
The second thing that impressed me, was the porters. Regardless of the company, most of them are poorly dressed. Shoes are old and wore off, although it's relatively well paid activity. I was impressed by that and started wondering how they will make it during the coldest days.

It's been quite a long time since i last wrote here. You may find it strange and you're thinking to yourself: why is she writing in English?
I though about it for a long time, but once i am writing about my last adventure in Tanzania: the Kilimajaro Trek, therefore I felt like sharing this ultimate experience with all my friends.
I will be writing about my personal experience in different pieces, just follow the next episodes for more.
It all started last year when we knew that we would definitely leave Tanzania. I was dreaming about it for a while and I couldn't leave Tanzania without making it to the highest African Summit: Uhuru Peak, 5895 m above sea level. Just needed to find the right partner.
I found 4 other partners and we narrowed it down to 2 of us, and me and my dear Paula sat together and started making plans.
Firstly we spoke with friends who done it before, looked online for blogs and expert advice, and we decided the best route for us (totally unexperienced trekkers) was Lemosho Route.
Lemosho is relatively new, but it offers a good acclimatization and has a high success rate (around 97%). As we talked and talked with friends in Dar we were more and more aware of how many people couldn't make it to Summit. It was a bit frustrating as very fit, sportsman/women and people younger than us, didn't make it. It was terrible to hear people's testimonies: vomiting, diarrhea, severe headache, hallucination, exhaustion, extremely severe weather conditions, not bathing, and so on and so on, we though let's do our best, but bear in mind we may not do it.
Fact: as Tanzanian residents we heard a lot about Kili Trek, so we started looking for good companies. By good i mean : reliable, good camping gear, high success rate to Uhuru Peak, good price range, good technical proposal, crew size, good reviews and located in Tanzania. we reached out for a couple of companies and decided by Tanzania Horizon Safaris. And  here's why: they had good reviews, good (and experienced) guides, good camping gear, very responsive to emails and calls, affordable price, and offered 8 days Lemosho route which was exactly what we wanted. One tip: clearly ask about tipping rules and values. It is important to have a notion of how much extra money you need to carry with you)
When selecting a proposal, my advice is to scrutinize the company and clearly ask what kind if camping gear they have (4 season tents, thickness of the mats, sleeping bags), meal routines and menu, provision of oxygen, oxygen measurement twice a day, size of the crew, crew wages and experience of the guide. Also ask how many people will support you on the summit night. Don't be shy, it can make the difference between making it to the summit or not, or most important surviving in the mountain. Please remember that every year climbers and porters die.

Concerning the gear: you need to bring with you everything, except for the tent and sleeping mat. If you need anything you can rent it from the company that is assisting you. Any way, luckily friends provided me good advice and good gear. I was short one some small things which o bought online and my mother kindly brought me.
Bear in mind that you will need extra room in your luggage to accommodate a sleeping bag.

So here short list of what you will need:
- a back pack or a Duffel bag, plus a rain cover.
- day pack (with a rain cover as well)
- good trekking shoes (my friend Tiziana lent me lent me hers. One pair of boot, twice climbed Kili.
- very good trekking socks. I would take light ones for the first 2 days, when it's not so cold, and from then on thermal socks. try to take one pair per day, it's a myth that you will wash them...
- one pair of panties per day. Don't bring sanitary pads, unless you're planning on carrying the all the way.
- 4 pair of base layers. You won't be changing because it's freezing. Just sleep with the one you're wearing
- 1 long sleeves shirt per day. I was down on this item and i regret as i started feeling cold on day 2. Could only wear a Tshir on day one.
- 2 pair of trekking trousers, plus one pair of insulated trekking trousers for the summit night
- 3 polartec fleeces. Make sure they are suitable fro -12ºC, but feels like -20ºC. I wore 2 of them on Summit night. It's freezing cool.
- 1 polartec fleece jacket
- 1 insulated winter jacket (make sure that it's water proof) other wise you will need a light weight rain gear that fits on top of all your layers.
- 1 hard shell jacket
- 2 pair of gloves (one fleeced one an insulated one)
- Sun hat (very very important)
- Bandera or neck gaiter.
- Definitely a good Balaklava
- head lamp and batteries
- warm beanie;
- trekking poles (i rented mine from the tour operator)
- medicines.

Other things you must not forget to take with you:
- a book (i forgot mine and was bored to death)
- 2/3 snacks per day. I carried to many and it's an unnecessary weight in yur back pack.
- 2L water blade (best thing ever invented)
- 1 reusable water bottle (this is very good to have in the camp if you need to take your pils and electrolits)
- sun glasses;
- lip balm;
- vaseline or other hydrating lotion,
- sun block (FPS 50)
- hand sanitizer;
- wet wipes (try to chose some biodegradable)
- electrolites
- legging to wear on top of the thermal layer if you feel to hot and need to take of your insulated trekking trousers (believe me you will feel very hot as you descent from the summit);
- power bank (battery goes fast on the mountain).

Things you should check with your tour operator before hand (you DO NOT WANT TO CARRY ANY EXTRA GRAM ON YOUR BACK PACK)
- toilet paper
- soap
- disinfection tablets

Here is a picture of my climbing gear (besides what i was wearing). Man, it was heavy

A good company will inspect your gear before starting the climb and will advice you either you can wear it or not or if you need to top up with more gear.

Before deciding anything: GO TO SEE A DOCTOR AND SEARCH FOR MEDICAL ADVICE. Share with her/him all the doubts and questions and most: don't hide any symptoms. You will be exposed to extreme altitude (5985m ASL). I went twice: firstly with a very well experienced doctor in climbing mountains in Tanzania. It was extremely helpful.
Secondly, when i was feeling sick, I consulted another doctor who surprisingly also had climbed Kili twice. Couldn't ask for more.

So, I started a laughable routine of walking 30 min twice a week, and some Pilates class. Everyone was emphasizing how hard you need to exercise, to run, swim, walk with a heavy back pack, do this do that. I was so frustrated i couldn't keep up with all those training routines. Closer to the trekking date I had a dry and unstoppable irritant cough and had to take antibiotics while climbing Kilimanjaro. I won't even talk about my friend, who had Dengue and something else which i can't precise. Oh, that's true she went twice to the gym.
So there we were, totally unexperienced and unprepared climbers very excited and ready to climb Kili.

So in a nutshell:
- look for a good tour operator with proven experience;
- go to see a doctor before hand;
- travel light. Take less snacks than everyone advises you to.
- take you medicines and follow doctor advice;
-  bear in mind your entering in a National Park, which is a very weak ecosystem. Just face it: you will leave a huge environmental footprint, depends on you how to minimize it.
- don't bargain about porters and crew: your life depends on them. It will be very unpleasant to you if you have a underpaid crew. They are workers and they deserve every penny they make. They are very brave and responsible workers.
- make a good medical rescue insurance (for very high altitude).
- you will be sharing your tent with someone, make sure you have the right partner;
- rent your own toilet. It worth every penny.

And that's all about preparing to climb Kili.