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.