We had a late start today, breakfast around 8 am with an amazing view of Kilimanjaro. We packed up around 9 and got on the trail for a short hike of only 3 hrs across the shira plateau with an altitude gain of only 200m. We planned this as an extra day for acclimatizing to the altitude, which is probably a good idea, because we both feel the effects pretty good by now. Every step makes you breathe hard and everything takes so much more energy than usual. The lowered oxygen levels up here also slow down the digestion and make every food you eat sit like a rock in your stomach. We drink plenty of water and have felt pretty good so far.
It is hard not to eat a lot with the amazing food we are being served here too. Last night we had carrot-potato soup followed by a beef stew with rice and fresh mangoes and pineapples for desert. All that with the sun setting behind Mt. Kilimanjaro - what more can you ask for?
Since our hike was very easy today we had plenty of time to fidget around and discover plants, lava rocks and insects. For me the plants are very fascinating. In this dry and hostile place, where the temperatures at night drops far below freezing (our tent was covered in ice this morning) so many different plants manage to grow with beautiful flowers. We saw a bunch of plants that looked like they were from the set of Jurassic Park - maybe we get to see some dinosaurs soon? I really wonder how they survive with such little water and the extreme temperature changes. I wish we had a biologist and a geologist on our team to tell us all about the things we are seeing here.
Since it is so dry up here right now the earth is like lava ashes, dust that gets into every single pore of your body. In the evening our hands and faces look almost as black as those of our African guides and porters. After 3 days of not washing properly (thank god for wet wipes) we are quite filthy and Tosh keeps threatening me to put his underpants in my face while I sleep. I threaten him with divorce, should he proceed with his plan. I am not going to describe the reek of that piece of clothing for the sake of everybody's well-being.
Today that sweet husband of mine also put a load of rocks in my backpack. I thought it felt kind of heavy, but blamed it on me feeling weak because of the altitude. The rangers of our camp laughed their heads off, when I pulled the rocks out of my pack. Tosh got a good chin-hook for it.
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