To all of Paulie´s devoted readers, her account has not been taken over by some crazy loon here to embelish her blog, rather I'm her new (some might say foolish) traveling partner on her great south american trek. I can surely say it has been quite an experience so far! It´s day 10 of our trip and today is the first day we have managed to get some down time at a place with internet access and reflect on the adventure to write in the blog. So far we have checked out 6 airports ( Sydney, KL, Taipei, LA, Panama city, Lima), numerous bus rides (one of which we lost our tickets temporarily just before boarding, gave me a mild panic attack), and one crazy ass taxi ride crossing the Peruvian/Chile border with 3 Austrian tourists.
In between all the exhausting travelling, the highlights have been so far: Huacachina - a small oasis in the middle of the desert where we experienced a beautiful sunset at the top of the desert dunes after doing a couple of runs of sand boarding... though lying flat on your stomach sliding down since it was too steep wouldn´t really be classified as that :) We also had our first proper Peruvian meals of deep fried chicken and beef with fried potatos and rice at the oasis. After this meal Pauline was craving some Asian food so the next day she decided to eat a Thai curry for lunch - against my advice, and boy did she pay for it. Lucky we had stocked up on Imodium back in Sydney so we were covered and spent the afternoon chilling out under the trees by the water.
The other highlights have been Isla Ballantos where I got to see some amazing wildlife up close of pelicans, peguins, dolphins and sea lions, and the condors at the Colca Canyon. The David Attenbourough documentaries didn´t do it enough justice. Unfortunately Paulie spent most of the time at Isla Ballantos with her head pressed against the side of the boat seasick and even had a massive drop of bird poo land on her head! Lucky I managed to get a lot of videos and photos so that she could catch up on what she missed out on.
So the adventure continues and my concerns about altitude sickness on the Inca Trail have faded as we have reached up to 4900 metres on our way to the Colca Canyon and I was fine! I even jogged a bit on the spot to which Paulie gave me the exasperated school teacher look of disapproval!
Now the pressure of writing the first blog post has finally been relieved, hope you enjoyed it and it lived up to your expectations OTFOM :)
ps. I can´t help fight this feeling wasn´t playing at any of the airports but was shown in a movie on one of the bus rides in Lima.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
A lesson in life
7 years ago I did a pilgrimage in Japan. It took me a month to walk the island of Shikoku; days of ceaseless walking, contemplating and living in the moment. I encountered innumerable kind and genuine strangers while I walked that island and I also came across people that, whilst not so kind and genuine, did teach me a valuable lesson in human nature. It was the third week of my walk when one such encounter springs to mind. I was sitting down to dinner with a table of strangers. The dinner was hosted by a kind person who would take pilgrims into his home and give them shelter for the night. The generous human spirit was common in this island of Japan where pilgrims had walked the same trail for over a thousand years. It was a polite dinner, as is often the case when a group of strangers sit down together. I conversed in my broken Japanese to those around me and it was clear I was a foreigner to the country. It took me a while before I felt the tension in the air. I could see the man at the other end of the table getting more and more agitated. As the table went quiet, I realised this old man who was in the midst of an angry tirade, was directing his anger at me. He took umbrage to the foreigners entering Japan. I, as the only foreigner on the table, became his target. The dinner was an uncomfortable affair whilst this man stood on his soap box holding forth his diatribe; as though the louder he spoke, the greater the truth. The host and others tried to intervene but the innate politeness of the Japanese meant there were no overt confrontations. I sat quietly throughout the dinner and let his baseless words roll off me.
That night I thought about this old man and how I could avoid him the next morning. Alas, the pilgrim’s trail is a well trodden path and later that morning, whilst I was alone on the trail with only trees and nature around me, I saw the old man sitting on a rock up ahead. I kept walking as there was no other way but forward and as I passed the old man, I looked him in the eye and nodded a greeting at him. He looked slightly taken aback but instinctively nodded back. And with that, I continued on my path.
That pilgrimage felt like a tiny microcosm of all the ups and downs in life, squeezed into a month. 7 years later, I can still draw on the experiences I had on my pilgrimage to guide me in the present day.
This is what that experience has taught me: it doesn’t matter how loudly someone proclaims their truth; it is still only their version coloured by their experiences and perspective in life. There are those who will take at face value what they hear. Then there are those who will listen and hopefully seek the truth. I could have held onto my anger at the injustice of this old man’s words but instead I chose to acknowledge it and continue on my path. I did not let that one bad encounter ruin all the good I experienced during the pilgrimage.
That night I thought about this old man and how I could avoid him the next morning. Alas, the pilgrim’s trail is a well trodden path and later that morning, whilst I was alone on the trail with only trees and nature around me, I saw the old man sitting on a rock up ahead. I kept walking as there was no other way but forward and as I passed the old man, I looked him in the eye and nodded a greeting at him. He looked slightly taken aback but instinctively nodded back. And with that, I continued on my path.
That pilgrimage felt like a tiny microcosm of all the ups and downs in life, squeezed into a month. 7 years later, I can still draw on the experiences I had on my pilgrimage to guide me in the present day.
This is what that experience has taught me: it doesn’t matter how loudly someone proclaims their truth; it is still only their version coloured by their experiences and perspective in life. There are those who will take at face value what they hear. Then there are those who will listen and hopefully seek the truth. I could have held onto my anger at the injustice of this old man’s words but instead I chose to acknowledge it and continue on my path. I did not let that one bad encounter ruin all the good I experienced during the pilgrimage.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
A rebirth
In anticipation of our misadventures together; this blog has been resurrected and reclaimed as the 'Adventures of the AoA'. For our dear friends (particularly of Soviet descent), we shall endeavour to amuse, inspire and bring you along our journey.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
1 season to freedom
77 more days before we bunk off for 2 months to travel around the Americas!
For the past few years my to-do list remained unfinished. My wanderlust took me through every continent but South America. Every trek I finished I would promise myself, just one more...Machu Picchu will be the last. Come September, I will be able to test this theory. Will the 4 day Inca trail be the final trek before I hang up my hiking boots? For one thing, my knees will thank me. As would Dave, who I can safely say, is not exactly as excited as I am to be camping and crossing at high altitude (the hopefully inapt), "Dead Woman's Pass".
So the slow countdown begins. I need to tamp down my excitement of finally traveling through Peru, Chile, Bolivia. As a foil to the cultural odyssey, we will take another 2 weeks to cruise down the Californian coastline, followed by another 2 weeks relaxing in a couple of tropical resorts in Asia. A perfect balance between activity and inertia, ancient wonders of the world and sprawling malls, deserts and floating islands. It's going to be amazing. Can't wait...
For the past few years my to-do list remained unfinished. My wanderlust took me through every continent but South America. Every trek I finished I would promise myself, just one more...Machu Picchu will be the last. Come September, I will be able to test this theory. Will the 4 day Inca trail be the final trek before I hang up my hiking boots? For one thing, my knees will thank me. As would Dave, who I can safely say, is not exactly as excited as I am to be camping and crossing at high altitude (the hopefully inapt), "Dead Woman's Pass".
So the slow countdown begins. I need to tamp down my excitement of finally traveling through Peru, Chile, Bolivia. As a foil to the cultural odyssey, we will take another 2 weeks to cruise down the Californian coastline, followed by another 2 weeks relaxing in a couple of tropical resorts in Asia. A perfect balance between activity and inertia, ancient wonders of the world and sprawling malls, deserts and floating islands. It's going to be amazing. Can't wait...
Monday, January 10, 2011
Nepal & India (or how to appreciate the simple necessities in life)
A 12-day high altitude trek (5412m) in the middle of a Nepalese winter at sub-zero temperatures gave me a new appreciation for the simple things in life.
My diary contains woeful daily posts of the trek, with my writing becoming steadily unreadable due to the rigor mortis that set into my cold fingers. The entry on completion of this trek contains these scrawls as I laid prostrate on the bed, unable to move due to the pain in my legs and stomach:
Top 10 things I am grateful for -
1. The tingling sensation in my fingers and toes when I finally get feeling back
2. A lukewarm shower after 6 days of cold wipes
3. The sun
4. Running water (hot water an added bonus)
5. Being able to sleep without being woken up from near suffocation due to mucus blockage
6. Having the skin grow back under my nose after being rubbed raw from the constant nose blowing
7. Toilets that flush (toilet paper an added bonus)
8. Not needing to sleep in 4 layers of thermals, plus a down jacket, in a sleeping bag, under another 2 blankets
9. Not dreading the thought of waking up in the middle of the night to pee in an outdoor squatter toilet where the water in the bucket for a makeshift flush has frozen into ice
10. Electricity
This was the Annapurna Circuit and it's been billed as one of the top 10 treks in the world. I think this would have been true had it been about 6 days shorter and in the middle of peak season, where the relentless scenery would at least be relieved by some people and colour. Don't get me wrong, Nepal is a friendly lovely country. Had I not hyped up my expectations expecting the shangri-la I experienced in Tibet, it would have been more than adequate as a holiday destination. I blame my waning travel bug, though its a poor excuse for the jaded sullen attitude that I couldn't shake off for the entire trip.
I had another one of my stray animal moments when a dog decided to follow me for 7 hours as we trekked from one village to another. This seems to happen at odd times during the course of my travels and it always feels like I've been bestowed with a rare gift of affection. Perhaps it was because we named the dog or maybe the altitude made me go a bit loopy but when the animal left me at our tea-house where we slept for the night, I missed him so much I wanted to cry. I think it's time I hang up my backpack and possibly take some meds.
So in quick summary because I am boring myself with this ridiculous recount of dogs and weeping: there was a safari after the trek where we came within throwing distance to a rhino and had to jump aside to avoid some stampeding buffaloes (or cows or bovine-looking creatures). We then overlanded to India where the highlight was the Taj Mahal (beautiful symmetrical architecture, albeit sterile). We rowed on the Ganges where a dead body floated by. We haggled and bargained for silk and jewellery where we invariably paid too much. And finally on the last day, to avoid being taken to yet another bloody museum or old fort, we decided to waste our time getting our palms read by some old guy sitting on the side of the road whilst an audience of Indians steadily amassed to laugh and giggle at the predictions.
It was an intense trip and one which will improve with age and hindsight.
My diary contains woeful daily posts of the trek, with my writing becoming steadily unreadable due to the rigor mortis that set into my cold fingers. The entry on completion of this trek contains these scrawls as I laid prostrate on the bed, unable to move due to the pain in my legs and stomach:
Top 10 things I am grateful for -
1. The tingling sensation in my fingers and toes when I finally get feeling back
2. A lukewarm shower after 6 days of cold wipes
3. The sun
4. Running water (hot water an added bonus)
5. Being able to sleep without being woken up from near suffocation due to mucus blockage
6. Having the skin grow back under my nose after being rubbed raw from the constant nose blowing
7. Toilets that flush (toilet paper an added bonus)
8. Not needing to sleep in 4 layers of thermals, plus a down jacket, in a sleeping bag, under another 2 blankets
9. Not dreading the thought of waking up in the middle of the night to pee in an outdoor squatter toilet where the water in the bucket for a makeshift flush has frozen into ice
10. Electricity
This was the Annapurna Circuit and it's been billed as one of the top 10 treks in the world. I think this would have been true had it been about 6 days shorter and in the middle of peak season, where the relentless scenery would at least be relieved by some people and colour. Don't get me wrong, Nepal is a friendly lovely country. Had I not hyped up my expectations expecting the shangri-la I experienced in Tibet, it would have been more than adequate as a holiday destination. I blame my waning travel bug, though its a poor excuse for the jaded sullen attitude that I couldn't shake off for the entire trip.
I had another one of my stray animal moments when a dog decided to follow me for 7 hours as we trekked from one village to another. This seems to happen at odd times during the course of my travels and it always feels like I've been bestowed with a rare gift of affection. Perhaps it was because we named the dog or maybe the altitude made me go a bit loopy but when the animal left me at our tea-house where we slept for the night, I missed him so much I wanted to cry. I think it's time I hang up my backpack and possibly take some meds.
So in quick summary because I am boring myself with this ridiculous recount of dogs and weeping: there was a safari after the trek where we came within throwing distance to a rhino and had to jump aside to avoid some stampeding buffaloes (or cows or bovine-looking creatures). We then overlanded to India where the highlight was the Taj Mahal (beautiful symmetrical architecture, albeit sterile). We rowed on the Ganges where a dead body floated by. We haggled and bargained for silk and jewellery where we invariably paid too much. And finally on the last day, to avoid being taken to yet another bloody museum or old fort, we decided to waste our time getting our palms read by some old guy sitting on the side of the road whilst an audience of Indians steadily amassed to laugh and giggle at the predictions.
It was an intense trip and one which will improve with age and hindsight.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Lucky number 45
Thanks to a little app on facebook that tracks the countries and cities I've been to, I can confidently say I will reach the grand total of 45 countries at the end of the year by adding Nepal and India to the list! Not a bad effort. My goal will be to hit 50 next year and rest assured, the plan is in motion. After all, there is an entire continent I have yet to visit and an entire year for which to make it happen.
But first! Nepal. Oh Nepal. The country has been on my hit list ever since I visited Tibet 6 years ago. On the itinerary is a 16 day trek around the Annapurna Circuit which as I keep reading is one of the top 10 treks in the world. Followed by a jungle safari, some villages, a national park and a brief foray via the Ganges into India to see the Taj Mahal and what not. Yes a little vague on India to tamp down the expectations. Crowds are not my forte but the Taj is next door and would be a waste not to hop over for a visit.
So in anticipation of busting out my hiking backpack, am counting down the many days left until this next adventure.
But first! Nepal. Oh Nepal. The country has been on my hit list ever since I visited Tibet 6 years ago. On the itinerary is a 16 day trek around the Annapurna Circuit which as I keep reading is one of the top 10 treks in the world. Followed by a jungle safari, some villages, a national park and a brief foray via the Ganges into India to see the Taj Mahal and what not. Yes a little vague on India to tamp down the expectations. Crowds are not my forte but the Taj is next door and would be a waste not to hop over for a visit.
So in anticipation of busting out my hiking backpack, am counting down the many days left until this next adventure.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
2009 - the year of bumming around
I've spent the better part of this year traveling around Europe in order to make the most of my remaining time living in London. It's been oftentimes exhilarating, sometimes frustrating but definitely up there as the year I did the most traveling (or bumming) around.
Here's a short rundown since my Eastern European trip in April:
- My last trip to Paris for a long while...bittersweet but lovely at the same time. The picture in flickr of the boy and his father sitting in the park was taken during a quiet moment walking around Paris and counts among my favourite photos of all time.
- Prague, Cesky Krumlov and Vienna - to be honest apart from Cesky Krumlov, this short trip was a bust, more so due to circumstances I found myself rather than destination
- 9 day road trip around Iceland - absolutely awesome. I drove around the country in my awesome 4wd encountering amazing natural phenomena such as smoking lava fields, beautiful lagoons, waterfalls, volcanoes...and cows with huge udders. Despite driving for an average of 8 hours a day for 9 days, the scenery was worth it.
- 2 weeks in Greece with Fiona and Kate, we ferried ourselves around the Greek islands gaining awesome tans.
- 1 week in Turkey, the highlight definitely Cappadocia, the lowlight definitely the icky men who wouldn't stop harrassing me
- 10 days around Morocco including Marrakech, Fes and Essaouira - ho hum, wish this place lived up to expectations but I just couldn't get over the constant hassling and unfortunate food poisoning.
I think my backpack will be taking a hiatus for some time, I hope for not too long however responsibilities call and I need to answer.
Trying to work out when I can pop over to South America for a spell, will update when that happens.
Here's a short rundown since my Eastern European trip in April:
- My last trip to Paris for a long while...bittersweet but lovely at the same time. The picture in flickr of the boy and his father sitting in the park was taken during a quiet moment walking around Paris and counts among my favourite photos of all time.
- Prague, Cesky Krumlov and Vienna - to be honest apart from Cesky Krumlov, this short trip was a bust, more so due to circumstances I found myself rather than destination
- 9 day road trip around Iceland - absolutely awesome. I drove around the country in my awesome 4wd encountering amazing natural phenomena such as smoking lava fields, beautiful lagoons, waterfalls, volcanoes...and cows with huge udders. Despite driving for an average of 8 hours a day for 9 days, the scenery was worth it.
- 2 weeks in Greece with Fiona and Kate, we ferried ourselves around the Greek islands gaining awesome tans.
- 1 week in Turkey, the highlight definitely Cappadocia, the lowlight definitely the icky men who wouldn't stop harrassing me
- 10 days around Morocco including Marrakech, Fes and Essaouira - ho hum, wish this place lived up to expectations but I just couldn't get over the constant hassling and unfortunate food poisoning.
I think my backpack will be taking a hiatus for some time, I hope for not too long however responsibilities call and I need to answer.
Trying to work out when I can pop over to South America for a spell, will update when that happens.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Travel binge
Got back earlier this week from a month long adventure to the arctic circle and around Eastern Europe. I'm happy to be back in London and doing absolutely nothing!
I've been traveling a lot since Jan including quick weekend pitstops to Majorca, Madrid, Marseille and Lisbon with Lisa, and longer trips to Tromso in Norway to see the Northern Lights and 3 weeks around Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria with Fel.
The highlight of these trips has got to be seeing the Northern Lights in Norway with Fel, Anna and Jamie. Two nights out of 3 we saw amazing dancing displays of green lights across the dark sky. It took my breath away. For one of the days we took off to the border of Finland to embark on a wild bumpy ride on a sled pulled by the cutest huskies on earth. It was quite an experience flying along the pristine snow, trying not to laugh and breath in the smelly flatulence from these little guys. It's a marvel how the huskies can poop, pee, fart and run all at the same time! Unfortunately we were very much downwind from this... Suffocation aside, it was the best fun!
Eastern Europe was cool to do though to be honest, all the eastern european cities have blurred in my mind. We tried to fit in seeing natural scenery and that worked out really well. The scenic highlights were seeing picture perfect Lake Bled and Bohinj in Slovenia and the numerous waterfalls at Plitvice Lake in Croatia. The people of Romania were incredibly friendly and helpful and Peles Castle in Sinaia was gorgeous. I was also pleasantly surprised by Sarajevo, the people there were so friendly and upbeat and the old town had a wealth of beautiful architecture despite most buildings being riddled with bullet holes.
I'm looking forward to seeking out Clooney next weekend at Lake Como, until then I shall endeavour to get a tan with the unexpected beautiful sunshine here in London!
I've been traveling a lot since Jan including quick weekend pitstops to Majorca, Madrid, Marseille and Lisbon with Lisa, and longer trips to Tromso in Norway to see the Northern Lights and 3 weeks around Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria with Fel.
The highlight of these trips has got to be seeing the Northern Lights in Norway with Fel, Anna and Jamie. Two nights out of 3 we saw amazing dancing displays of green lights across the dark sky. It took my breath away. For one of the days we took off to the border of Finland to embark on a wild bumpy ride on a sled pulled by the cutest huskies on earth. It was quite an experience flying along the pristine snow, trying not to laugh and breath in the smelly flatulence from these little guys. It's a marvel how the huskies can poop, pee, fart and run all at the same time! Unfortunately we were very much downwind from this... Suffocation aside, it was the best fun!
Eastern Europe was cool to do though to be honest, all the eastern european cities have blurred in my mind. We tried to fit in seeing natural scenery and that worked out really well. The scenic highlights were seeing picture perfect Lake Bled and Bohinj in Slovenia and the numerous waterfalls at Plitvice Lake in Croatia. The people of Romania were incredibly friendly and helpful and Peles Castle in Sinaia was gorgeous. I was also pleasantly surprised by Sarajevo, the people there were so friendly and upbeat and the old town had a wealth of beautiful architecture despite most buildings being riddled with bullet holes.
I'm looking forward to seeking out Clooney next weekend at Lake Como, until then I shall endeavour to get a tan with the unexpected beautiful sunshine here in London!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Trekking Kilimanjaro
What better way to start off the new year than to come back from holiday? Just spent 2.5 weeks in Tanzania hiking Kilimanjaro for 6 days and cruising around the northern game parks for the remainder. What an amazing trip! Definitely up there amongst the best trips I've been on.
Fiona and I landed in Arusha at night (luckily with all our luggage in tow) and headed off for Kilimanjaro the next morning with a crew of 9. Unbelievably, it takes 9 people to get 2 girls up a mountain! We chose the Rongai route bc it was the least populated and also had the most diverse landscape.
So our entourage consisted of James our guide, assistant guide Raymond who doubled as a porter, our chef Nemis, Honda our waiter who doubled as a porter, and the remaining 5 were porters carrying the gas, water, tents, bags, etc. It was a big crew though we never saw any of them until we settled for camp. All the porters would rush on ahead of us during the day in order to set up camp and have some popcorn, tea or snacks waiting for us at the end. This was really the most civilised trek I've ever done. We spent most of the day walking with James, well Fiona did. I spent most of the day trying to tune James out and walking ahead because his evangelical talk and slightly skewed perception of himself got on my nerves.
The first couple of days were fairly easy; the weather was sunny and our gain in altitude was low. We spent our time enjoying the sunshine and drinking as much as we could to counteract altitude sickness...as a by-product of the 3-4liters of water we were drinking, we also had to take copious pee breaks. It's no coincidence that the only words of swahili I remember from my trip was, 'Hello' and 'I need to pee'.
The 3rd day gave us a true taste of the pain in store for us. We hiked from 2400m to 3800m, followed by an acclimatising trek to 4000m. I got a mild altitude headache that felt like my brain was pressing against my eyeballs. That and walking at a snail's pace because any increase in speed made me feel like my heart would jump out of my mouth from beating so hard. That was the 3rd day. Fiona was also suffering from a headache and also a loss in appetite. By the 4th day we were practically force feeding ourselves.
Day 4 was the most hellish day I have ever experienced in my life. We woke up to a freezing morning. As we set off from 3800m, the day turned ugly and it began to rain...and then snow. Onwards we trekked through a bleak landscape littered with stone boulders. The incline stretched horrendously on as we trudged our way up to 4700m. By the time we reached Kibo Hut my brain had turned to mush and my body had gone numb from the cold. As we lined up to sign in at the camp site, I could barely prop myself up. After signing in, I crawled into our tent and promptly fell asleep from exhaustion. I woke up at 3pm for lunch, roamed about the camp site and then went back for another nap. Dinner was at 6pm, Fiona and I could have won zombie impersonations at this point. The altitude caused both a loss in appetite and energy, any quick movement would cause my head to throb or my heart to hammer away. After pushing our food around and making appropriate civilised noises, we retired back to the tent again in order to rest up for our 11.30pm climb at night up to the summit. After a restless few hours in the tent, both Fiona and I woke up early and started assembling all our gear for the long climb to the summit. This day seemed endless.
Our summit climb started in pitch black. We were accompanied by James and Raymond and the slow pace was set. Above us, we could already see torchlights snaking up the trail from people who had started before us. It was freezing that night despite me wearing 4 layers of thermals on top + down jacket + rain jacket. The bottom consisted of 4 layers as well. I was rugged up like the michelin man but my fingers and toes were slowly becoming numb from the cold and our slow pace. The night was long and consisted of tiny shuffling steps and constant assessment of any symptoms of altitude sickness. After a few hours, Fiona started to feel sick so James stayed back with her. Raymond and I had to shuffle on ahead as we couldn't stop too long in the cold. The worse was still in front of us. The entire path up to Gilman's Point was absolutely hellish and endless. There were sections of loose scree where one step forward meant sliding half a step back. I felt like stopping every few steps to get my breath back. Everytime I asked Raymond how far we still needed to go, he would point at some light and say we were nearly there. I stopped asking after a while because we never seemed to get any closer. This was possibly the darkest point of the trek, my fingers were icicles at this point, I was so tired I felt like curling up into a ball and going to sleep on the ground. I had to keep forcing myself to take one step after another and distract myself from the cold and exhaustion. I remember repeating the mantra 'Of course you can', these 4 words over and over again, in time with my steps. I thought of how disappointed I would be coming all this way and not making it to the top. These random thoughts distracted me enough until I made it to Gilman's Point. I thought the worse was over. By all accounts, all we had to do was make it to Stella Point, walk around the crater and get to Uhura Peak. Sounds so simple and in hindsight it really wasn't so bad. Being witness to a beautiful sunrise at 5700m and seeing the glaciers and crater, with Mawenzi peak in the distance...there was no question I would use my last bit of energy to make it to the peak.
It really was a special feeling to finally see the sign at the top of Kilimanjaro. By this time I was delirious with exhaustion and relief. I spent some time taking photos and a video of cringe-worthy commentary that consisted of the words 'I made it, I made it!'. As I was heading back down, I saw Fiona and James coming up, she was only a short while to the summit. It was a relief to know she was ok despite dry heaving and vomiting all the way up.
We scree-skied all the way back down, with me wiping out on my butt once. It made going down so much faster but it was hell on my knees and toes. Still I couldn't wait to get back to the bottom - any pain was worth it at this point. I got down at around 11am, received a round of congratulations from the porters and crawled into my tent to finally get some rest.
The day wasn't over yet. After being up since 7am the previous morning hiking to Kibo Hut and then another 12 hours through the night up and down Kilimanjaro...we had to trek another 9km to our next camp before finally resting for the night.
So, all up, definitely the most painful experience of my life but it was an incredible feeling to make it to the top that made it all worthwhile. Would I do it all over again? Hell no. Once is enough.
Fiona and I landed in Arusha at night (luckily with all our luggage in tow) and headed off for Kilimanjaro the next morning with a crew of 9. Unbelievably, it takes 9 people to get 2 girls up a mountain! We chose the Rongai route bc it was the least populated and also had the most diverse landscape.
So our entourage consisted of James our guide, assistant guide Raymond who doubled as a porter, our chef Nemis, Honda our waiter who doubled as a porter, and the remaining 5 were porters carrying the gas, water, tents, bags, etc. It was a big crew though we never saw any of them until we settled for camp. All the porters would rush on ahead of us during the day in order to set up camp and have some popcorn, tea or snacks waiting for us at the end. This was really the most civilised trek I've ever done. We spent most of the day walking with James, well Fiona did. I spent most of the day trying to tune James out and walking ahead because his evangelical talk and slightly skewed perception of himself got on my nerves.
The first couple of days were fairly easy; the weather was sunny and our gain in altitude was low. We spent our time enjoying the sunshine and drinking as much as we could to counteract altitude sickness...as a by-product of the 3-4liters of water we were drinking, we also had to take copious pee breaks. It's no coincidence that the only words of swahili I remember from my trip was, 'Hello' and 'I need to pee'.
The 3rd day gave us a true taste of the pain in store for us. We hiked from 2400m to 3800m, followed by an acclimatising trek to 4000m. I got a mild altitude headache that felt like my brain was pressing against my eyeballs. That and walking at a snail's pace because any increase in speed made me feel like my heart would jump out of my mouth from beating so hard. That was the 3rd day. Fiona was also suffering from a headache and also a loss in appetite. By the 4th day we were practically force feeding ourselves.
Day 4 was the most hellish day I have ever experienced in my life. We woke up to a freezing morning. As we set off from 3800m, the day turned ugly and it began to rain...and then snow. Onwards we trekked through a bleak landscape littered with stone boulders. The incline stretched horrendously on as we trudged our way up to 4700m. By the time we reached Kibo Hut my brain had turned to mush and my body had gone numb from the cold. As we lined up to sign in at the camp site, I could barely prop myself up. After signing in, I crawled into our tent and promptly fell asleep from exhaustion. I woke up at 3pm for lunch, roamed about the camp site and then went back for another nap. Dinner was at 6pm, Fiona and I could have won zombie impersonations at this point. The altitude caused both a loss in appetite and energy, any quick movement would cause my head to throb or my heart to hammer away. After pushing our food around and making appropriate civilised noises, we retired back to the tent again in order to rest up for our 11.30pm climb at night up to the summit. After a restless few hours in the tent, both Fiona and I woke up early and started assembling all our gear for the long climb to the summit. This day seemed endless.
Our summit climb started in pitch black. We were accompanied by James and Raymond and the slow pace was set. Above us, we could already see torchlights snaking up the trail from people who had started before us. It was freezing that night despite me wearing 4 layers of thermals on top + down jacket + rain jacket. The bottom consisted of 4 layers as well. I was rugged up like the michelin man but my fingers and toes were slowly becoming numb from the cold and our slow pace. The night was long and consisted of tiny shuffling steps and constant assessment of any symptoms of altitude sickness. After a few hours, Fiona started to feel sick so James stayed back with her. Raymond and I had to shuffle on ahead as we couldn't stop too long in the cold. The worse was still in front of us. The entire path up to Gilman's Point was absolutely hellish and endless. There were sections of loose scree where one step forward meant sliding half a step back. I felt like stopping every few steps to get my breath back. Everytime I asked Raymond how far we still needed to go, he would point at some light and say we were nearly there. I stopped asking after a while because we never seemed to get any closer. This was possibly the darkest point of the trek, my fingers were icicles at this point, I was so tired I felt like curling up into a ball and going to sleep on the ground. I had to keep forcing myself to take one step after another and distract myself from the cold and exhaustion. I remember repeating the mantra 'Of course you can', these 4 words over and over again, in time with my steps. I thought of how disappointed I would be coming all this way and not making it to the top. These random thoughts distracted me enough until I made it to Gilman's Point. I thought the worse was over. By all accounts, all we had to do was make it to Stella Point, walk around the crater and get to Uhura Peak. Sounds so simple and in hindsight it really wasn't so bad. Being witness to a beautiful sunrise at 5700m and seeing the glaciers and crater, with Mawenzi peak in the distance...there was no question I would use my last bit of energy to make it to the peak.
It really was a special feeling to finally see the sign at the top of Kilimanjaro. By this time I was delirious with exhaustion and relief. I spent some time taking photos and a video of cringe-worthy commentary that consisted of the words 'I made it, I made it!'. As I was heading back down, I saw Fiona and James coming up, she was only a short while to the summit. It was a relief to know she was ok despite dry heaving and vomiting all the way up.
We scree-skied all the way back down, with me wiping out on my butt once. It made going down so much faster but it was hell on my knees and toes. Still I couldn't wait to get back to the bottom - any pain was worth it at this point. I got down at around 11am, received a round of congratulations from the porters and crawled into my tent to finally get some rest.
The day wasn't over yet. After being up since 7am the previous morning hiking to Kibo Hut and then another 12 hours through the night up and down Kilimanjaro...we had to trek another 9km to our next camp before finally resting for the night.
So, all up, definitely the most painful experience of my life but it was an incredible feeling to make it to the top that made it all worthwhile. Would I do it all over again? Hell no. Once is enough.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Another one to tick off the bucket list
December last year, I was lounging around in the middle of an Egyptian oasis with Pommy as we wrote out our to-do list for this year. My list was ludicrously long and consisted mainly of travel destinations...one of which was to hike Mt Kilimanjaro.
In 3 weeks time, as I trek up to the roof of Africa...I can tick this off the list. Hopefully I make it to the top of this 5890m mountain, haphazard training notwithstanding.
Had it not been for my 2 week eating and drinking binge through HK and Sydney...and another week lost to the Linda Blair diet (minus the head spinning) - I would be quietly confident I was in semi-fit condition. Alas, good intentions and all that. Some hard-core gym cramming methinks for the next 2.5 weeks and then some heavy praying on the way up the mountain is in order.
In 3 weeks time, as I trek up to the roof of Africa...I can tick this off the list. Hopefully I make it to the top of this 5890m mountain, haphazard training notwithstanding.
Had it not been for my 2 week eating and drinking binge through HK and Sydney...and another week lost to the Linda Blair diet (minus the head spinning) - I would be quietly confident I was in semi-fit condition. Alas, good intentions and all that. Some hard-core gym cramming methinks for the next 2.5 weeks and then some heavy praying on the way up the mountain is in order.
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