Descent

The descent was rough. While we had finished the last stretch of the summit bid on adrenaline and determination now we had to descend on an empty stomach and depleted energy reserves to Barafu camp, a good two and a half hours away, before we could have some food and rest. The initial part was very steep and made harder by the slippery scree.

After I had had a couple of falls slipping on the scree (the rubble had no sharp edges and cushioned my falls,so no injuries), Adidas handed over a second hiking pole to me and I soon figured out my own technique to get down - both hands in the air with the poles poised to come down to break a fall if needed and running down the slope letting my shoes slide down the scree - it made for a rather rapid descent. If only I wasn't dog tired it could have been a lot of fun.

In any case, we finally made it to Barafu camp around 1:00 PM, completely exhausted and covered in dust. We crashed into our sleeping bags and slept soundly for an hour before we had to get up, have lunch and proceed to the next camp a couple of hours away at Mweka camp. Aradhana wasn't feeling too well, so we hurried down to ensure that we reach the next camp at Mweka before it was dark and she could have a good night's rest. The camp was in the fringes of the rain forest and hence much warmer.

We had a light dinner - by this time we had both lost our appetites and just could not have the food being served - we craved for some spicy Indian food.

Day 7: From Mweka camp to Mweka Gate and Moshi



The next day we woke up refreshed to find the porters getting ready to sing a song - in praise of Kilimanjaro and the climb. The song was a modified version of a popular Swahili song
(the original version is played all the time in curio shops in Kenya and Tanzania) with references to Kenya replaced by Kilimanjaro and the names of its camps all the way to the peak, so the last part went -

Shira, Hakuna Matata
Barranco, Hakuna Matata
Karanga, Hakuna Matata
Barafu, Hakuna Matata
Uhuru, Hakuna Matata
Kilimanjaro, Hukuna Matata

Basically translating to "no problems on Kilimanjaro". There were some lyrics which translated (roughly of course) to .. "oh, snake on kilimanjaro, why do you come to bite us" - referring to the curving trails which look like snakes from far, and how tough it was to climb them (Pratima recorded this on video, will see if I can link to this section.) The singing was so good that we requested and got an encore!

We started on the last part of our trek soon after. The trail went through lush green vegetation. We made a brief stop at the Ranger's office to register our names and then took another break on the way at the perfect picnic spot before reaching Mweka gate.



At the gate, we purchased some mementoes including the "New Map of the Kilimanjaro National Park" (which is a must-buy, more so before beginning the trek) and then got onto the minivan that took us back to Hotel Golden View in Moshi. After seven days on the mountain, using lukewarm water from a small plastic bucket in the open to freshen up, the hot water shower in the hotel was the best bath I have ever had! And after the hole-in-the-ground toilets, flush toilets - praise the lord!