Saturday, January 2, 2016

Distance hiked: 5 km / 3 mi

Elevation Gained (Lost): 396 m / 1,299 ft; End: 2,785 m / 9,137 ft

We are hiking the “Alternative” Lemosho Trail, a route the follows Lemosho for the first couple of days but then branches off onto a less frequented, quieter path. After registering at the Ranger’s Station, we were well on our way.

A good first day’s hike. Approximately 5 kilometers to the first camp. The ongoing refrain today and throughout the hike is “pole pole” (pronounced “polay polay”, which Is Swahili for “slowly slowly”). Another often-used term is “hakuna matata”, which if you remember your Lion King, means “no worries”. Saw Black & White Colubus monkeys moving through the trees. Beautiful creatures.

Got to camp where dinner was waiting. The food is very good – surprising what can be done on a remote stove in the middle of nowhere. Fell asleep in the woods with the wind blowing hard through the boughs above. We had our fourth person join us (a Brit from London) this morning direct from the airport. His flight the previous night had been cancelled due to snow in Istambul, so he was significantly delayed. Within hours of landing, he was on the trail – more power to him.

Heading out to trek Kili with two new friends. I will be out of touch until January 8, but check the site at Team Kilimanjaro to see our progress.

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One of the greatest things about traveling is speaking with the locals about their perceptions of the US.

In my taxi from the airport last night, I had a long conversation with Mwenbeko about guns in America. He was so astonished that the government allowed so many people to have guns. As an avid watcher of CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera, he’s always been fascinated as to why Americans have armed themselves to what seems to be a very high degree.

I explained the genesis of the Second Amendment and why the gun debate is so contentious right now.  In the end, his interesting observation: in Tanzania nobody has guns because they are all too poor to afford one and they have very little to protect anyway.