The Snows of Kilimanjaro

"There, ahead all he could see, as wide as all the world,
great, high, and unbelievably white in the sun,
was the square top of Kilimanjaro"

Ernest Hemingway, The Snows of Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro, rises majestically like a solitary giant above the grassy plains of the East African savannah. The sight of it is overwhelming, the first time I catch sight of it after months of preparation, I get goosebumps all over my body. Here I was trekking towards the roof of Africa.

The name Kilimanjaro evokes scenes of wonder and mystery, far away places and eternal snows (with global warming that might be an issue in the near future)- the first time I ever heard of the mountain was when I was a child and heard of the movie The Snows of Kilimanjaro - ironically I haven't had the time to watch this movie.

The diversity of Kilimanjaro's terrain is astonishing - lower reaches are blanketed in dense, humid rain forest, whilst its summit slopes are capped by ice but it is also a mountain under tremendous pressure.

Kilimanjaro is accessible to all and many. Despite its pristine limitless slopes Kili is fragile and can only bear so many people trudging up and down it's slopes. The sad part is that not many people really care about taking care of the preservation policies devised by the Tanzanian government, limiting the amount of people who can visit the park on an annual basis.

Almost a year after having summit ed Kili, this mountain still keeps a firm hold on my imagination and although I am not planning on going there in the near future I am sure that should I venture again on those slopes, I will keep on discovering more of this fascinating mountain.

FAVOURITE PICTURE SERIES (6)

FAVOURITE PICTURE SERIES (5)

Lunch break on Kilimanjaro

Breakfast......on Kilimanjaro

Breakfast on Kili.....not the most flattering of photos (am referring to myself, Adele, don't worry!) but considering that was taken about five days into our trek, on a cold morning I don't think its too bad :) and it gives a good idea of the small tent we lived in throughout our adventure on Kili.

Adele, who apart from being a very good friend was also my buddy on the climb, and I would be woken up by the porters early in the morning and given a very diluted tea or hot chocolate to start off the day. It was necessary for us to keep hydrated so our mugs would be checked for any remaining dregs.

The second part of the routine was our morning bath! The washing up process would see us trying to wash ourselves with luke warm water that was given to us in a small basin. Apart from trying to wash oneself in the limited space and cold, we also had to make sure that the porters wouldn't just turn up and open the tent in the most embarassing of moments!

Thankfully we never had any of those.....although we did have a near miss once ;)....and no we are not going into more detail here!

Mount Kilimanjaro

Jumbo! (meaning hello, a friendly greeting given by Tanzanians). Yes! that's me up on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the world's largest free standing mountain, standing at 19,340ft.