Day 34 2/17/99: Arusha (4,500')

IM001156.jpg (92393 bytes) Today was the day at the Dik Dik lodge to recover from jet lag and also get our climbing gear checked.

The best way to begin the day is of course with breakfast. Remember, we have to eat in order to have the energy for the big hike--of course, I don't usually need an excuse to eat :-)

IM001138.jpg (79879 bytes) In addition to having scrambled or hard-boiled eggs for breakfast, we also had bread, cheese, and cold cuts. The fresh fruits looked tempting, but I skipped them.

IM001157.jpg (117814 bytes) Do you know what this is? Going once, twice...This is a wood-fired brick oven where our bread is baked fresh every morning. No wonder the bread tastes so fresh and good.

We listed to Alex, our trip leader, to find out key information that we need to know for the next few days.

We also met Samia, who was the assistant trip leader. He, in fact, just got off the mountain and will also be leading another trip a few days after we finished our climb. Amazing. Incidentally, he was even hiking while suffering from a cold. However, climbing Kili is a piece of cake for him as he has climbed up and down Kili in three days as compared to our nine days. Climbing for the rest of us, however, is a lot of challenging!

Some of the hints that Alex stressed

	"Poley, poley" is Kiswahili for slowly, slowly. This is the hint mentioned almost in every Mt. Kili travelogue in print or on the Internet. It's important to hike up slowly in order to acclimate to the high altitude. Besides, there is no reason to rush up the mountain. This way I got to enjoy the incredible scenery and take pictures. As it turned out, the pacing going up is never a problem because Alex, being the lead in the front, controlled the pace very well.
	"Drink, drink, and drink" This is Alex's 70th Mt. Kilimanjaro climb. He repeatedly stated that the secret to making all the way to the top of the mountain is to drink lots of water. How much water? How do you know whether you have drank enough? The answer is "clear and copious." The urine has to be gin clear! He kept saying "drink, drink, drink!" So Theresa and I started with drinking this bottle of Safari Mineral Water--bottled on the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro! You know, it's really difficult to try to drink enough to be copious and clear. Theresa had some problems. I have no problem being copious but being clear is not so easy. When is the last time you have to drink 3 to 6 quarts of water in a day? You will find out a little later which is the meaning of "Zip Symphony."
	"Eat, eat, and eat." Alex stated that you can never eat enough on the mountain. This was the most difficult for me on the first few days as you will find out. Even though my equipment list is about as comprehensive as anyone else who has done the trip, but I would have paid $100 for a fresh pepper mill to spice up the food. This is not a comment about the good food available on the mountain, but taking my favorite spice would have been important to increase my appetite and force myself to eat even though I was nauseated from altitude sickness.

Alex and Samia and then checked our climbing gear. Of course, we passed with flying colors. :-)

IM001136.jpg (106264 bytes) While walking in the garden of the Dik-Dik lodge, I encountered this sign. My goodness, I wonder what kind of ferocious animal will be around?

IM001166.jpg (71381 bytes) Hum. I don't think Theresa saw the above sign and proceeded to pet this cute little poof ball :-)

IM001151.jpg (70527 bytes) IM001150.jpg (88158 bytes) At the Dik-Dik lodge there was a Mt. Kilimanjaro viewing tower. Theresa and I climbed to the top despite the tower was shaking a bit due to the high wind! It's a pity that due to the cloud cover we could not see Mt. Kilimanjaro--okay, I have to admit I don't even know which direction I should be looking :-)

Here are some of the scenes from our walk in the Dik Dik lodge's garden.

IM001158.jpg (118811 bytes) Yes, we even found our laundry drying in the sun. It cost us only $15 to get 2 pair of pants, 2 shirts, and 2 pairs of socks cleaned.

IM001160.jpg (145185 bytes) IM001159.jpg (122460 bytes) There was even a hammock outside our room. We relaxed in the afternoon.

We had a nice dinner. That was the last dinner where we get to sit down on real chairs for a while.

Lois: "Look, I'm ready for my Larium!" We all took Larium to prevent malaria. However, the effects on us range from no side effects at all (for Theresa and me) to severe dizziness for some. The trick is to take it with dinner so we can sleep through the side effects if there were any.

IM001161.jpg (60110 bytes) Look at the nice salad we had for dinner. Nice presentation. Don't ask whether I ate it or not :-)

IM001135.jpg (75687 bytes) On my morning walk it was nice to see some chickens walking around. However, I wonder if one of the chickens became my dinner that night! IM001162.jpg (73688 bytes)

Click here for next day's adventure and find out how many porters met us at the trailhead